22:
115:. The two leading ladies took the heated match between the two crowned heads a step further, and when Ronzi overemphasized her response to Elisabetta with the famous “Vil bastarda” insult, a raging fight ensued. Donizetti might have fuelled the animosity between the two primadonnas when in response to an overheard comment by Ronzi that he “protected that whore of a Del Sere” he responded that he protected neither of them. Afterwards adding that "those two queens were whores, and you two are equally whores":
87:
119:
The rumbustious Ronzi De Begnis felt a bit ashamed but did not respond to the
Maestro’s remarks and the rehearsal continued. Some reports published by a theatrical magazine would have us believe that Del Sere was badly bruised during the fight and needed to convalesce for two weeks. Be that as it
44:
singer famous for the roles written for her by the prominent composers of the 1820s and 1830s. Her father, Gaspare, was a prominent ballet dancer and choreographer, and her mother, Antonia, was a ballerina. Her brothers
Stanislao and Pollione were opera singers. As a singer, she made her debut in
124:
The incident was highly publicized and generated a scandal that prompted the censors to ban the libretto forcing
Donizetti to make a last-minute change to the libretto and story-line to fit his music to a story of Florentine feuds in the 1200s re-titled
428:
received rave reviews and on the second night, 15 November 1837, a critic wrote that "the applauses started with Ronzi de Begnis' entrance and ended with the rondò at the end of the opera." Her repertory included other operas by
Donizetti such as
365:. She had repeated curtain calls and a critic wrote that her "demeanour was noble, natural and dignified without exaggeration and affectation, her accent was beautiful, crisp and expressive; her singing all Italian and of the best school."
108:
at the Opera instead of
Zerlina. Ronzi was also known for her capricious attitudes and for having confrontations and arguments with female colleagues, including the famous altercation with Anna Del Sere during the rehearsals of
478:. In fact, for almost a decade (1834–1843) she was a most successful and reliable Norma. Bellini was quite happy with her technique and in 1834 he was contemplating writing an opera for the San Carlo starring Ronzi de Begnis.
326:
Ronzi returned to Italy in 1825, her marriage fell apart, and she might have had problems with her voice. For the next five years, she worked hard to refine her technique and extension until she became a
202:
failed, he engaged
Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis and, at a reduced fee, her husband Giuseppe de Begnis as the Mayor. This move left him with enough money to engage a first-class tenor like Alberico Curioni.
152:, who had been mesmerized by her Norma, confirms her voluptuousness and its seductive effects on the public and concluded that the whole theatre seemed to waver: "Blessed be this witch who enchants us".
120:
may, these confrontations, although distorted in varying degrees by the contemporary media and later on by writers and biographers, did not help the staging of the new opera in Naples."
339:
in Naples, where she also won considerable acclaim in roles
Donizetti wrote specifically for her. Ronzi's biggest triumph in Naples was her performances as the title character in
104:
Shortly after her arrival in Paris, in August 1819, she became incensed when she learned that she was expected to sing Donna Anna in the upcoming production of
280:
756:
233:
praised
Giuseppe for his Uberto and Giuseppina for her Isabella. In the meantime Rossini had been informed that the de Begnises had been secured for
101:
wrote that "Ronzi was nevertheless a very beautiful figure on the stage, and for those who are not enemies of the flesh, she was very beautiful."
186:
in Pesaro. Rossini had grand ideas for the occasion and he wanted
Isabella Colbran and Andrea Nozzari for a colossal production of his
736:
703:
159:, in 1853 aged 53, leaving a substantial inheritance to her only child Clotilde who in 1843 had married the tenor
97:
Her figure has been described by her contemporaries, including
Donizetti, as fat and voluptuous; a critic of
751:
192:; however budget constraints forced him to downsize his dreams, but when an attempt to secure his friend
21:
449:
211:
In January 1819, Giuseppina and her husband moved to Paris where they sang for the re-opening of the
78:(1793–1849) when she was only 16. The marriage lasted only a few years and the two separated in 1825.
376:
275:
149:
368:
1834 was possibly her most memorable year because she also had great success in Rome in her first
263:
183:
431:
239:. The prospects were encouraging and on 5 May the couple sang in Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi's
245:
746:
741:
243:. Positive reviews greeted the couple during the summer of the same year when they sang in
212:
8:
402:
336:
163:. Clotilde was born in 1824 while De Begnis was engaged at the King's Theatre in London.
394:
Donizetti created the leading roles in five very important operas specifically for her:
437:
308:
302:
257:
251:
155:
Shortly after her husband's death in New York, she retired from the stage. She died in
148:
were fond of her. In a sonnet dedicated to "La Ronza", the highly acclaimed Roman poet
137:
75:
72:
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announced her return to Naples to restart her operatic career. She was engaged at the
216:
699:
296:
268:
160:
145:
463:
420:
382:
229:
141:
643:, Verona: A. Mondadori. (Letter from Bellini to Florimo, Paris, 30 November 1834)
331:
like Grisi, Ungher, Malibran, and Pasta. On 13 April 1831 the Milanese newspaper
328:
133:
475:
414:
396:
361:
286:
235:
198:
178:
661:
Maria Stuarda: From troubled beginnings to shining gem of belcanto renaissance
40:; Milan 11 January 1800 – died, Florence, 7 June 1853) was an Italian soprano
730:
471:
408:
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took place in 1834, when she successfully sang the title role in Donizetti's
351:
111:
91:
467:
274:
In 1822, she went to London, where she obtained brilliant successes at the
193:
632:
Belli, Giuseppe Gioachino, (Ed) G. Vigolo, (1982), "Sonnet No. 1065", in
370:
349:; in Rome, in 1834, she earned equally remarkable success in her first
345:
267:. She capitalized on her Parisian sojourn and found time to study with
63:
374:, and in Florence, she charmed the public with her Romeo in Bellini's
455:
443:
356:
314:
156:
58:
45:
Naples at the Teatro dei Fiorentini in 1814 in Giovanni Cordella's
86:
648:
Ferdinando Paer: Biografia, Opere e Documenti degli anni parigini
586:
Ferdinando Paer: Biografia, Opere e Documenti degli anni parigini
573:
Ferdinando Paer: Biografia, Opere e Documenti degli anni parigini
524:
Ferdinando Paer: Biografia, Opere e Documenti degli anni parigini
340:
291:
68:
50:
25:
Portrait of Giuseppina de Begnis as Fatima in Rossini's oratorio
188:
54:
41:
306:. Other Rossini successes in London included Fiorilla in
623:Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis il soprano donizettiano
206:
223:on 20 March. The opera received a good review in
132:Her temperament notwithstanding, composers like
728:
656:(1837), Naples 20 November 1837, Year 1, No. 44
176:In 1818, Rossini secured her as Ninetta in his
171:
710:Donizetti e i teatri napoletani dell'Ottocento
182:for the grand inauguration of the newly built
355:at the Teatro Apollo. Her debut at Milan's
271:honing buffo roles of Paisiello and Mozart.
506:
504:
667:liner notes, Nightingale Classics, Zurich.
634:Er Giorno der Giudizio e altri 200 sonetti
553:Anti-Gallican Monitor (March 7, 1824), p.7
389:
386:– a role she had already sung in Naples.
757:19th-century Italian women opera singers
501:
85:
20:
49:, followed by important engagements in
729:
721:The Assoluta Voice in Opera, 1797–1847
498:Appolonia 1964 on donizettisociety.com
255:. In Paris she appeared as Susanna in
690:Mancini, F. & Rouveroux (1986),
674:, Oxford University Press, New York.
629:No. 61 and 62, January and May 1994
13:
380:as well as Desdemona in Rossini's
166:
14:
768:
678:Teatri di Milano, Almanacco 1836
511:Teatri di Milano, Almanacco 1836
466:, Ronzi was considered the best
603:
591:
207:Early years in Paris and London
29:, London 1828, by Alfred Chalon
708:Mancini, F.; S. Ragni (1997),
646:Castellani, Giuliano, (2009),
578:
565:
556:
547:
538:
529:
516:
492:
90:Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis by
81:
1:
723:, McFarland. pp. 137–144
659:Migliavacca, Giorgio (2000),
641:Vincenzo Bellini, Epistolario
584:Castellani, Giuliano, (2009),
571:Castellani, Giuliano, (2009),
522:Castellani, Giuliano, (2009),
481:
215:in the Parisian premiere of
627:Donizetti Society Newsletter
172:Early encounter with Rossini
7:
719:Riggs, Geoffrey S. (2003),
535:Migliavacca 2000, pp. 27—32
321:
53:in 1816, also appearing in
10:
773:
670:Osborne, Richard, (2007),
300:and the title role in his
34:Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis
737:Italian operatic sopranos
654:L'Interprete Commerciale
598:L'Interprete Commerciale
377:I Capuleti e i Montecchi
284:(an oratorio version of
221:I Fuoriusciti di Firenze
150:Giuseppe Gioachino Belli
264:Il barbiere di Siviglia
609:Cambi 1943, pp.480—482
390:Working with Donizetti
290:) on 30 January 1822,
94:
71:. She married Italian
30:
639:Cambi, Luisa (1943),
636:. Milan: Mondadori.
544:Belli 1957, p. ?
246:Il matrimonio segreto
225:Le Moniteur Universel
89:
24:
621:Appolonia, Giorgio,
424:. Her Elisabetta in
241:La pastorella nobile
219:'s drama semi-serio
61:; in 1817 as Giulia
16:Italian opera singer
692:Le guide de l'opéra
562:Osborne 2007, p. 55
432:L'assedio di Calais
403:Sancia di Castiglia
752:Singers from Milan
650:, Bern, Peter Lang
309:Il Turco in Italia
303:Matilde di Shabran
258:Le Nozze di Figaro
252:Il turco in Italia
138:Saverio Mercadante
95:
76:Giuseppe de Begnis
31:
297:La donna del lago
161:Gaetano Fraschini
146:Gaetano Donizetti
27:Pietro L' Eremita
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464:Henriette Sontag
426:Roberto Devereux
421:Roberto Devereux
312:and Amenaide in
281:Pietro l'Eremita
261:, and Rosina in
230:Journal de Paris
142:Vincenzo Bellini
99:Teatri di Milano
38:Giuseppina Ronzi
772:
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450:Pia de' Tolomei
438:L'esule di Roma
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329:soprano sfogato
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217:Ferdinando Paër
213:Théâtre Italien
209:
174:
169:
167:Operatic career
134:Giovanni Pacini
84:
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476:Giuditta Pasta
415:Gemma di Vergy
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362:Gemma di Vergy
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287:Mose in Egitto
276:King's Theatre
249:and Rossini's
236:La gazza ladra
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199:La gazza ladra
179:La gazza ladra
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685:Other sources
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665:Maria Stuarda
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616:Cited sources
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470:and the best
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112:Maria Stuarda
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92:Karl Briullov
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714:(in Italian)
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269:Pierre Garat
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194:Rosa Morandi
187:
184:Teatro Nuovo
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131:
127:Buondelmonte
126:
123:
110:
106:Don Giovanni
105:
103:
98:
96:
62:
46:
37:
33:
32:
26:
18:
747:1853 deaths
742:1800 births
696:(in French)
371:Anna Bolena
82:Personality
731:Categories
513:, pp. 9—14
482:References
468:Donna Anna
346:Semiramide
227:, and the
64:La Vestale
456:Belisario
337:San Carlo
67:, and in
462:Next to
444:Parisina
357:La Scala
322:In Italy
315:Tancredi
157:Florence
59:Florence
672:Rossini
341:Rossini
292:Rossini
69:Bergamo
51:Bologna
47:L'Avaro
702:
600:, 1837
588:p. 505
575:p. 127
526:p. 138
474:after
453:, and
418:, and
397:Fausta
383:Otello
189:Armida
36:(born
663:, in
625:, in
487:Notes
472:Norma
352:Norma
333:L'Eco
55:Genoa
42:opera
700:ISBN
196:for
144:and
73:bass
343:'s
294:'s
733::
712:,
694:,
503:^
459:.
447:,
441:,
435:,
412:,
406:,
400:,
318:.
140:,
136:,
129:.
57:,
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