Adelina Catalani

Adelina, sometimes Adelaide or Adele, Catalani (fl. 1818–1832)

Catalani was known variously as la cognate della famosa and la Catalani juniore to distinguish her from the far better-known Angelica Catalani, of whom she has been described as a sister-in-law in various sources. François-Joseph Fétis claimed that she was French originally, and gave her birthplace as Toulouse. He goes on to state that she had a pretty voice which she developed without difficulty before being married and taken in hand by Catalani's brother, with whom she moved to Italy. At the time of her engagement to sing Enrico di Borgogna, she was known only as a singer of accademie, or chamber music recitals; consequently, her performance in Donizetti's opera was to be her stage debut. The composer was pleased with her voice, describing it in a letter to his teacher Giovanni Simone Mayr as a "gran bella voce", a "fine, large voice", and indicating that he planned to rewrite her part to better suit her sound. In the event, the soprano recovered sufficiently to essay the complete opera on December 15 and 16. In 1828 she made her debut at the Théâtre Italien as Isabella in Gioacchino Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, a performance which met with less-than-favorable reception. 1831 found Catalani singing in Naples. She is listed on the roster of La Scala as late as 1832 – she sang the role of Elena in the premiere of Elena e Malvina by Francesco Schira on November 17 – but disappears from the record thereafter.