Camporese, Violante

1785-1839

Born at Rome, and was a member of a good family. Cultivated music from her earliest years because she loved it. After her marriage to a nobleman named Giustiniani, she found herself compelled by circumstances to support herself, and soon afterward began to appear at concerts. She was destined to become one of the most brilliant and popular singers of her time. She was engaged for the private concerts of Napoleon in Paris, and under instruction from Crescentini her pure soprano voice developed great flexibility and sweetness. Both as a singer and as a woman she fascinated everyone with whom she came in contact, and there are many stories of her goodness and generosity. Ebers, while in Paris, in 1816, met the singer at the house of Paer, the composer, and described her voice as fine-toned and pure, and thus described her personal appearance: " She was a handsome, elegant woman of one and thirty, with dark hair, eyes, and complexion, tall, slender figure, fine Roman countenance, full of tragic dignity, and a manner of stately grace and irresistible sweetness. From Paris she went to Milan, where she crowded La Scala nightly during the engagement. In 1817 she was engaged for the King's Theatre, London, making her debut in Cimarosa's Penelope. She gained a great reputation as a vocalist when singing Suzanna in The Marriage of Figaro, in spite of the fact that she succeeded Vestris in the part. This success was followed by another when she sang Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. She appeared in other operas and also at the Ancient Music and Philharmonic concerts. She went back to Milan, singing there until 1821, when she returned to London, being received in the highest artistic and social circles. Believing she could sing comic as well as tragic roles, Camporese undertook to sing Zerlina in Don Giovanni, but was not a success and wisely, never again repeated the experiment. She won fresh laurels by her performance of Desdemona in Rossini's Othello and by the purity and force of her singing and her gentle dignity and bearing elicited universal admiration. She appeared at the King's Theatre again in 1823, bringing out at her benefit, Rossini's Riccardo e Zoraide. In 1824 she again returned, but her voice had by this time begun to show signs of wear and she could not bear comparison with Malibran, Sontag and Pasta, who had the musical world at their feet Camporese shortly afterward retired to Rome. In 1827 she was singing Rossini's operas in Ancona and two years later came to London to sing in concert, but her voice was practically gone and the performance was not a success. She died in Rome.