Geltrude Righetti article by Stendhal, she wrote her famous memoir entitled "Cenni di una donna già cantante sopra il Maestro Rossini...", which includes an account of the première of "The Barber of Seville". Geltrude Righetti Geltrude Righetti (1793–1862) was an Italian contralto closely associated with the operas of Gioachino Rossini. (Her name is also sometimes given as Giorgi-Righetti or Righetti-Giorgi, Giorgi being the name of her husband.) Born in Bologna, she also studied and made her debut there in 1814. The following year she created the important role of Rosina in "The Barber of Seville" and in 1817 she was the first
Elisabetta Manfredini-Guarmani back in Bologna to sing the title role in a revival of Paisiello's "Nina, ossia La pazza per amore" at the Teatro Marsigli. Manfredini-Guarmani first worked with Gioachino Rossini in May 1811, when she sang in Haydn's oratorio "The Seasons". The special performance of the oratorio (sung in Italian as "Le quattro stagioni") was in celebration of the birth of the Napoleon II two months earlier and was conducted from the harpsichord by Rossini. When Rossini wrote his opera "Ciro in Babilonia", he composed the role of Almira specifically for Manfredini-Guarmani's voice. Following its premiere at the Teatro Comunale on