Background
Brambilla was born in Cassano d"Adda to a musical family.
Brambilla was born in Cassano d"Adda to a musical family.
She was particularly noted for her interpretations of the leading roles in operas by Amilcare Ponchielli whom she married in 1874. Her five aunts were all opera singers, three of whom (Marietta, Teresa, and Giuseppina Brambilla) had prominent careers. According to some accounts, she was trained in singing by Marietta and Teresa, and to others, by Giuseppina.
She made her debut as Adalgisa in Norma in 1863 with the Italian opera company in Odessa where both Giuseppina and Teresa had sung to great success.
In Italy she performed primarily in the theatres of Milan, Ancona, Turin, and Rome. On 5 December 1872 she sang the role of Lucia Mondella in the premiere of Amilcare Ponchielli"s major revision of his early opera I promessi sposi.
The performance inaugurated Milan"s Teatro Dal Verme and proved to be Ponchielli"s first major success and a breakthrough for him as an opera composer. Brambilla sang in the Rome premieres of Lohengrin (as Elsa) and Poliuto (as Paolina) and was also known for her interpretations of the Verdi heroines, Leonora and Aida.
In the carnival season of 1875, she had sung the title role in Aida to great success at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, conducted by Verdi himself, in a run of 30 consecutive performances.
She later returned to Italy where she taught at the Pesaro Conservatory until 1911. Brambilla died in Vercelli at the age of 76. Their son Annibale was a music critic and minor composer.
Lucia Mondella in the revised version of Amilcare Ponchielli"s I promessi sposi, Teatro Dal Verme, Milan, 5 December 1872
Luce in Stefano Gobatti"s Luce, Teatro Comunale, Bologna, 26 November 1875
Lina in Amilcare Ponchielli"s Lina, Teatro Dal Verme, Milan 17 November 1877
Flora in Filippo Marchetti"s Don Giovanni d"Austria, Teatro Regio, Turin, 11 March 1880
In addition to the above opera roles created by Brambilla, she was also the principal soloist in the first performance of Ponchielli"s cantata Omaggio a Donizetti ("Homage to Donizetti").
lieutenant was performed at the Teatro Riccardi in Bergamo on 13 September 1875, the day the ashes of Gaetano Donizetti and Simone Mayr were transferred to the city"s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.