Maria Caterina Rosalbina Caradori-Allan

Rosalbina Caradori-Allan
Rosalbina Caradori-Allan by Pierre Louis ('Henri') Grevedon, 1831
Born	Maria Caterina Rosalbina de Munck 1800 Milan, Italy
Died	15 October 1865(1865-10-15) Surbiton, England
Occupation	Opera and concert singer (soprano)
Years active	1822-1845

Maria Caterina Rosalbina Caradori-Allan (1800–1865) was a French operatic soprano.

Caradori-Allan was born at the Casa Palatina, Milan, in 1800. Her father, Baron de Munck, was an Alsatian, who served in the French army, while her mother, whose maiden name was Caradori, was a native of Saint Petersburg. According to the New American Cyclopedia, and Moore's Complete Encyclopaedia of Music, her father died when she was 20, leaving the family short of funds, and obliging her to employ professionally her musical talents, which had previously been under the direction of her mother, as "an elegant accomplishment". She must have had a good education as she developed into a versatile linguist, proficient in English, French, German and Italian.

After a tour in France and part of Germany, the influence and support of Count St. Antonio resulted in her engagement at King's Theatre in London, where she made her first appearance as Cherubino in the Le nozze di Figaro on 12 January 1822. The Examiner of 20 January 1822 reviewed her début favourably

She appears very youthful, with a slight figure and pleasant archness of countenance that suits the character well. Her voice is like her person, slender; but has tones of extreme sweetness and expression that go at once to the heart, with a happy facility of execution that appears the result of natural rather than acquired flexibility, so completely free is it from all show of difficulty or exertion. If, as critics, we must find any fault, it is in rather a redundancy of ornament, but it is introduced in a manner so little interfering with the sentiment, and so charmingly executed, that we were more pleased with it than, as grave and judicious judges, we fear we ought to be

Her salary for this first season was £300. In 1823, she was re-engaged, at a salary of £400, and appeared as Vitellia in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito, and as Carlotta in Saverio Mercadante's Elisa e Claudio.

In 1824, she married Mr. E. T. Allan, the secretary of the King's Theatre, where she was again engaged at a salary of £500, singing with Catalani in Mayr's Nuovo latico per la Musica, and (as a benefit for herself) as Zerlina in Don Giovanni. In the following year her chief parts were Carlotta in Pietro Generali's L'Adelina, Fatima in Gioachino Rossini's Pietro l'Eremita, and Palmide in Giacomo Meyerbeer's Il crociato in Egitto; in the latter opera she was associated with the castrato Velluti.