• Isabella Colbran (1784-1845) studied singing under the guidance of the celebrated castrati Carlo Martinelli and Girolamo Crescentini.
• Her four books of Canzoncine ou Petits Airs Italiens were composed during her youth, before the beginning of her career as “prima donna” of Italian opera.
• The compositions are typical of the chamber-music repertoire for amateurs: short, melodious, through-composed arias with two texts: one in Italian, the other a free translation into French."