Frances Corri

Frances Corri, also known as Fanny Corri, was a mezzo-soprano born in Edinburgh, the daughter of the musician Natale Corri, from a family of Italian-origin performers and teachers settled in Britain. Her date of birth is uncertain: sources place it in either 1795 or 1801, while the date of her death is known only to have been after 1833.

Her father was her first singing teacher, but she soon moved to London, where she received lessons from Braham and, later, from Angelica Catalani, with whom she toured the Continent in 1815 and 1816. She made her debut at the King's Theatre on 17 January 1818 as the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, and she sang there regularly, as well as at the concerts of the Philharmonic Society, until 1821. That year she left for the Continent with her father and her sisters Rosalie and Angelina.

After performing in Munich, she settled in Italy, where she married the bass Giuseppe Paltoni. She sang at La Scala in Milan in 1828–1829 and undertook successful tours of Spain in 1827 and of Germany in 1830. Her last documented performance was a Bellini Norma in Alessandria, in 1835.

Critics praised her rich, powerful voice, its wide compass, her good ear and a rounded, even trill. Her importance lies chiefly in being part of the notable Corri musical dynasty, whose activity spanned opera, concert life and teaching in Britain and on the Continent.