Novello, Clara (1818–1908)

English soprano. Name variations: Countess Gigliucci. Born Clara Anastasia Novello on June 10, 1818, in England; died in 1908; daughter of Vincent Novello (a pianist and composer); sister of Cecilia Novello (asinger), Mary Sabilla Novello (a soprano), and Joseph Alfred Novello (a bass singer); married Count Gigliucci, on October 22, 1843.

Clara Novello was born into an English musical family in 1818. At age nine, she was given singing and piano lessons. In 1829, she entered the Paris Conservatoire, but had to return to England the following year because of the turmoil over Charles X and the Restoration. She made her successful debut in 1833 at a concert in Windsor and was immediately engaged for the Ancient and Philharmonic Concerts, the Worcester Festival, and the Westminster Abbey Festival. In 1837, Mendelssohn invited Novello to appear at the Gewandhaus concerts in Leipzig where she earned his praise and that of Schumann; she then went on to Berlin, Vienna, St. Petersburg, and Dusseldorf.

In 1839, she journeyed to Italy to study for the stage, becoming a pupil of Micheroux in Milan. She made her opera debut at Padua in Rossini's Semiramide on July 6, 1841, followed by appearances in Rome, Milan, Bologna, and Modena. Returning to England in March 1843, she appeared at the Drury Lane. On her marriage to Count Gigliucci on October 22, 1843, she retired from public life for the next seven years. Novello met with her greatest success appearing in oratorio in England in 1851 and made one last opera appearance on stage in England, in the Puritani at Drury Lane on July 5, 1853. Her greatest triumphs followed at the opening of the Crystal Palace (June 10, 1854) and at Handel Festivals (1857 and 1859). She then moved to Italy.