On the 13th December, 1806, Madame Catalani, and Signor Siboni, made their 
debut in the serious opera of "La Semiramide." Madame Catalani's 
personification of Semiramide was a powerful effort of the scenic art she 
looked beautiful, and a queen ; her songs were given in a manner which 
electrified her audience ; she possesses, in truth, what the Italians call the 
novanta niove, i.e. the ninety-nine. When a singer possesses a superior fine 
voice, the Italians say, he, or she, has got the ninety-nine points out of the 
hundred, to make a fine singer. Her reception, by a crowded audience, was 
enthusiastic. Siboni, in addition to a fine tenor voice, and a commanding figure, 
was a tasteful singer, and a good musician ; his reception was also very 
flattering.