Music in London in 1720, and remained with the company until its dissolution in 1728, during which time he sang in operas by Bononcini, Ariosti and Handel. Senesino was popular in London, which explains why Handel re-engaged him in 1730 despite their often-troubled working relationship. Senesino defected to the ‘Opera of the Nobility’ in 1733. After he ...
Handel’s operas usually revolve around the voices and particular gifts of the singers that were available to him. Giulio Cesare in Egitto was created in 1724 as a vehicle for Senesino and Cuzzoni, although the characteristic trademark of Handel’s best operas is that the emotions and experience of the characters are not sacrificed to the virtuosity of the singers. Although ...
Handel’s typically robust yet melodic use of horns, in which the deluded warrior compares himself to Hercules. This was the last role Handel ever composed for his star castrato Senesino, and it is the most astonishing and innovative. Handel’s music for Angelica, the shepherdess Dorinda and the Prince Medoro is also superb, and their trio ‘Consolati o ...
Composed in 1725, Rodelinda is remarkable for its quality. Handel composed many exceptional accompanied recitatives for Senesino throughout their collaborations, and in this opera the dethroned King Bertarido, believed dead by his steadfast wife, laments his misfortune in an accompanied recitative and aria, ‘Pompe vane di morte! … Dove sei amato bene’, which shows Handel ...
her home city until 1725, singing in operas by her teacher Gasparini, as well as Albinoni and Lotti. Between 1726 and 1728, she performed in London alongside Senesino and Cuzzoni in Handel’s ‘Rival Queens’ operas. The legendary enmity between Faustina and Cuzzoni culminated in 1727 when they came to blows on stage in a performance of Bononcini’s Astianatte. ...
an aristocratic company that funded performances of Italian opera at the King’s Theatre on the Haymarket. This rivalled any opera house in Europe, starring the famous singers Cuzzoni and Senesino, for whom Handel created Giulio Cesare in Egitto. The following season, the arrival of the tenor Francesco Borosini influenced Tamerlano (1724) and Rodelinda (1725). The addition of a ...
Rameau | Late Baroque Major Operas | Les indes galantes by Jean-Philippe Rameau | Late Baroque Major Operas | Castor et Pollux by Jean-Philippe Rameau | Late Baroque Personalities | Senesino (Francesco Bernardi) | Late Baroque | Opera Houses & Companies | The Lullistes v. the Ramistes | Late Baroque | Opera ...
heroism and dignity. However, the concept of the castrated hero was not universally admired: it was never widely accepted in London despite George Frideric Handel’s (1685–1759) successful operas starring Senesino (c. 1680–c. 1759) and Giovanni Carestini (c. 1704–c. 1760), and it was ridiculed and scorned in France, where they instead preferred youthful lovers and heroes to be sung by ...
orchestral recitative for special effect. These were usually powerful recitatives accompanied by the entire string section of the orchestra. Several of the most celebrated examples were created for the castrato Senesino in Handel’s London operas. Opera Seria, Opera Buffa and Intermezzo There were three basic types of operatic entertainments: opera seria, opera buffa and the intermezzo. The most highly ...
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