Anna Girò

Anna Girò (born around 1710 in Mantua ), also known as Anna Giraud La Mantovana , was the stage name of the Italian mezzo-soprano Anna Maddalena Tessieri . She became famous for her collaboration with the composer Antonio Vivaldi , who wrote several operatic roles for her.

life and career

Anna was born in Mantua as the daughter of a French hairdresser and wig manufacturer.

Around 1720 she began to study with Vivaldi. She made her debut in the autumn of 1723 in Treviso and in 1724 in Venice in Laodice by Tomaso Albinoni . She sang for Vivaldi, beginning with her appearance in his opera Dorilla in Tempe in 1726 , then also in Motezuma in 1733 . Both Vivaldi's contemporaries and contemporary music researchers have speculated about the nature of the relationship between Vivaldi and Girò. However, there is no evidence to suggest anything other than friendship and professional collaboration. In fact, in a letter to his patron Bentivoglio on November 16, 1737, Vivaldi relentlessly denied any romantic relationship with Girò.

Girò has starred in dozens of appearances throughout her career. She continued her successful career until 1748, when she married the widowed Count Antonio Maria Zanardi Landi after performing during the Carnival in Piacenza and retired as a singer.

literature

Sarah Bruce Kelly: Vivaldi's Muse . Bel Canto Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0-9836304-0-1
Sarah Bruce Kelly: The Red Priest's Annina . Bel Canto Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-578-02565-0
Francesco Lora: Tesseri, Anna Maddalena, detta la Giro, Girro o Giraud. In: Raffaele Romanelli (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 95: Taranto – Togni. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2019.

Individual evidence

^ Francesco Lora: Anna Girò. In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI).
^ Michael Talbot : The Chamber Cantatas of Antonio Vivaldi. (Review) Music & Letters Volume 88, Issue 3, pp. 515-519.
^ Karl Heller: Antonio Vivaldi: The red priest of Venice. Hal Leonard Corporation, 1997, ISBN 978-1-57467-015-8
↑ Michael Talbot: Vivaldi . JM Dent & Sons, London 1978, p. 67

personal data
SURNAME	Girò, Anna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Giraud, Anna; Tessieri, Anna Maddalena (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Italian singer (mezzo-soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1710
PLACE OF BIRTH	Mantua
DATE OF DEATH	after 1748

[1] Francesco Lora: Anna Girò. In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI).

[2] Michael Talbot : The Chamber Cantatas of Antonio Vivaldi. (Review) Music & Letters Volume 88, Issue 3, pp. 515-519.

[3] Karl Heller: Antonio Vivaldi: The red priest of Venice. Hal Leonard Corporation, 1997, ISBN 978-1-57467-015-8

[4] Michael Talbot: Vivaldi . JM Dent & Sons, London 1978, p. 67