Antonia Margherita Merighi

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Antonia Margherita Merighi (* around 1690 in Bologna ; † around 1764 ) was an Italian opera singer ( alto ) who was active across Europe between 1711 and 1740. She is best known for her participation in operas by Georg Friedrich Handel .

The only known illustration of the Merighi is a caricature by Antonio Maria Zanetti

Life

Merighi's career began in Italy , where she worked for several years as a virtuoso singer at the court of Violante Beatrix von Bayern . She also sang early on in the theaters of Venice , Parma , Turin , Mantua , Naples and her hometown of Bologna , often in trouser roles . In Naples she sang the role of Iarba in the premiere of Domenico Sarros Didone abbandonata ( Teatro San Bartolomeo , February 1, 1724) and appeared there in at least 18 other operas .

In 1729 she moved to London , where she took part in numerous Handel operas for two seasons , partly in roles specially tailored to her (e.g. Matilda from Lotario , Rosmira from Partenope and Erissena from Poro ), partly in soprano roles from earlier operas, the adapted to their voice and its ambitus . In 1736 and 1738 she returned to London again to co-design three other Handel opera premieres as well as operas by other composers. She also sang at Handel's benefit concert at the King's Theater in 1738 . According to Winton Dean , her last operatic appearances are likely to be in Munich during the Carnival period in 1740.

After retiring from the stage, she lived again in her native city of Bologna . Merighi was married to the tenor Carlo Carlani (1716–1776).

Contemporary reports on Merighi

The Daily Courant of July 2, 1729 listed the names of the singers for the 1729 season at the King's Theater:

Mr. Handel, who has just returned from Italy, has hired the following singers to perform in his Italian operas: Signor Bernacchi, who is considered the best singer in Italy; Signora Merighi, a lady with excellent stage presence, an outstanding performer and a very good singer, with the voice of a countertenor; Signora Strada, who has an extraordinarily fine boy soprano, a person of outstanding merit; Signor Annibale Pio Fabri, an excellent tenor with a very good voice; his wife, who sings especially male roles; Signora Bertoldi, an excellent soprano ".

Mary Delany , who supported Handel all her life, was one of the few who was invited by Handel to rehearsals for the 1729 season. In a letter she wrote about the Merighi

The Merighi [...] her voice is not overly good or bad. She is tall and very graceful, with an acceptable face; she must be over forty, sings easily and comfortably.

When the Merighi returned to London for the 1736 season, Delany noted:

Merighi - her voice may not sound like it, but her performance is impressive, a beauty without any further merit

Merighi's art of portrayal with weak singing is also appreciated by Giambattista Mancini in his Pensieri e riflessioni pratiche sopra il canto figurato (Vienna 1774):

Nicola Grimaldi, also known as Niccolino, owned a great art of performance and spoken singing, which was downright perfect, so that he became an outstanding singer despite other modest talents and a not exactly beautiful voice. The same is true of Madame Merighi.

Handel rolls

Merighi sang the following roles in Handel's operas at the King's Theater in London :

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Winton Dean: Merighi, Antonia Margherita. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians . Volume 12. 2nd edition. 2001, ISBN 0-333-60800-3 .
  2. ↑ after Delany p. 184.
  3. ↑ Quoted in Streatfeild (1910) p. 111
  4. ↑ quoted from Streatfeild (1910) p. 139
  5. ↑ Mancini (1774) p. 177
  6. ^ "Antonia Margherita Merighi". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
personal data
SURNAME Merighi, Antonia Margherita
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian opera singer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1690
PLACE OF BIRTH Bologna
DATE OF DEATH around 1764