Antonia Margherita Merighi

Antonia Margherita Merighi was among the leading Italian contraltos from 1717 to 1740 and was among those well-liked by George Frideric Handel in London, especially noted on her behalf acting capability. She shows up in the traditional record as an associate of the personnel from the Dowager Grand Duchess Violante Beatrice of Tuscany and it is stated to attended from Bologna. The initial record of her appearance within a open public theater is within Venice, where she sang in Vivaldi’s Tieteberga in 1717. She spent many years alternating between theaters in Venice (1717 – 1721, 1724 – 1726, 1732 – 1733) and Naples (1721 – 1724, 1728 – 1729), where she made an appearance in 19 different operas in Venice and 14 in Naples. During those years, she also produced performances in Parma, Florence, Bologna, and Turin. Handel employed her to sing in his opera firm in 1729 and she continued to be on his roster before end of the growing season in 1731. He composed three roles designed for her: Matilde in Lotario, Rosmira in Partenope, and Erissena in Poro. Furthermore, Handel rewrote jobs which were originally soprano parts by transposition and by interpolating brand-new or transplanted arias, producing Armira (in Scipione) and Armida (in Rinaldo) into contralto parts. She was the second-highest paid vocalist in his firm and entirely, she sang in eight of Handel’s operas. Although particular statements concerning her range (as well as the parts created on her behalf) present that she acquired a fairly high upper expansion for the contralto tone of voice, her tone of voice quality was so that it was referred to as unusually low. As she was high and slender, she frequently sang male jobs in those times when heroes frequently had been portrayed by countertenors or castrati. Handel’s advertisements known as her “a female of an extremely fine Presence, a fantastic Actress, and a good Vocalist — A Counter-top Tenor.” Various other observers in the London picture state she was “a really perfect celebrity” and “her tone of voice isn’t extraordinarily great or bad, she actually is high and includes a extremely graceful person, having a tolerable encounter; she sings very easily and agreeably.” After departing London in 1731, she sang in a number of Italian houses, however the information on those years are imperfect. In 1736, she came back to London, this time around hired with the Opera from the Nobility in that which was to become its this past year. Within the next period, she was an associate of Heidegger’s firm. She made two even more Handel jobs, Germando in Faramondo and Amastre in Serse. Among the resources who defined her in the paragraph above today documented that ” there is no sound in her tone of voice, but thundering actions.” Additional proof that this holds true lies in the very fact these two Handel parts are significantly simpler and even more limited in range compared to the additional three he published on her behalf. Her last documented singing appearance is at 1740 in Munich. From then on, she retired back to Bologna, wedded tenor Carlo Carlani (1716 – 1776), nevertheless, she will need to have passed away before 1764 because Carlani remarried that same 12 months.