Francesco Bernardo (sic) Senesino and Carlo Broschi Farinelli
Print
ca. 1734 (published)
ca. 1734 (published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The celebrated Italian castrato Carlo Broschi (1705-1782) whose stage name was Farinelli, came to London in 1734 and joined the Opera of the Nobility, the company formed to rival than of Handel by the Italian castrato Francesco Bernadi Senesino at a theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Despite having Nicola Antonio Porpora (1686-1768) as composer and Senesino as principal singer, it was not a success during its first season of 1733-34. Farinelli, Porpora's most famous pupil, joined the company and made it financially solvent. Such was Farinelli's charisma on stage, that Charles Burney reported that when Senesino and Farinelli performed together, with Senesino as a furious tyrant and Farinelli the hero in chains: 'the captive so softened the heart of the tyrant, that Senesino, forgetting his stage-character, ran to Farinelli and embraced him as his own.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Francesco Bernardo (sic) Senesino and Carlo Broschi Farinelli (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Engraving on paper |
| Brief description | Print depicting Francesco Bernardi Senesino (1686-1758) and Carlo Broschi Farinelli (1705-1782), London, ca.1734, Harry Beard Collection |
| Physical description | Engraving of Francesco Bernardo Senesino and Carlo Broschi Farinelli. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Harry R. Beard Collection, given by Isobel Beard. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The celebrated Italian castrato Carlo Broschi (1705-1782) whose stage name was Farinelli, came to London in 1734 and joined the Opera of the Nobility, the company formed to rival than of Handel by the Italian castrato Francesco Bernadi Senesino at a theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Despite having Nicola Antonio Porpora (1686-1768) as composer and Senesino as principal singer, it was not a success during its first season of 1733-34. Farinelli, Porpora's most famous pupil, joined the company and made it financially solvent. Such was Farinelli's charisma on stage, that Charles Burney reported that when Senesino and Farinelli performed together, with Senesino as a furious tyrant and Farinelli the hero in chains: 'the captive so softened the heart of the tyrant, that Senesino, forgetting his stage-character, ran to Farinelli and embraced him as his own. |
| Associated objects | |
| Other number | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1402-2013 |
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| Record created | April 22, 2013 |
| Record URL |
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