Since the publication of the studies by Sergio Durante and John Rosselli almost thirty years ago, research on opera singers has flourished.Footnote 1 Of course, writings relating to singers, from encomia and commemorative writings, to nineteenth-century erudite biographical investigations and more recent musicological research, have accompanied the history of opera since its beginnings;Footnote 2 it is only more recently, however, that research on singers has begun to have an impact on our understanding of the operatic phenomenon. Our interest has shifted from a study of eighteenth-century opera primarily based on the librettist and/or the composer towards one more attentive to the role of the performer, moving towards a richer, more flexible and nuanced perception of the operatic spectacle, understood more as a ‘conglomeration of voices’ finding a variable balance in opera.Footnote 3
The (re)acquired awareness of the fundamental presence of the singer in the operatic spectacle, also thanks to a large body of research that has examined singers’ vocal qualities and specific aspects of the collaboration between composers and performers, urges, in turn, a reconsideration of singers’ agency within the eighteenth-century patronage system.Footnote 4 My aim here is not to challenge the validity of the process of progression of singers from dependency on a tightly knit system of patronage during the seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth century, to a gradual emancipation from this system into an open market during the second half of the century, so well traced by Rosselli, but more to initiate a reassessment of our understanding of the overall weight of singers in the economy of eighteenth-century opera.
Historical research, including my own work on Senesino, has begun to reveal how singers themselves (and not just their patrons) were driven by a variety of needs, interests and ambitions that shaped their (and others’) careers. Some had extensive interests in fields as diverse as fine arts, botany and antiquities; others wrote poetry and music, held ‘salons’, or became involved with opera management and production.Footnote 5 Prominent singers could, while declaring full dependency on their patrons, exert influence on cast, repertory and other artistic matters, even when not officially invested with managerial responsibilities. As we shall see in this detailed study of the negotiations between Senesino and the Royal Academy of Music, Senesino negotiated not only for the role of primo uomo in the cast, but also for a role of artistic influence in London. The evidence considered in this article – some hitherto unknown to scholars, some known but misinterpreted and some re-examined under a new light – challenges our understanding of singers’ emancipation in terms of a simple transition from a system largely determined by patrons’ interests to one dominated by a market economy.
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Francesco Bernardi, ‘Senesino’, one of the most popular castrati of the eighteenth-century, moved to London in 1720, where he remained for over fifteen years, bringing to life all the most important primo uomo roles of Handel’s operas for the Royal Academy of Music. Before joining the cast of the newly founded Academy in 1720, Senesino spent a period of about two and a half years – between September 1717 and April 1720 – at the court of August II in Dresden. Compared with his time in London, his stay in Dresden was relatively brief. However, while Senesino was to fall in love with everything English, from life-style to furniture and fine arts, and refer to London throughout his life as ‘his most beloved London’ (‘Londra amatissima’), his stay in Dresden can nonetheless be viewed as a turning point in his career from several perspectives. Financial benefits were matched by artistic advantages, since he earned a fee of 7,000 thalers, possibly the highest in the company, and Senesino had the opportunity to perform as part of a first-class cast and in the musically satisfying and challenging roles of Antonio Lotti’s operas.Footnote 6 Furthermore, the Saxon court was pervaded by French culture and taste, and it was in Dresden that Senesino was said to have had the opportunity to develop his acting skills through close observation of French actors.Footnote 7 The actor Jean Poisson was certainly active there from 1714 until his death in 1721, and in 1717, the year in which Senesino arrived in Dresden, he published an important treatise on acting, Réflexions sur l’art de parler en public, which Senesino could easily have known.Footnote 8
Senesino also came into contact in Dresden with individuals who were to change the course of his life. These include the castrato Gaetano Berenstadt, the Modenese Ambassador in London, Giuseppe Riva and, of course, George Frideric Handel. However, while we know for sure that Handel travelled to Dresden in 1719 in order to assemble a company for the Royal Academy of Music and with specific instructions to hire Senesino, negotiations with the singer had been under way since 1717. Senesino’s demands were considerable, although not entirely unwarranted, and negotiations turned out to be complex and long-winded. Paradoxically, as we will see, Handel’s visit to Dresden seems to have delayed the successful conclusion of these negotiations, and Senesino’s correspondence suggests that the difficult relationship with Handel, which characterised their working association for fifteen years, began even before the singer set foot in London.
Several of the facts I discuss here are known, as is the existence of a small set of letters that document the negotiations between Senesino (and other singers) and the operatic impresario John Jacob Heidegger – via Riva – held in the Autografoteca Campori in the Biblioteca Estense Universitaria in Modena. This set of letters, however, has not been reproduced or considered in its entirety or within the specific context of Senesino’s engagement; indeed, one letter has escaped scholars’ attention altogether and is reproduced and translated here for the first time. As a consequence, the full significance of these exchanges has been overlooked.Footnote 9 Beyond the previously unremarked or additional information that they provide – for example, the newly discovered letter explains the reasons for Senesino’s delayed arrival in London – these letters invite a broader reflection on the extent of the role of leading singers in the business and politics of opera, taking us beyond an awareness of the influence that a singer’s voice and skills may have had on the composition, staging and reception of an opera. These letters can serve to extend our understanding further: to the primo uomo’s role in selection of the cast, which affected other singers’ careers, and to the choice of repertory in a given theatre which, in turn, affected the repertory in other theatres. In this particular context, the practice of castrati Valentino Urbani and Nicola Grimaldi (Nicolini), who had a prominent role in assembling pasticcio operas for the London stage between 1705 and 1717, established a significant precedent;Footnote 10 it was the knowledge of such practice, and especially of Nicolini’s entitlements, that informed Senesino’s negotiations, boosting his expectations of his prospective London appointment. Furthermore, I would argue that the prominent artistic role experienced by castrati in London, where obvious alternative personnel for (what we think of as) the ‘directorial’ role were scarce, empowered singers to exercise similar prerogatives once back in Italy, affecting operatic practice in their home country.
Senesino had been hired to sing in Dresden, together with a number of other musicians, by Prince Friedrich August, son of August II and future King of Poland (as August III), during the prince’s visit to Italy between 1712 and 1717. The prince’s purpose was to assemble a company to perform Italian opera in Dresden and eventually celebrate his wedding with Maria Josepha, Archduchess of Austria and daughter of the Emperor Joseph I (which took place in Vienna, on 20 August 1719). The company included the well-known Venetian composer Antonio Lotti, his wife the soprano Santa Stella, and the poet Antonio Maria Lucchini. Among the singers was another Italian castrato, Matteo Berselli. Gaetano Berenstadt joined the company for a year from September 1717 until August 1718, while the company was further expanded in 1719 with the engagement of (mezzo) soprano Margherita Durastanti, soprano Maddalena Salvai, alto Vittoria Tesi and the famous bass Giuseppe Boschi.Footnote 11 Many of the singers were not only already known to each other, but also accustomed to working together, which makes their appearance as a team first in Dresden, then in London, both striking and potentially artistically significant.
It remains unclear where, how and through whom Prince Friedrich August engaged Senesino who, in 1717, was 31 and already well established in primo uomo roles. According to Moritz Fürstenau, it was Johann David Heinichen who acted as agent and signed the first contract with Senesino, Berselli, Lucchini, Lotti and Stella on 1 September 1717.Footnote 12 This would not be surprising, as Heinichen had not only been recently nominated Kapellmeister, but also been active (including as an opera composer) in Venice between 1710 and 1717. Prince Friedrich Albert communicated the engagement of the company in a letter to his father of 15 February 1716, but Alina Żórawska-Witkowska believes that negotiations began during the prince’s second visit to Venice between May and October 1713 (outside the main opera season).Footnote 13 Information about Senesino’s engagements between 1711 and 1717 is incomplete, especially between 1711 and 1713, but what we know seems to suggest that the prince may have never actually heard Senesino on stage. The prince left Venice for Verona in October 1713 and lamented the fact that he had to depart before the beginning of the opera season in November, a season that was going to showcase Senesino as primo uomo in Lotti’s Irene Augusta (which opened at the San Giovanni Grisostomo on 25 November 1713) alongside his future colleagues in Dresden, Durastanti and Boschi. Senesino was still more in the spotlight the following season (1714–15), when the prince was in Paris and Senesino performed in Venice, again as primo uomo, in Pollarolo’s Marsia deluso and Semiramide, and Lotti’s Polidoro (all with Boschi). Lotti may have been responsible for Senesino’s hiring in Dresden.
The other castrato hired to sing in Dresden was Matteo Berselli. It is unlikely that he too was suggested by Lotti, as Berselli had not sung for him before his arrival in Dresden: although he and Senesino had agreed to sing in Lotti’s Ciro in Reggio during the Fiera of 1716 (May), they failed to meet their engagement with the impresarios of the Teatro Pubblico because of another engagement in Naples (with Durastanti).Footnote 14 Neither Senesino nor Berselli made it to Reggio that year, but they did sing there the following year, in 1717, in Antonio Bononcini’s La conquista del vello d’oro (this time next to Faustina Bordoni). In fact, the two castrati had shared the stage regularly since 1713 (Il trionfo di Camilla, Reggio), often also with Durastanti; they travelled together to Dresden and then to London (together with Salvai), where they shared lodgings at Leicester Street,Footnote 15 and continued their artistic association until 1721, when Berselli left London.Footnote 16 Whether Senesino proposed his artistic partner of five years to Prince Friedrich August via Heinichen in 1717 has to remain a hypothesis. What is certain is that Senesino, Berselli and, to some extent, Durastanti had common engagements for some years prior to 1717, something that may have been related, either as a precondition or a consequence, to the coming together of the Dresden opera company, which in turn, as Handelians know, formed the nucleus of the company of the newly formed Royal Academy of Music in London.
Soon after Senesino’s arrival in Dresden, the Florentine castrato Gaetano Berenstadt joined the court opera company, after singing in London during the 1716–17 season. Shortly after, Berenstadt wrote to the Florentine diplomat and merchant Giovanni Giacomo Zamboni in London mentioning his friendship with Senesino. In this first letter from Dresden the singer reveals that plans for attracting Senesino to London were already under way as early as November 1717, perhaps in an attempt to establish a new season of Italian opera which could showcase a suitable alternative to Nicolini, after Heidegger’s management difficulties in 1716–17:Footnote 17 ‘My comrade is Senesino, and I am doing all I can to make him go to beloved England [Inghilterra adoratissima]. I know that this endeavour will earn me merit in that country, because today there is none better than he.’Footnote 18 This is the earliest known reference to aspirations for the engagement of Senesino in London. In a subsequent letter to Zamboni (3 December 1717), we learn that Senesino had been invited to London: ‘You will do me a favour by trying to recover those cantatas and by greeting Sandoni, whose health I’ve drunk many times with Senesino, who has been invited there. I greatly doubt that we will remain here for another year, so we can come to the never enough beloved London.’Footnote 19 Berenstadt was clearly optimistic about Senesino not remaining in Dresden for another year (and about the possibility that opera could take off again in London) and hoped that the two of them could travel to London together. We know that this did not happen. On the contrary, on 1 July 1718 Berenstadt wrote that as he now had some support in Dresden, he hoped to remain there for another year. He mentioned, though, that he would rather return to London if there were operas in which to perform.Footnote 20 Unfortunately for him, he was neither to remain in Dresden nor, on that occasion, to secure a new contract for London (he negotiated, unsuccessfully with Heidegger, for a change in the benefit concert fees), and left Dresden in August 1718.Footnote 21
After Berenstadt’s initial discussions with Senesino and Zamboni in 1717, Riva, on Heidegger’s behalf, took over negotiations with the singer. Although it is not clear when Riva entered into direct contact with Senesino, his official intermediary role was minuted for a meeting of the Academy directors held much later, on 30 November 1719:
That Mr Heidegger be also desir’d to Speak to Seignr Riva to write to Seignr Senezino to engage him to be here in October next, to Stay till the End of May on the most reasonable terms he can get him, And in his Offer to mention pounds Sterling & not Guineas, & to make his Offer for two years in case he finds him more reasonable, proportionably for two Years, than One, And that Security shall be given him by Any Merchant he desires.Footnote 22
The earliest extant letter between Senesino and Riva, however, is from 15 September 1718.Footnote 23 In this letter Senesino is already very specific about his requests and it is clear that there had been at least one previous exchange between the two. After apologising for the delay with which he replies to Riva, he goes on with his requests:
I will now set out my demands, and they are for a thousand guineas in cash or equivalent value for my fee, divided in three instalments, my benefit night before any other of whatever kind at a good time, and at a fair cost, namely 67 pounds [sterling], since I know that that is the amount for the expenses of the theatre that night; a guarantee for my fee or else [for it to be] based on the subscription [income].Footnote 24
In this letter, Senesino asks for 1,000 guineas divided into three instalments. It is likely that these negotiations refer to a season planned for 1718–19; his request for a fee of 1,000 guineas is, in fact, close to what Nicolini is likely to have received in 1717.Footnote 25 The figure of £67 seems rather low for the benefit concert of a principal singer; however, this is the precise figure charged for group benefits in 1717 (Nicolini, Robinson and Heidegger were not charged at all, while Berenstadt had to pay £130).Footnote 26
These exchanges came to nothing, and in 1720 Senesino’s demands had risen to 1,500 guineas per year. In his widely quoted letter of 8 March 1720 from Dresden, he mentions his willingness to accept the offer of 3,000 guineas (presumably for two years) and sends Riva power of attorney to sign a contract;Footnote 27 he leaves matters such as expenses and accommodation to Riva but does not fail to mention that he has a brother with him, which will cause him to incur more expenses.Footnote 28 He mentions Berenstadt’s departure from Dresden and sends his regards to his ‘caro Sandoni’ and ‘quel caro Filippo Amadei’ (both in London). He demonstrated himself to be well informed, perhaps by Berenstadt himself or the bass Giuseppe Boschi, about living and working in London;Footnote 29 his mentioning of benefit concerts and a precise figure for hiring the theatre was not a negligible detail: the level of expenses for the benefit concerts was a point of contention in the negotiations between Heidegger and Berenstadt.Footnote 30 It may have been a sticking point in Senesino’s negotiations too.
Senesino’s request to choose some of the operas to be produced at the Royal Academy of Music – that is, the right to influence the repertory – was perhaps another point of contention, and one that may have caused some friction with Handel.Footnote 31 Senesino, nonetheless, eventually managed to secure the privilege to select operas for production, probably thanks to some notable precedents. Before him, in 1708, the castrato Valentini (Valentino Urbani, who was in London from 1706 to 1714) had secured a clause in his contract with Sir John Vanbrugh (for the Queen’s Theatre in the Haymarket) that granted him payment of an additional £100 for providing the score of an opera.Footnote 32 This is likely to have been the pasticcio opera Love’s Triumph, produced at the Queen’s Theatre in 1708.Footnote 33 Nicola Grimaldi (known in London as Nicolini), one of the greatest castratos of the time, managed a still better deal in his negotiations with Owen Swiney, who in 1708 took over the management of the Queen’s theatre from Vanbrugh. Nicolini negotiated the ‘liberty of Choosing his parts’, the option to refuse to perform in non-operatic productions (at least from 1710),Footnote 34 and an additional £150 ‘for a fair Score with the words & parts of an Opera to be by him fitted for the English stage every Season, if such Opera’s shall be approved of’.Footnote 35 Nicolini, as he himself declares in his dedication to the libretto, assembled the pasticcio opera Hydaspes/Idaspe fedele (1710) and he may also have assembled Antioco (1711), Ambleto (1712), Hercole (1712) and later, during his second stay in London, Clearte (1717) and Vincislao, re di Polonia.Footnote 36 From Vice Chamberlain Coke’s theatrical papers we gather that Nicolini might have done more than just provide the score, assuming overall responsibility for these productions, including overseeing rehearsals and coaching performers on acting and declamation. It is therefore to him that an orchestral musician, W. Armstrong, writes on 17 November 1710 to communicate that he will not attend the rehearsal of the opera (Hydaspes) that night in protest against the dismissal (probably by Nicolini himself) of fellow musician, ‘Mr Du Parr’ (Charles Dieupart). Another document in the Coke’s papers, an orchestra list and box office report dated 22 November 1710, bears the annotation about one Mr Hill’s complaint against Nicolini’s change of venue for the rehearsals of the same opera.Footnote 37
It is not surprising, therefore, to find that as soon as Senesino set foot in London in September 1720, and perhaps even before then, he (with Durastanti) proposed the adaptation of Orlandini’s Amore e maestà (on a libretto by Antonio Salvi), an opera in which Senesino, Durastanti and Berselli had sung in Orlandini’s first production for Florence in 1715.Footnote 38Amore e maestà was produced as Arsace on 1 February 1721. There may have been further proposals; we do not know. I suspect that Il Ciro, ossia L’odio e l’amore, produced in London with Bononcini’s music in 1721, may have been proposed by Senesino, who had sung in Orlandini’s setting of 1709. It is also unclear whether Handel (as ‘master of the orchestra’) was averse to his involvement in the production of Arsace; Paolo Rolli informs us that ‘L’Alpestre Fauno’ (i.e. Heidegger) put Girolamo Polani, who may have been known to Senesino because of his previous activity at the San Fantin theatre in Venice or through his association with Salvai, in charge of the musical revisions to the opera.Footnote 39 Rolli, who had been asked by the Academy board to revise Salvi’s libretto, reported on Senesino’s challenging of Heidegger’s decisions about Polani and the type of revisions to be carried out, and his confident handling of the situation in front of the Academy Board (who supported him) upon his arrival in London (during September 1720).Footnote 40 The lack of much information about Arsace’s production is frustrating; however, it is clear that Senesino was determined to establish his share of authority within the Royal Academy of Music from the outset.
Eight months after Senesino’s and Riva’s first exchange in 1718, negotiations between the singer and Heidegger were still in progress. The warrant that empowered Handel to hire singers for the Academy (whether in Germany, Italy or elsewhere) and with specific instructions to offer Senesino an open contract, had been issued by the Duke of Newcastle, governor of the newly established Royal Academy of Music, in May 1719. In July of that year, Handel reported to the Earl of Burlington that he expected to conclude soon with Senesino, Berselli and Guicciardi, and yet he was unable to finalise contractual arrangements. Furthermore, once the sumptuous celebrations for the wedding of Friedrich August and Maria Josepha were finally over in September 1719, Senesino, who could have easily freed himself at this point, renewed his contract with Dresden for another year.Footnote 41 It remains unclear why Senesino decided to turn down Handel’s offer and to remain in Dresden, but it is likely that he simply found the terms set out by the Royal Academy unsatisfactory, thus initiating a difficult rapport with Handel.
It was only in February 1720 that Senesino finally announced to Riva his freedom from Dresden due to the disbandment of the company for financial reasons: ‘the cause of this novelty is told in different ways, but most say that it was because of the great expenses’.Footnote 42 German flautist and composer Johann Joachim Quantz reports an incident during the rehearsal of Heinichen’s Crispo, when Senesino and Berselli complained about errors in the setting of a text and tore Heinichen’s score. Taking sides with Heinichen, Quantz interpreted Senesino’s and Berselli’s act of insubordination as part of their plan to accept an offer from the Royal Academy of Music.Footnote 43 If, indeed, this episode acted as a catalyst for the disbandment of the Italian company in Dresden, it certainly served well both Prince Friedrich August’s finances and Senesino’s plans.
Senesino’s freedom to travel to London at any moment might have threatened to alter the Academy Board’s plans to hire the singer from October 1720. From Senesino’s hitherto unknown letter to Riva of 28 March 1720, it seems clear that the singer had been asked or had intended to travel to England in the spring and directly from Dresden, perhaps to arrive in London in time for the opening of the first Royal Academy season. However, we know that Senesino did not arrive until September. The same letter explains that the delay was due to the death of a sister in Siena. As she had full management of his property, Senesino decided to travel to Italy first in order to take care of his business (which included investing his earnings from Dresden in a property in Siena, which later became the Palazzo della Lizza, still standing today and owned by the Bernardi-Avanzati family),Footnote 44 and therefore postponed his journey to London until later in the summer.Footnote 45
Finally, on 1 July 1720, Senesino announced to Riva his imminent departure from Siena at the end of the month with his ‘caro Berscelli’, two servants and his brother.Footnote 46 He asked Riva to make sure his lodgings in London were ready and to provide him with assistance in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, where he would be stopping on his way to London. For his debut, he said, he hoped to be cast in a good role (as good as the ones he has been used to in Italy and elsewhere – i.e., in Dresden) and in a good opera. This letter also reveals that something still needed smoothing over, as it makes reference to an incident involving Senesino, which Riva was trying to resolve. The singer insisted on his innocence and confirmed his willingness to avoid any faux pas in London and do his best to win Handel over (‘farò il possibile per vincere l’animo di M.r Hendel’) – clearly suggesting that Handel was not particularly well disposed towards him. So far, no documentation has come to light to explain what actually happened, but certainly their first encounter in Dresden in 1719, when Handel tried to negotiate with the singer unsuccessfully, does not suggest love at first sight. If Handel was also cognisant of the Crispo incident and Senesino’s subsequent to-ing and fro-ing, then his discontent would not have been surprising. Internal divisions and factions within the management of the newly formed Academy, clearly hinted at by Pallavicini in his exchanges with Riva, may also have had a negative impact on finalising arrangements with the singer.Footnote 47
Negotiations to bring Senesino to London therefore turned out to be a rather lengthy process, which began in 1717 and did not conclude until well into the summer of 1720. The correspondence between Riva and Senesino (as well as that between Riva and Pallavicini) provides us with more than a glimpse of the singer’s skilful handling of these complex negotiations; while expressing his utmost desire to sing in London, and his gratitude for Heidegger’s interest and Riva’s patronage, he does not settle for less than 1,500 guineas per annum. He is well informed about the operatic business in London – he knows what to ask for; he is even aware of the possibility granted to Durastanti and Berselli to break the contract after one year, and he negotiates for the same clause in his two-year contract. In the same letter, he also proposes and negotiates with confidence on behalf of Salvai, whom he warmly recommends on artistic grounds, making reference to the fact that Handel himself had tried to hire her before she moved to Dresden, and challenges Riva’s arguments for a lower fee for Salvai, on a par with that of Anastasia Robinson.
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Aside from Senesino’s evident foreknowledge of London operatic practice (and his exploitation of that knowledge), what is most interesting about these protracted negotiations is the singer’s attempt to secure a role of artistic influence in London – a role he certainly managed to consolidate years later in 1733, when he headed – unofficially – the founding of the ‘Opera of the Nobility’. That ‘Senesino’s Hause’ (as the company also known as the Opera of the Nobility was referred to in Colman’s opera register) was indeed the result of Senesino’s intrigues emerges from several sources, and although these do not specify what responsibilities Senesino actually had in the company, it is clear that he had a role of considerable influence.Footnote 48 Evidence of such a prominent role for singers in operatic production at this time in Italy is hard to come by. Most of the surviving documentation suggests that most singers’ careers were largely in the hands of variably influential and ambitious patrons (and impresarios), and that most singers, especially younger and less prominent ones, far from enjoying a position of authority, often had to seek legal redress in order to safeguard basic contractual agreements.Footnote 49 There are, though, examples of what we would think of as ‘directorial’ practice among a few leading singers, such as Marianna Benti Bulgarelli (La Romanina)’s productions of Metastasio’s drammi,Footnote 50 as well as evidence of singers’ involvement in the management of specific theatres, such as Felicita Uga’s co-management of the San Cassiano theatre in Venice in 1639 (together with Francesco Cavalli, poet Orazio Persiani and dancing-master Giovanni Battista Balbi) or, much closer to our chronological framework, of Faustina Bordoni’s financial backing of the production of Geminiano Giacomelli’s Gianguir in the same theatre in 1728–29, in which she sang alongside Senesino.Footnote 51 If Faustina was willing to risk her own money in this production, she may have expected to exercise a degree of artistic influence over it. Another isolated example is related by Count Francesco Maria Zambeccari, theatre agent for the viceroy in Naples, who reported that in 1729 the well-known castrato Antonio Bernacchi (who sang in London in the 1716–17 season, alongside Nicolini, and was to sing there again in 1729–30), when invited by the viceroy to sing for another season in Naples, put forward a number of conditions, including the hiring of Antonia Merighi and the dismissal of Giovanni Carestini, to which the viceroy was willing to acquiesce. Bernacchi’s demands, however, caused such a stir among the supporters of Carestini that he and Merighi felt forced to reject the viceroy’s invitation and left Naples for Milan.Footnote 52 Handel’s hiring of Bernacchi in London the same year also excluded the hiring of Carestini while including Merighi, who followed Bernacchi to London.
But it is the career of Nicolini himself that provides the most prominent instances of singer influence on broader conditions of a season or production. Again through the correspondence of Count Zambeccari, we learn that in 1715 Nicolini proposed the libretto of Domenico Lalli’s Tigrane for staging in Naples (with Nicolini starring in the title role alongside Bulgarelli – his partner in many operas). Tigrane was set to music by Alessandro Scarlatti and performed at the San Bartolomeo theatre during the carnival of that year. Zambeccari considered the libretto to be of poor quality and in his letter goes as far as accusing Nicolini of having proposed Tigrane simply to favour the librettist who, on this occasion, earned 60 ducats.Footnote 53 Nicolini’s friendship with the Neapolitan Sebastiano Biancardi alias Domenico Lalli had significant implications,Footnote 54 given Lalli’s central role in introducing Neapolitan opera to Venice during the 1720s through the promotion of his countrymen (Metastasio, Porpora, Leo and Farinelli, among others).Footnote 55 The Nicolini–Bulgarelli partnership, like that of Bernacchi and Merighi, noted earlier, suggests similarities with the Senesino–Durastanti–Berselli association; they all reveal a pattern of joint appearances, almost an organisational model headed, seemingly, by a prominent castrato.Footnote 56 Recently, Anne Desler’s research has unearthed evidence for Nicolini’s leading role in the production of at least four operas, Il Cambise (Naples, 1719), again on a libretto by his friend Lalli, Tito Sempronio Gracco and Turno Aricino (Rome, 1720), and Rosiclea in Dania (Naples, 1721). Desler quotes from the Gazzetta di Napoli, which provides evidence of Nicolini’s directorship, and argues for Nicolini’s influence in a large number of operatic transfers, especially through the already well-established Venice–Naples axis during the first thirty years of the century.Footnote 57 It is quite clear that Nicolini played a more active role in shaping operatic repertory and practice in Italy in the first decades of the century than has hitherto been understood; however, as the earliest trace of Nicolini’s influence over a specific production dates back to 1715 (Tigrane), it appears that he wielded influence in Italy after his first experience with pasticcio opera production in London (between 1708 and 1712).
A much later, but fully documented example of a singer’s artistic influence concerns another celebrated castrato, the international star Luigi Marchesi, and his involvement in the staging of Cimarosa’s L’Olimpiade for the opening of the new Civic theatre in Vicenza in 1784. The extensive correspondence between the proprietors and co-directors of the theatre and the impresario Antonio Zardon unveils a production revolving entirely around the primo uomo, Marchesi, who was responsible for the selection of Metastasio’s libretto and its reduction to two acts (something Marchesi had done before), and the choice of both the composer, Cimarosa, and some of the secondary singers in the cast.Footnote 58 Mario Armellini underlines that Marchesi’s substantial involvement in this production was not unique, but an example of a practice that by the 1780s had become common in Italian operatic centres such as Venice, Turin, Vicenza, Mantova, Lucca and Naples. The directors of the Teatro Regio in Turin, for example, had taken suggestions from leading singers about the choice of composers on several occasions. According to Margaret Butler, the leading castrato, Gaetano Guadagni, may have suggested Johann Christian Bach for the setting of Artaserse in 1760. Furthermore, given Guadagni’s long association with the character of Arbace in this opera, discussed by Butler in this issue, it is likely that the singer may have proposed Metastasio’s libretto in the first place.Footnote 59
Senesino’s remarkably arrogant temperament, often highlighted by scholars,Footnote 60 may have been linked to the devastating psychological effects of castration,Footnote 61 and could have played a part in the singer’s craving for affirmation. However, his strong self-awareness and desire for the right to self-determination that emerges from this episode in his career takes us further. His culture and refinement, the ability to argue his case and to challenge agents, impresarios, composers and patrons, points to that ongoing change in singers’ professional condition and status, and their emancipation from a suffocating patronage system, that took place during the eighteenth century. More important, it highlights a significant shift of artistic power in favour of the singer and especially of the castrato, exemplified particularly well by the cases of Nicolini and Marchesi, which demands further investigation – not least for the ways it might challenge our own assumptions about the standard musical narratives: is there, after all, so much of a difference between a strong-minded and ‘independent’ composer such as Handel, determining his own fate rather than relying on patrons, and an ‘arrogant’ singer such as Senesino?
(colour online) Francesco Bernardi to Giuseppe Riva on 28 March 1720 (I-MOe, Autografoteca Campori), transcribed in letter no 4. Reproduced with permission of the Biblioteca Estense Universitaria and of the Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo, Modena.
Appendix
Below are transcriptions of five letters from Senesino to Giuseppe Riva, I-MOe Autografoteca Campori.Footnote 62
1. From Bernardi (in Dresden) to Riva (in London), 15 (4) September 1718
Dresda 15 7bre 1718
Monsieur
Senz[’] altre proteste V[ostra] S[ignoria] potrà immaginarsi da dove sia causata la dilazione di questa mia risposta, tanto più che intesa dal nostro n[ost]ro amicone Berenstadt, cui sà molto bene qual pena avevo di questa impontualità non solita in me, ma gl’affari di questo mondo presentem[en]te vanno così, e spero di non volerne altro assolutam[en]te, a tal segno che eccoli l’inclusa per M[onsieu]r Haidegger, appigliandomi al suo ponderat[iss]imo consiglio assai vantaggioso in occasione della clemenza à mostrata S[ua] M[aestà],Footnote 63 e tutta cotesta Nazione; che mi fanno sperare un buon successo per intraprendere a suo tempo questo viaggio, e godere della di lei Padronanza, et Amicizia. Passarò adunque alle mie pretenzioni, e sono di mille Ghinee effettive o sua valuta per mio Onorario diviso in tre rate, il mio giorno di benefizio prima di qualsivogl[ia] altro di qualunque genere in tempo buono, et a prezzo giusto, cioè di 67 Lire, sapendo che tanto Importa la spesa del Teatro in d[ett]a sera; cauzione per la paga, o pure sopra la sottoscrizione, e la scielta di qualche Opera; Vi sarebbero poi e le spese, e l’Alloggio ma queste le rimetto in lei, sapendo che costà per trattarsi con tutto il decoro et a paragone d’altri che vi sono stati ci vuole assai[,] particolarm[en]te a me, che tengo app[ress]o un Fr[at]ello, e[...] onde una di queste sarebbe un gran sovvallo, o in vece qualche accrescim[en]to nella paga; Io però sono in tutto e per tutto rimesso in V[ostra] S[ignoria], conoscendo quanto sia interessato a mio favore, e crederò per il di lei mezzo facilitato il tutto con quelle cautele, che potranno farmi vivere quieto, e contento. attendo dunque con tutta premura pronta risposta per mia regola, che in avvenire potrò con più sollecitudine adempire pontualm[en]te con le risposte, non avendo nissuna misura per ostacolo. Il n[ost]ro caro Berenstadt e partito, e mi hà portato via il cuore, quntunque m’abbia dato speranza di rivederlo in caso si concluda l’affare d’Inghilterra, ma non lo credo per la lontan[an]za de viaggi. Se mai vedesse il mio caro Sandoni mille saluti, et a quel caro Filippo Amadei, et in fine pregandolo continuarmi la sua stim[atissi]ma grazia mi professo con il più d’animo mio.
De Vous Mons[ieu]r
[…]
Francesco Bernardi
Dresden 15 September 1718
Monsieur,
Without further protestations your honour will understand the reason for the delay to this reply of mine, especially as you heard it from our great friend Berenstadt; he knows very well what pain I suffered because of this delay, which is so unusual with me, but the affairs of this world are like that at the moment, and I hope absolutely not to have any more of them; so I enclose herewith a letter for Monsieur Haidegger, trusting in his most well-judged advice, which was especially helpful in the matter of the kindness which was shown by His Majesty, and the whole of that nation, for they lead me to hope for a successful outcome so that I may undertake this journey at the right time, and enjoy your patronage and friendship.
I will now set out my demands, and they are for a thousand guineas in cash or equivalent value for my fee, divided in three instalments, my benefit night before any other of whatever kind at a good time, and at a fair cost, namely 67 pounds [sterling], since I know that that is the amount for the expenses of the theatre that night; a guarantee for my fee or else [for it to be] based on the subscription [income];Footnote 64 and the choice of some operas. Then there would be my expenses and lodging, but I leave that to you, knowing that over there in order to live adequately, according to those who have been there before me, one needs a lot [of money], especially me as I have a brother along, and therefore any one of these things would be of great help to me, or alternatively an increase in my fee. However, I am totally and in every way in your honour’s hands, knowing how much you are concerned for my welfare, and I can believe that everything will have been made possible through your efforts, with those guarantees, which will allow me to live quietly and contentedly. So I wait anxiously for your reply that will inform me what I have to do, which I will then undertake promptly and with great exactness in my replies, having no reason for delay. Our dear Berenstadt has left, and has taken my heart away with him, although he has given me the hope that I can see him again, if the England business is settled, but I doubt it because of the length of the journeys. If ever you should see my dear Sandoni, give him my best wishes, and also to my dear Filippo Amadei; and finally beseeching you to continue to accord me your most esteemed favours, I declare myself with all my heart,
Yours, Sir
[...]
Francesco Bernardi
2. From Bernardi (in Dresden) to Riva (in London), 16 (5) February 1720
Monsieur
Eccoli la notizia della mia intiera libertà da questa Corte; dalla quale Venerdi scorso fù licenziata tutta la musica italiana, eccetto che il S[igno]r Pallavicini, et il Veracini, che Dio volesse lo fusse stato 6. mesi fà, molto meglio per me, che a questora godrei il vantaggio di essere in Inghilterra; la causa di questa novità la dicono in più maniere, ma li più dicono che è stata a riguardo delle gran spese, segno evidente che quà non vorranno più musica, almeno per adesso, che frà li congedati v’anno incluso quelli che erano all’attuale servizio. Spero che le sarà pervenuta nelle mani l’altra mia dalla quale attendo l’esito con impazienza che doverebbe essere a momenti secondo il mio calcolo, poi partirò per l’Italia al più lungo nella fine del mese avvenire, dove se lei mi favorirà di scrivere, bisognarà che mi Indirizzi le lettere a Modena a qualche suo amico, e che queste sieno consegnate a un certo Sig[no]r Fran[ces]co Peli, a cui darò la commissione che me le trasmetta ov’io dimorarò, e che con l’Istesso indirizzo possa io farle giungere costà le risposte. Io sperarei che la risposta di questa mi dovesse giungere in tempo quà, quando lei mi volesse favorire sud[ett]o di che la prego[.] frà dieci o dodici giorni partirà per cotesta volta la Sig[no]ra Durastante con suo Marito, quali m’anno comandato d’accompagnarli di raccomandazione a lei diretta, desiderosi di godere il suo Patrocinio in cotesta parte, di che la prego esercitare a favore de[‘] medesimi, che quantunque invidioso di si grand’acquisto, sarò tutta via contento di sentirli approfittati con il suo validissimo mezzo, con professarne a lei infinite l’obbligazioni, con le quali mi protesto eternamente
De Vous Monsieur Dresda 16. Feb[brai]o 1720.
[...]
Francesco Bernardi
Monsieur
Here is the news of my final release from this Court, from which last Friday all the Italian musicians were dismissed, except for Signor Pallavicini and Veracini, and if only, God willing, it had happened six months ago it would have been much better for me, because by now I would have the advantage of being in England. The reason for this change people explain in various ways, but most say that it was because of the great expense, an obvious sign that they do not want music here any more, at least for now, since among those dismissed were [all] who were then employed. I hope that you have received my other [letter], whose outcome I await impatiently, which must be soon according to my calculations; then I will leave for Italy by the end of next month at the latest, where if you will do me the honour of writing to me, you will need to address the letters to me in Modena to some friends of yours, and they should be delivered to a certain Signor Francesco Peli, to whom I will entrust the task of forwarding them to me where I will be living, so that with the same address I can send the replies to you there. I would hope that the reply to this [letter] might reach me here in time, if you would favour me with it, for which I beg you. Within ten or twelve days Signora Durastante will leave [for England] with her husband; they have asked me to send with them a recommendation direct to you, eager as they are to enjoy your patronage over there, which I beg you to exercise in their favour, for although envious of such a great gain, I will nevertheless be content to know that they will have profited from your most powerful assistance, with assurances to you of my infinite obligation, with which I declare myself eternally,
Yours, Sir Dresden, 16 February 1720
[...]
Francesco Bernardi
3. From Bernardi (in Dresden) to Riva (in London), 8 March (26 February) 1720
Monsieur
Io mi trovo debitore di risposta a due stim[atissi]me Lettere del p[rim]o e de[l] 22. del passato, e sempre più carico d’obbligazioni verso le finezze del mio riverito S[igno]r Riva. Verrò senz’altro preambulo ai particolari dell’ultima Lettera, et ho l’onore di dirle, che atteso la generosa offerta delle 3000. Ghinee effettive, fattami da cotesta Reale Accademia non farò difficultà d’assumere l’impegno, e di trovarmi a tempo debito in Inghilterra. A questo fine l’includo qui una specie di Procura, la quale stimo concepita in termini assai amplij e bastevoli, perch’Ella possa favorirmi di stipolare il contratto, e di prendere quelle sicurezze di cui mi parla rimettendo a lei di prenderle in quel luogo ove stimerà più proprio. ben è vero ch’avendo io osservato che l’Accademia dopo la prima Stagione si riserva la facoltà di rompere il contratto sud[ett]o, credo di non potere fare a meno d’esigere dal canto mio una facoltà consimile, et Ella averà tanto meno difficultà ad ottenerla, quanto che la stessa cosa è stata accordata alla S[igno]ra Durastante, anzi privativamente, e senza ch’alla Accademia rimanga di ciò arbitrio veruno. La prego dunque quanto più posso di sopire quest’unico scrupolo che mi resta, parendomi la dimanda mia così ragionevole da non dovere ammettere negativa, tanto più con l’antecedente esempio. Potrei far menzione del regalo per il viaggio di cui m’intenzionò la penultima sua Lettera, et oltre l’esser si giusto, sarebbe un gran sovallo per me in caso dovesse movermi d’Italia per costà, che ciò puole accadermi, onde ella veda d’approfittarmi ancora in ciò, rimettendolo pure totalm[en]te in lei, che saprà se sia fuor di convenienza il chiederlo. Non posso abbastanza esprimere quant[’]io sia obbligato a M[onsieu]r Haidegger, il quale à avuto tanta parte in questa faccienda e spero di continuare a goderne i favori Nel mio soggiorno in Londra per dove si potranno regolare le mie mosse anche dalle risposte ch’attendo alla mia antecedente lettera. A lei poi rendo mille grazie a nome pure della S[igno]ra Salvaij, ch’abbia fatto mottoFootnote 65 di sua Persona alla Reale Accademia. le pretenzioni di Essa sarebbero di 800. Ghinee per la prima Stagione, per le due stagioni poi di 1500. Ghinee. vero è che danno, come mi scrive a Madem[oise]lle Robyson 500. Sterline. Ella farà riflessione che questa Sig[no]ra è a Casa sua, e finalm[en]te si rimetterebbe la Sig[no]ra Salvaij a ciò ch’ella si degnasse fare in suo favore con arbitrio di non mancare il contratto a la diferenza di 50. o 100. Ghinee per la prima Stagione; Sperando che contenti della sua Persona gli facessero nella seconda qualche vantaggio di più. Io le replico che la Virtuosa ha una bellissima voce buona figura e talento sufficiente per avere incontro, di che più esatta contezza potrassi avere costì in voce da M[onsieu]r Hendell, e dalla S.ra Durastante e suo Marito, che l’uno oltre averla sentita contrattava seco per portarla costà, in tempo che non era in alcun impegno con questa Corte. le risoluzioni del Sig[no]r Berscelli le sentirà dal S[igno]r Pallavicini, al quale la supplico d’indrizzare tanto le risposte della presente, quanto quelle che concerneranno Madame Salvaij, perchè egli possa in caso ch’io sia partito di qui far tener l’une con sicurezza, e comunicare l’altra alla S[igno]ra Sud[ett]a, che sopra di esse prenderà le sue risoluzioni. Rimando una Lettera che suppongo inclusa per isbaglio nella sua del p[rim]o Febraio, e che Ella diceva diretta al S[igno]r Pallavicini. e[...] rinnovandoli le proteste de miei infiniti doveri bramo di potere accelerare il mio viaggio per esser tanto più presto ad abbracciarla e far delle giubilazioni a iosa con i miei P[ad]roni et amici frai quali distinguerò eternam[en]te lei con l’obbigazioni che le devo professandomi per sempre
De Vous Mons[ieu]r Dresda 8. Marzo 1720.
[...]
Francesco Bernardi
Monsieur
I find myself owing you a reply to your two most estimable letters of the first and 22nd of the last [month], and ever more grateful for the kindness of my revered Signor Riva. I will come without further ado to the details of the last letter, and I have the honour to tell you that in view of the generous offer of 3000 guineas in cash made to me by the said Royal Academy, I will have no difficulty in accepting the engagement, and arriving in England at the time required.Footnote 66 For this purpose I include herewith a kind of power of attorney, which I consider to be couched in sufficiently comprehensive terms, so that you may do me the kindness of drawing up the contract and undertaking those guarantees about which you wrote to me, while I leave it to you to deal with them in whatever place you consider most suitable. It is clear to me that since the Academy reserves the right to break the above contract after the first season, I believe I cannot do less than insist on a similar right for myself, and you will have much less difficulty in obtaining it, since the same condition has been granted to Signora Durastante, although privately, without the Academy having the right to decide on it. So I ask you as strongly as I can to assuage this one remaining reservation of mine, since it seems to me that my request is so reasonable as not to admit of a negative response, especially in view of the instance I have just quoted. I would like to bring up the question of the grant for the travel expenses which you mentioned in your penultimate letter, and as well as being fair, it would be of great help for me – should it be necessary for me to travel there from Italy, which may happen to me – if you could find it possible to assist me in this matter, although I leave it totally to you, who will know whether it is improper to ask for it. I cannot adequately express how obliged I am to Monsieur Heidegger, who has played so important a part in this business, and whose favour I hope to continue enjoying during my stay in London, for which my travel can be organised also depending on the replies I am awaiting to my previous letter. I, as well as Signora Salvai, give you a thousand thanks, for having mentioned her name to the Royal Academy.Footnote 67 Her expectations would be 800 guineas for the first season, and 1500 guineas for the next two. It is true that, as you have written, they give £500 to Mademoiselle Robinson. You will reflect that this lady is at home, and finally Signora Salvai would accept whatever you decide to offer her, she being unwilling to abandon the contract over a difference of 50 or 100 guineas for the first season; in the hope that if they are pleased with her person they might make some larger offer for the second one. I must repeat to you that the lady has a very fine voice, a good figure and enough talent to be well received, about which more precise information can be had there from Monsieur Handel personally, and from Signora Durastante and her husband, for he [Handel] having heard her sing contracted with her to take her there at a time when she had no commitment to the court here. The decisions of Signor Berscelli you will hear from Signor Pallavicini, to whom I ask you to address your replies to this letter, as well as those which concern Madame Salvai, so that if I have left here he can keep the ones [mine] safely,Footnote 68 and communicate about the other one to the above-mentioned lady, who will make her decisions about them. I am returning a letter which I assume was included by mistake in yours of the first of February, and which you said was intended for Signor Pallavicini. And while renewing to you the assurance of my total respect, I am eager to hasten my journey so that I may all the sooner embrace you and have plentiful celebrations with my patrons and friends, among whom I regard yourself especially, with the obligations which I owe you, professing myself as ever,
Yours Dresden, 8 March 1720
[...]
Francesco Bernardi
4. From Bernardi (in Dresden) to Riva (in London), 28 (17) March 1720
Monsieur
Rispondo al compitis[si]mo suo [foglio] dei 26. Feb[brai]o, cui è concernente all’altro antecedente, al quale già risposi, e spero esserli giunto assieme con la Procura, e l’altro del S[igno]r Pallavicini, e Sig[no]r Berscelli, supponendo che il fatto sia accomodato nella conformità ch’io m’esprimevo. Sopra a Madame Salvaj lei averà sentito le Sue pretenzioni dall’istesso Foglio e n’attendono anziosam[en]te le risposte sue dirette al S[igno]r Pallavicini, come nel d[ett]o Foglio convenissimo, ne in ciò io m’allungo di vantaggio se non che gl[i]e la raccomando, perche mi sono a cuore i vantaggi della mede[si]ma. Il mio Viaggio che pensavo fare preventivam[en]te adesso per Londra, e differito che quasi stavo alla mossa per intraprenderlo, in un sud[ett]o e differito fino al tempo prescrittomi, essendomi sopragiunta una nuova assai funesta per me, et altretanto dolorosa, d’una perdita d’una mia sorella, quale avea tutto l’indrizzo della mia Casa in Siena, questo causa che sia necessitato ad andare a fare una corsa alla Patria, et accomodare i miei interessi alla meglio che sarà possibile per poi vivere con più quiete se Iddio vorrà, sperando che nei primi d’Agosto avvenire potermi mettere alla Vela per Londra, per essere in quel tempo destinatomi. Ella però non lasci di raccomandarmi in Olanda Al Suo Corrispondente per il tempo ch’io passarò di là per essere il viaggio più speditivo, et acciò possa essere assistito da qualched’uno di cuore non avendo alcuna pratica per quei Paesi. Quantunque io Sia a Siena potrò ricevere e la risposta della presente et altre sue lettere, et a lei non mancarà indirizzo in Modena perche, venghino consegnate ad un certo S[igno]r Francesco Peli, che può essere a lei noto, al quale dirò io che me l’invij a Siena, e per l’istesso canale lei potrà ricevere le mie costà, e quando lei abbia altre mire in Modena non hà che suggerirmele, perch’io sappia come debba contenermi per farli giungere le mie Lettere costà. La Sua risposta che deve essere indirizzata al Sig[no]r Pallavicini, non mi giungerà quà in tempo Essendo obligato dover partire il giorno sud[ett]o dopo le Feste, ma il Sig[no]r Pallavicini me la farà avere in Italia; et in caso sia conchiuso il trattato, il che non dubito, lei mi farà somma grazia di compire il tutto con la sua assistenza, cioè di trovarmi costà un buon Quartiere vicino al Teatro e di spesa onesta, in somma in tutto io mi riporto a lei, e non vedo l’hora di venire in persona ad abbracciarlo e [giu]bilare un poco con i miei Pr[otettori] et [am]iciFootnote 69 nella tanto desiderata Londra et infine lei mi scriva sempre che io sub[it]o ch’arrivo in Italia non mancarò di dargliene avviso con mandare la mia lettera in Modena, et divotam[en]te la riverisco e mi conf[ess]o
De Vous Monsieur
Dresda 28 Mar[z]o 1720
[...]
Francesco Bernardi
Monsieur
I reply to your most kind [letter] of the 26th of February, concerning the other previous letter to which I have already replied, which I hope has reached you together with the power of attorney and the other [letters] from Signor Pallavicini and Signor Berscelli, presuming that the matter has been settled according to what I expressed. Concerning Madame Salvai, you will have heard her demands from the same letter; [they all] wait anxiously for your replies to Signor Pallavicini, as we agreed in that letter; I won’t write at length on her behalf other than to say that I recommend her, because I have her best interests at heart. My journey to London, which I initially thought to undertake now, and which I was about to begin, has suddenly been postponed until the prescribed time,Footnote 70 due to some very lamentable and furthermore painful news which has reached me concerning the loss of a sister of mine, who had full management of my house in Siena. This has made it necessary [for me] to make a visit home in order to take care of my interests as well as possible, in order to give me peace of mind, God willing, and to allow me hopefully to sail to London at the beginning of this coming August, so that I may arrive at the appointed time. Please don’t forget to recommend me to your correspondent in Holland for the time that I arrive there so that my journey can run more expeditiously, and that I can be kindly assisted by someone there as I don’t have any experience of those lands. Although in Siena, I will receive your replies to my current [letter], as well as other letters of yours; you will certainly have an address in Modena, so that [from there] they can be delivered to a certain Francesco Peli, whom might be known to you, to whom I will ask to forward them to me in Siena. Through the same channel you will be able to receive my letters. If you had other plans in Modena, you can simply tell me so that I can arrange for my letters to be sent there. Your answer that needs to be addressed to Signor Pallavicini will not reach me here on time, as I am forced to leave on the said day after the holidays, but Signor Pallavicini will let me have it [Riva’s answer] in Italy; if the contract is settled, about which I have no doubt, you will graciously deal with all the necessary arrangements, that is to find me good quarters near the theatre and at an honest price. I entrust all to you, and cannot wait to come in person to embrace you and rejoice with my patrons and friends in much desired London. Finally, do continue to write to me, as I will inform you via a letter to Modena as soon as I arrive in Italy. I revere you devoutly and confess myself
Yours, Sir
Dresden 28 March 1720
[...]
Francesco Bernardi
5. From Bernardi (in Dresden) to Riva (in London), 1 July (20 June) 1720
Siena il p[rim]o Lug[li]o 1720.
MonsieurFootnote 71
Mi viene consegnato il pregiatis[si]mo [foglio] di V[ostra] S[ignoria] dei 3. caduto dal S[igno]r Seg[retari]o della Serenis[si]ma Governatrice fr[at]ello pure di codesto Sig[no]r Seg[retari]o Pucci, al quale consegno il presente, et in risposta le dico esser da me venerati i suoi ponderati consigli, che oltre l’appigliarmici con l’esecuzione costà, io g[lie]ne ne resto all’estremo obbligato, e scorgo da ciò quanto a mio favore ella s’interessa, e mi riguarda, assicurandola che non vedo l’ora di venir costà per godere gl’effetti del suo Patrocinio e dipendere in tutto e per tutto dal medesimo, che sò mi sarà d’un spalleggio per dissipare quelle calunnie che mi danno da temere assai quantunque le mie procedure sieno state finadora molto differenti, e se per caso qualche cosa mi possa essere accaduto, non sarà se non che con tutte le ragioni che m’assistevano, ma non per altro provenienti ne da superiorità ne da Capriccio ne dà malignità alcuna. tutte codeste impressioni ingiustam[en]te fattemi doverebbero essermi vantaggiose nella diversità Del mio procedere quando non fossero inoltrate negl’animi di quegli a segno di non potersi mai estinguere particolarmente a quelli che ne sono l’impostori. Iddio difenda la mia innocenza ch’io dal mio canto operarò secondo soglio nel passato, e molto più costà per appigliarmi ai suoi amorosi consigli che sò non esser altro che per mio maggior bene. Il mio maggior dispiacere è il sentire che lei non si trovarà alla mia venuta costà, ma altresi la ringrazio che ella m’abbia appoggiato ad amici tali che non mancarò considerarli in quel grado che ella me li descrive per non sbagliare in alcuna cosa che io, per non esser pratico, potesse incorrerci involontariam[en]te. Non lasciarò sub[it]o di fare quelle visite che da lei mi vengano insinuate, et altresì farò il possibile per vincere l’animo di M[onsieu]r Hendel, quantunque il gran piacere possa avere nel sentire la venuta del S[igno]r Gio[vanni] Bononcino da me tanto stimato virtuosis[si]mo [et] a Seconda di tutta la Nazione farne a Gara con chi si sia nell[‘] ammirarlo come hò fatto altre volte. Vorrei al mio arrivo che fusse pronto il mio quartiere et in caso ella potrebbe lasciarne il peso a M[onsieu]r Haidegger a cui io professo infinite obbligazioni, e che mi riverirà caram[en]te. Io al presente non godo intieram[ente] la salute ma spero presto rimettermi ed essere in pronto alla partenza per costà verso la fine di Lug[li]o, ò anche prima per prender pausa nel viaggio acciò il furore dei Caldi non mi pregiudicasse, et in mia Compagnia sarà il mio caro Berscelli un fr[at]ello e due ser[vitor]i e di conserva ce ne verremo a godere la tanto desiderata Londra. Ella potrebbe favorirmi di qualche lettera a Roterdam per mezzo del S[igno]r Fano o altri suoi amici, per che colà avesse assistenza nell’imbarco e in altro bisogno potesse accadermi. Io sperarei nel primo sfronto in codesto Teatro una buona scielta d’opera et una buona parte, a misura di quelle che soglio avere in Italia e altrove, e questo lo spero dalla bontà di tutta l’Accad[emi]a Reale[.] Godo sentire stabilito il S[igno]r Boschi si che la Compagnia sarà di tutta riputazione per la buona scielta che fà di suggetti codesta Accad[emi]a Reale. Io spero la risposta di questa in Amsterdam per Roterdam con l’indirizzo di qualche buono Amico suo colà, e con presto riverirla in persona Resto sempre più obbligato di quanto m’espone nella sua per mio bene assicurandola che oltre l’esecuzione professarò tutta la dipendenza in lei con la quale mi pregio vivere eternam[en]te e Sono
De Vous Monsieur
Votre tres humble et tres oblige/Serviteur
François Bernardi
Monsieur,
The most valuable [letter] from your honour of the 3rd of the last month was delivered to me by the secretary of the most serene governess [of Siena, Violante Beatrice of Bavaria] and brother of the secretary Pucci, to whom I entrust the present [letter]. In answer to you I say that your judicious advice is most appreciated, as I will not only follow it over there [in London], but will also remain most obliged to you for this, as I see from this how much you care for my wellbeing and how much regard you have for me. I assure you that I am looking forward to arriving over there to enjoy the effects of your patronage and to depend in every way upon it, for I know that you will help me to dissipate those slanders which cause me considerable distress, although my behaviour until now has been very different, and if anything has happened to me, it has been with all good reason and not in any way deriving from a sense of superiority, nor from willfulness or any maliciousness. All these unjust impressions would play to my advantage because my behaviour is actually very different, if it were not for the fact that they [the slanders] are so ingrained in people’s hearts, especially of those who initiated them, that they cannot be extinguished. God may defend my innocence, while for my part I will continue to act as I always have in the past, especially over there, in order to follow your loving advice, which I know is nothing other than for my own good. My greatest sorrow is to hear that you will not be there [in London] for my arrival, but nevertheless I thank you for having entrusted me to friends, whom I will not fail to consider in such esteem as you describe them, in order not to err in anything which, for lack of local knowledge, I could incur involuntarily. I will not fail to pay those calls that you suggest and also I shall do all I can to win over Monsieur Handel, although I may have great pleasure in hearing of the arrival of Signor Giovanni Bononcini, a great artist whom I much admire, as does the whole nation, and I would challenge anyone to admire him more than I do and have done in the past. I would hope that my quarters are ready for my arrival and perhaps you could leave this responsibility to Monsieur Haidegger, to whom I profess infinite obligation and to whom I ask you to send my kind regards. At present I am not particularly well, but I hope to recover soon, and to be ready to depart [for England] towards the end of July or possibly earlier, in order to have a break in the journey so that the great heat does not affect me, and my dear Berselli, a brother and two servants will accompany me; together we will come to enjoy much desired London. Please send me some letters [of introduction] to Rotterdam via Signor Fano or any other of your friends, so that I can have assistance in taking the boat and for anything else I might need. I would hope that for my first appearance in the theatre there I would have a good choice of opera and a good part, on the same level as those I am used to having in Italy and elsewhere, and I hope for this through the goodness of the Royal Academy. I am delighted that Signor Boschi has been engaged, so that the company will have a fine reputation for the Royal Academy’s choice of subjects. I hope for a reply to this [letter] in Amsterdam via Rotterdam, with the addresses of some good friends of yours there, and to be able very soon to pay my respects to you in person. I remain ever more obliged to you for what you have promised in your [letter] on my behalf, assuring you that as well as what you are doing for me, I will acknowledge the total reliance on you with which I am privileged to live, and I am,
Yours, Sir
Your most humble and very obliged Servant
François Bernardi
