Gaetano Guadagni c1780

Gaetano Guadagni (born Lodi or Vincenza 11 October 1729, died Padua 11 December 1792) was an Italian alto (though later soprano) castrato singer, most famous for singing the role of Orpheus at the premiere of Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice in 1762. In London, he also worked with George Frideric Handel, who was so impressed with Guadagni's voice that he completely rewrote a piece from his Messiah, "But Who May Abide," and suited it especially to his voice. Originally simply a recitative, Handel added more notes to the piece, transposed it from the voice part of bass to that of alto, and added the virtuosic "For he is like a refiner's fire" section to better show off Guadagni's vocal abilities. Handel also reworked the role that Susanna Cibber had sung in Samson for Guadagni, who furthermore created the role of Didymus in Handel's Theodora at this time. At this time his voice was described by music historian Charles Burney as a "full and well-toned countertenor, and his manner of singing was detailed thus: "attitudes, action and impassioned and exquisite manner of singing the simple and ballad-like air: Che farò, acquired his very great and just applause". His acting ability - which also won praise from Burney - was refined by the well-known actor, author and theatre producer David Garrick. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (512x747, 183 KB) fair use, image dates from c1780 The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (512x747, 183 KB) fair use, image dates from c1780 The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author... For other places called Lodi, see Lodi. ... Location within Italy Tronco Maestro Riviera: a pedestrian walk along a section of the inland waterway or naviglio interno of Padua The city of Padua (Lat. ... This article is about the voice-type. ... Look up soprano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A castrato is a male soprano, mezzo-soprano, or alto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity. ... Christoph Willibald Gluck (July 2, 1714 – November 15, 1787) was a German composer. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. ... Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck. ... George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-born British Baroque composer who was a leading composer of concerti grossi, operas and oratorios. ... Messiah (1741) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. ... Samson is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. ... Theodora is the title of a dramatic oratorio by George Frideric Handel. ... Charles Burney by Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1781 Charles Burney (April 12, 1726 – April 12, 1814) was an English music historian and father of author Fanny Burney. ... A countertenor is an adult male who sings in an alto or soprano range, often through use of falsetto. ... Portrait of David Garrick David Garrick (February 19, 1717 – January 20, 1779) was an English actor, dramatist, theatrical producer and theatrical manager, and a friend and pupil of Samuel Johnson. ...

After various engagements in diverse European cities, on the 5th of October in 1762 Guadagni sang the role of Orpheus in Gluck's adaptation of the well-known story of "Orpheus and Eurydice" at the first performance at Vienna. After this role - which marked the start of Gluck's reforms of opera seria - in 1763 Guadagni sang the role of Orestes in Traetta's Ifigenia in Tauride, and in 1765 took the title role in another of Gluck's operas, Telemaco. According to Burney, he fell out of favour with audiences as, in order to maintain dramatic unity, he would not bow to acknowledge applause: nor would he repeat arias. In his later years he retired to Padua and there sang sacred music as a soprano. Vienna (German: Wien ) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and serious style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1720s to ca 1770. ... Tommaso Traetta Tommaso Traetta (March 30, 1727–April 6, 1779) was an Italian composer. ...

Reference

• P. Cattelan: "Guadagni, Gaetano", Grove Music Online ed L. Macy (Accessed 19 January 2007), grovemusic.com, subscription access.

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