Anna Girò
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Anna Girò, also known as l'Annina del Prete Rosso, la Nina del Prete Rosso, or l'Annina della Pietà, was the stage name of Anna Maria Maddalena Tessieri, an Italian mezzo-soprano/contralto of the 18th
Ospedale della Pietà (source unknown). The building no longer exists.
The first two pages of the aria "La figlia, lo sposo" written specifically for Girò. This aria concludes the second act of Vivaldi's Motezuma. The music of Motezuma was thought to have been lost in its entirety, but fragments of it, among which this aria, were discovered in 2002 in the archive of the music library of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin.
Frontispiece and cast from the libretto of the 1723 Treviso premiere of La Ninfa Infelice e Fortunata. Girò made her debut in this pastoral opera. She played the role of "Mirtillo, pastore amante di Filli" (Mirtillo, shepherd in love with Filli) as "La Sig. Anna Giro di Mantova" (Miss Anna Girò from Mantua). Her first professional role was en travesti.
Frontispiece and cast from the libretto of the 1726 production of Giovanni Porta's Agide, Re di Sparta. Girò appears under the role of "Filoastro, Principe amante di Antianira, Capitano delle guardie reali" (Filoastro, Prince in love with Antianira, Captain of the royal guards) as "La Sig. Anna Girò Mantovana" (Ms Anna Girò, Mantuan). This is another breeches role for Girò. Giovanni Porta's name appears preceded by del celebre (by the famous).
Antonio Vivaldi
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Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesp
Anna Girò
…Teseire or Testeiré), an Italian mezzo-soprano/contralto of the 18th century. She is best remembered for her numerous collaborations with composer Antonio Vivaldi who wrote operatic roles for her. She is the singer who performed the greatest number of Vivaldi's operas, the one who kept them in her repertoire the…
Probable portrait of Vivaldi, c. 1723
The church where Vivaldi was given the supplemental baptismal rites, San Giovanni in Bragora, Sestiere di Castello, Venice
Commemorative plaque beside the Ospedale della Pietà
First edition of Juditha triumphans