Senesino
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Francesco Bernardi, known as Senesino, was an Italian contralto castrato, particularly remembered today for his long collaboration with the composer George Frideric Handel. He was also involved in a p
Senesino c. 1720
Senesino in 1735, by Van Haecken after Hudson
Portrait of the contralto castrato Francesco Bernardi, better known under his stage name Senesino; at the same time a parody of the castrati and their singing – and the wealth they earned with it. The lines beneath the portrait read, in Italian and English: "Renown'd Sienna gave him birth and name / Kind Heaven his Voice and Harmony his Fame / While here the Great and Fair their Tribute bring / The Deaf may wonder whence his Merits spring / But all think Fortune just, that hear him sing".
George Frideric Handel
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George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Senesino
…Senesino (pronounced or traditionally ), was an Italian contralto castrato, particularly remembered today for his long collaboration with the composer George Frideric Handel. He was also involved in a public scandal with the soprano Anastasia Robinson in 1724, which was circulated widely by the satirist Jonathan Swift, and…
1726–1728 portrait
Handel's baptismal registration (Marienbibliothek in Halle)
Handel House, birthplace of Handel
Halle, copper engraving, 1686