Valentino Urbani information

Valentino Urbani
Valentino Urbani
	An 18th-century caricature of Valentino Urbani made by Antonio Maria Zanetti
Background information
Birth name	Valentino Urbani
Also known as	Valentini
Born	Udine
Years active	c. 1707 – 1722

Valentino Urbani (born in Udine;^[1] fl. 1690–1722^[2]) was an Italian mezzo-soprano or alto castrato^[3]^[4] who sang for the composer George Frideric Handel in the 18th century. He was known by the stage name Valentini. He sang the role of Eustazio at the première of Handel’s Rinaldo, the role of Silvio at the premiere of Il pastor fido, and the role of Egeo at the first performance of Teseo. His powers of singing seem to have been limited and by the time of his Handel roles his voice was declining but he is reputed to have been a fine actor.

Charles Burney noted that "his voice was feeble, and his execution moderate", but Cibber praises his acting enthusiastically: "his hearers bore with the absurdity of his singing the part of Turnus in Camilla, all in Italian, while every other character was sung and recited in English".

Urbani was the first castrato to sing regularly in London,^[5]^[6] where he created a sensation^[7] and made his début at Drury Lane in 1707. He sang in many different pasticcios and several bilingual operas – operas that were sung in both Italian and English – and had a benefit concert each year. His last known dramatic appearance was in Hamburg in 1722. He had earlier sung at Venice, Parma, Rome, Bologna, and Genoa.

^ A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, dancers, managers & other stage personnel in London: 1660-1800. See this page.
^ Joyce’s Grand Operoar: Opera in Finnegans Wake by Matthew John Caldwell Hodgart, Ruth H. Bauerle
^ The Cambridge Companion to Handel by Donald Burrows
^ Philip H. Highfill; Kalman A. Burnim; Edward A. Langhans. A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, dancers, managers & other stage personnel in London, 1660-1800.
^ George J. Buelow, Hans Joachim Marx. 1983. New Mattheson Studies.
^ British Theatre and the Other Arts, 1660-1800 by Shirley Strum Kenny
^ Interculturalism and resistance in the London theater, 1660-1800: identity, performance, empire by Mita Choudhury. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press; London: Associated University Presses, 2000. Page 44.

[1] A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, dancers, managers & other stage personnel in London: 1660-1800. See this page.

[2] Joyce’s Grand Operoar: Opera in Finnegans Wake by Matthew John Caldwell Hodgart, Ruth H. Bauerle

[3] The Cambridge Companion to Handel by Donald Burrows

[4] Philip H. Highfill; Kalman A. Burnim; Edward A. Langhans. A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, dancers, managers & other stage personnel in London, 1660-1800.

[5] George J. Buelow, Hans Joachim Marx. 1983. New Mattheson Studies.

[6] British Theatre and the Other Arts, 1660-1800 by Shirley Strum Kenny

[7] Interculturalism and resistance in the London theater, 1660-1800: identity, performance, empire by Mita Choudhury. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press; London: Associated University Presses, 2000. Page 44.

Valentino Urbani information

and 17 Related for: Valentino Urbani information

Valentino Urbani

Urbani

Castrato

Valentini

Teseo

Pyrrhus and Demetrius

Argippo

Milan

List of Italian scientists

Salvatore Burruni

List of Italian inventions and discoveries

Edoardo Mangiarotti

Sanremo Music Festival 2001

Second Berlusconi government

List of people from Italy

List of Forza Italia leading members by political origin

Roman Catholic Diocese of Verona