![Anna Maria Strada (Johannes Verelst 1732)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Anna_Maria_Strada_%28Johannes_Verelst_1732%29.jpg)
Anna Maria Strada (
fl. 1719–1741, in
Bergamo
Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
) was an Italian
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
. She is best remembered for her association with the composer
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...
, in whose
operas
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...
Strada sang.
Career
After an initial career in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
that included performances at
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
— in
Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) 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 widesprea ...
's opera ''
La verità in cimento'' (1720) —
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, and
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
, Strada moved to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1729 to sing for Handel after the composer engaged her for his operas. She made her début as Adelaida in ''
Lotario'' and was ''prima donna'' in all his operas and
oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...
s until 1737. She sang in a minimum of 24 of Handel's operas and the
opera-ballet ''
Terpsicore
''Terpsicore'' ( HWV)( 8b) is a prologue in the form of an opéra-ballet by George Frideric Handel. Handel composed it in 1734 for a revision of his opera ''Il pastor fido'' which had first been presented in 1712. The revision of ''Il pastor fido ...
'', a new prologue to a revision of ''
Il pastor fido
''Il pastor fido'' (''The Faithfull Shepherd'' in Richard Fanshawe's 1647 English translation) is a pastoral tragicomedy set in Arcadia by Giovanni Battista Guarini, first published in 1590 in Venice.
Plot summary
To redress an ancient wron ...
''. Her roles included Angelica in ''
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
'', the title role in ''
Partenope
''Partenope'' ("Parthenope", HWV 27) is an opera by George Frideric Handel, first performed at the King's Theatre in London on 24 February 1730. Although following the structure and forms of opera seria, the work is humorous in character and li ...
'', Elmira in ''
Sosarme
''Sosarme, re di Media'' ("Sosarmes, King of Media", HWV 30) is an opera by George Frideric Handel written in 1732 for the King's Theatre in the Haymarket, London, where it ran for 12 performances. The text was based on an earlier libretto by ...
'', Thusnelda in ''
Arminio'', and Ariadne in ''
Giustino'', and the title role of
Atalanta
Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...
. Strada was the only singer of Handel's company who did not defect to the rival
Opera of the Nobility The Opera of the Nobility (or Nobility Opera ) was an opera company set up and funded in 1733 by a group of nobles (under Frederick, Prince of Wales) opposed to George II of Great Britain, in order to rival the (Second) Royal Academy of Music compan ...
in 1733, and in 1732 had turned down the opportunity to sing for
Giovanni Bononcini
Giovanni Bononcini (or Buononcini) (18 July 1670 – 9 July 1747) (sometimes cited also as Giovanni Battista Bononcini) was an Italian Baroque composer, cellist, singer and teacher, one of a family of string players and composers.
Biography
E ...
. She left London, however, in 1738 and returned to Italy, where she sang at
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
and
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
before her
retirement to Bergamo.
[Grove]
Contemporary evaluations
18th-century music historian
Charles Burney described Strada thus:
Further evidence of Strada's unusual ugliness is provided by Mrs Pendarves — formerly known as
Mary Granville and later Mrs Delany — a close friend of Handel.
Poet and librettist Paolo Rolli described her as "a copy of
Faustina with a better voice and better intonation, but without her charm and brio". Her Handel parts reveal her vocal range to have been two octaves during the first part of her career, and the dramatic range required by these roles is varied. While in Naples during the first part of her career, Strada married theatre manager and
librettist
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...
Aurelio del Pò, reputedly because he owed her a large sum of money and married her as a substitute for payment.
Notes
References
*Winton Dean: "Strada, Anna Maria", ''
Grove Music Online'' ed L. Macy (Accessed 19 March 2007)
grovemusic.com subscription access.
*Hogwood, Christopher. ''Handel'' (1988), Thames and Hudson, .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strada, Anna Maria
1700s births
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Italian operatic sopranos
Musicians from Bergamo
18th-century Italian women opera singers