Antonio Montagnana ( fl. 1730–50, born in Venice) was an Italian bass of the 18th-century who is best remembered for his 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

opera 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 librett ...

s Montagnana sang. Montagnana's first known appearance is in 1730 at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and 1731 he sang at

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 ...

in operatic works by

Nicola Porpora Nicola (or Niccolò) Antonio Porpora (17 August 16863 March 1768) was an Italian composer and teacher of singing of the Baroque music, Baroque era, whose most famous singing students were the castrati Farinelli and Caffarelli (castrato), Caffarel ...

, thought to be his teacher: Porpora also instructed the famous castrato Farinelli. During that same year he came 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 ...

to join Handel's opera company, where he created roles in Handel's '' Ezio'' - with words by the renowned

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 ...

Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

- and ''

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 ...

'', and sang in revivals of ''

Admeto ' ("Admetus, King of Thessaly", HWV 22) is a three-act opera written for the Royal Academy of Music with music composed by George Frideric Handel to an Italian-language libretto prepared by Nicola Francesco Haym. The story is partly based on Eu ...

'', ''

Giulio Cesare ''Giulio Cesare in Egitto'' (; , HWV 17), commonly known as ''Giulio Cesare'', is a dramma per musica ('' opera seria'') in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music in 1724. The libretto was written by Nic ...

'', ''

Flavio ''Flavio, re de' Longobardi'' ("Flavio, King of the Lombards", HWV 16) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Matteo Noris's ''Flavio Cuniberto''. It was Ha ...

'', and ''

Poro The Poro, or Purrah or Purroh, is a men's secret society in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast, introduced by the Mane people. It is sometimes referred to as a hunting society and only males are admitted to its ranks. The femal ...

''. During the following season he created the role of Zoroastro in Handel's ''

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 ...

'' and sang the roles of Polyphemus in '' Acis and Galatea'' and Haman in ''

Esther Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...

'' in what was Handel's first season of

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 ...

: he also took part in revivals of ''

Tolomeo ''Tolomeo, re d'Egitto'' ("Ptolemy, King of Egypt", HWV 25) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian text by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's ''Tolomeo et Alessandro''. It was Handel ...

'' and ''

Alessandro Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

''.Grove The part of Abner in Handel's ''

Athalia Athaliah ( el, Γοθολία ''Gotholía''; la, Athalia) was the daughter of either king Omri, or of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel, the queen consort of Judah as the wife of King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and later quee ...

'' was composed for his voice, as were the roles of the Chief Priest of Israel and Abinoam in ''Deborah''. In 1733, however, he deserted Handel for his rival company, the

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 ...

, possibly breaking a legal contract in order to do so. In this he imitated the actions of his fellow singers Senesino and

Francesca Bertolli Francesca Bertolli (? Rome – 9 January 1767, in Bologna) was an Italian contralto of the 18th century. She is best remembered for her association with the composer George Frideric Handel, in whose operas she sang. Details of her early caree ...

. For the Nobility, he sang in operas including those by Porpora (such as '' Polifemo''),

Johann Adolf Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...

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 ...

, and even one Handel opera, ''

Ottone ''Ottone, re di Germania'' ("Otto, King of Germany", HWV 15) is an opera by George Frideric Handel, to an Italian–language libretto adapted by Nicola Francesco Haym from the libretto by Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino for Antonio Lotti's opera ...

''. In 1740 he moved to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

for 10 years, where he sang in many operas and many cantatas at the royal chapel. For much of the 1730s Montagnana was widely acclaimed as a remarkable singer. The parts written for him at this time display a command of a low

tessitura In music, tessitura (, pl. ''tessiture'', "texture"; ) is the most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer or less frequently, musical instrument, the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding (or characte ...

and a vocal range of more than 2 octaves, though by 1738 - when he sang in Handel's ''

Serse ''Serse'' (; English title: ''Xerxes''; HWV 40) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was first performed in London on 15 April 1738. The Italian libretto was adapted by an unknown hand from that by Silvio Stampiglia (1 ...

'' - his range had become more limited. 18th-century music historian Charles Burney praised his "depth, power, mellowness and peculiar accuracy of intonation in hitting distant intervals".

Notes

References

Winton Dean: "Montagnana, Antonio", '' Grove Music Online'' ed L. Macy (Accessed 14 March 2007)
grovemusic.com
subscription access.

External links

Lester, J. (2006): ''Antonio Montagnana: Progression of a Handelian Bass.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montagnana, Antonio Italian opera singers Operatic basses Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown