Annibale Pio Fabri (

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, 1697 – 12 August 1760,

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

), also known as ''Balino'', from ''Annibalino'', diminutive of his first name, was an Italian singer and composer of the 18th century. One of the leading

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

s of his age in a time dominated by the

castrati A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

, Fabri is now best known 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 Fabri sang.

Early career

He was one of many famous pupils of the composer, singer and teacher Francesco Pistocchi. His dramatic career began in 1711 in Rome, and during the course of the decade he sang at Venice, Bologna, and

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

, creating, among others, the title role 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 widespread a ...

's '' L'incoronazione di Dario''. He joined the ''Accademia Filarmonica'' of Bologna as a composer 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 ...

''circa'' 1719 and was named its ''Principal'', or president, in 1725, 1729, 1745, 1747, and 1750. During the 1720s he reached the upper echelons of the Italian singers of the time, singing in works by

Leonardo Vinci Leonardo Vinci (1690 – 27 May 1730) was an Italian composer known chiefly for his 40 or so operas; comparatively little of his work in other genres survives. A central proponent of the Neapolitan School of opera, his influence on subseque ...

and

Domenico Sarro Domenico Natale Sarro, also Sarri (24 December 1679 – 25 January 1744) was an Italian composer. Born in Trani, Apulia, he studied at the Neapolitan conservatory of S. Onofrio. He composed extensively in the early 18th century. His opera ''Didon ...

(for whom he created the role of Araspe in ''

Didone abbandonata ''Didone abbandonata'' is an opera libretto in three acts by Pietro Metastasio. It was his first original work and was set to music by Domenico Sarro in 1724. The opera was accompanied by the intermezzo '' L'impresario delle Isole Canarie'', also ...

'') at Naples (1722–1724) and by

Alessandro Scarlatti Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera. ...

(Bologna, 1724). In 1729 he joined Handel in London for two seasons, making his début in ''

Lotario ''Lotario'' ("Lothair", HWV 26) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Antonio Salvi's ''Adelaide''.The opera was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 2 December 1729. ...

'' and creating roles 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 ...

'' 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 female ...

''. In his time in London, Fabri also performed in revivals of ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Rinaldo Rinaldo may refer to: *Renaud de Montauban (also spelled Renaut, Renault, Italian: Rinaldo di Montalbano, Dutch: Reinout van Montalbaen, German: Reinhold von Montalban), a legendary knight in the medieval Matter of France * Rinaldo (''Jerusalem Lib ...

'', '' Rodelinda'',

Winton Dean Winton Basil Dean (18 March 1916 – 19 December 2013) was an English musicologist of the 20th century, most famous for his research on the life and works—in particular the operas and oratorios—of George Frideric Handel, as detailed in his boo ...

: "Fabri, Annibale Pio", ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', ed L. Macy and ''

Scipione ''Scipione'' ( HWV 20), also called ''Publio Cornelio Scipione'', is an opera seria in three acts, with music composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music in 1726. The librettist was Paolo Antonio Rolli. Handel composed ''Sc ...

'', in which Handel transposed for

the originally

castrato A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

title role.cf
''Le magazine de l'opéra baroque''
and ; the part of Goffredo in ''Rinaldo'' was also transposed for him by Handel.

After London

Leaving London in 1731, Fabri appeared at Vienna in 1732, where he made the acquaintance of the

Emperor Charles VI , house = Habsburg , spouse = , issue = , issue-link = #Children , issue-pipe = , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date ...

, who in the next year became a godfather to one of Fabri's sons. He continued to perform across Europe, having considerable success in three operas by

Johann Adolph 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 ...

at Madrid (1738–1739). Fabri seems to have retired from the stage around 1750, becoming a member of Lisbon's royal chapel until his death in 1760. His compositional output from this time included a setting of the popular

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 ...

libretto ''

Alessandro nell'Indie ''Alessandro nelle Indie'' (''Alexander in India'') is an opera seria in two acts by Giovanni Pacini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola and Giovanni Schmidt, based on '' Alessandro nell'Indie'' by Pietro Metastasio. It was premiered at the Te ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabri, Annibale Pio 1697 births 1760 deaths Musicians from Bologna Italian opera singers 18th-century Italian male actors Italian male stage actors 18th-century Italian people Italian tenors