Maria Caterina Negri (28 September 1704 – after 1744) was an Italian

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

who created numerous roles in 18th-century operas, including many by

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, ...

. She primarily portrayed male characters ''

en travesti En or EN may refer to: Businesses * Bouygues (stock symbol EN) * Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (reporting mark EN, but now known as Southern Railway of Vancouver Island) * Euronews, a news television and internet channel Language and writing * ...

'' or female warriors such as

Bradamante Bradamante (occasionally spelled Bradamant) is a fictional knight heroine in two epic poems of the Renaissance: ''Orlando Innamorato'' by Matteo Maria Boiardo and ''Orlando Furioso'' by Ludovico Ariosto. Since the poems exerted a wide influence o ...

. Negri was born in Bologna and made her debut there at the age of 15. Her last known performance was in 1744. The date and place of her death are unknown. In its prime, her voice was known for its agility and wide

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

Life and career

Negri was born in Bologna to Teresa ''née'' Maranelli and Antonio Negri. Little is known about her early life or training, although according to

François-Joseph Fétis François-Joseph Fétis (; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, composer, teacher, and one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the ''Biographie univers ...

she studied under the

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 ...

singer Antonio Pasi in Bologna. She was barely 15 when she made her debut at the Teatro Formagliari Bologna during the 1719 carnival season in

Bononcini Bononcini is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Antonio Maria Bononcini (1677–1726), Italian cellist and composer *Giovanni Bononcini (1670–1747), Italian Baroque composer, cellist, singer, and teacher *Giovanni Maria Bononcin ...

's ''Il trionfo di Camilla '' and Predieri's ''La Partenope''. She sang in various theatres in Italy until 1724 when she joined the opera company of

Antonio Denzio Antonio Denzio (23 September 1689 – after 1763) was an Italian impresario, tenor, and librettist. Born in Venice to a family of musicians and operatic personnel, he pursued a career mainly as a singer until 1724, when he traveled to Bohemia as a ...

who ran

Franz Anton von Sporck Franz Anton von Sporck, Count (german: Franz Anton Reichsgraf von Sporck, cs, František Antonín hrabě Špork) (9 March 1662 in Lysá nad Labem or Heřmanův Městec – 30 March 1738 in Lysá nad Labem) was a German-speaking literatus an ...

's theatre in Prague. Negri returned to Italy in 1727 where she sang with

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 company at the

Teatro Sant'Angelo The Teatro San Angelo (in Venetian dialect) or Teatro Sant' Angelo (in Italian) was once a theatre in Venice which ran from 1677 until 1803. It was the last of the major Venetian theatres to be built in the 1650s–60s opera craze following Teat ...

in Venice for two seasons. According to Vivaldi's biographer Egidio Pozzi, Negri was known for her fiery temperament both on and off stage. The previous year in Prague her furious dispute with the impresario of Sporck's theatre ended in the police arriving at her house threatening her with arrest for breach of contract. In Venice Vivaldi cast her as the tyrant king Arsace in ''Rosilena ed Oronta'' and the female warrior Bradamante in ''

Orlando furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was no ...

'', a character she would reprise in Handel's ''

Alcina ''Alcina'' ( HWV 34) is a 1735 opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of ''L'isola di Alcina'', an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after during his travels in Italy. P ...

'' six years later. Appearances in other Italian cities followed over the next five years as well as an appearance in Frankfurt in 1732 when she sang in the premiere of Giuseppe Maria Nelvi's ''Siface re di Numidia''. From the autumn of 1733 until the summer of 1737, she sang with Handel's Italian opera company in London, first at the King's Theatre and then at the Theatre Royal, where as ''seconda donna'' she appeared in numerous operas, oratorios, and '' feste teatrali''. She then returned to Italy where she continued to perform and also sang in Lisbon in January 1740. Her last known performance was in Bologna in August 1744 in ''Gli sponsali di Enea'' by Lorenzo Gibelli. After that all trace of her disappeared. Her date of death is unknown. According to musicologist Giovanni Andrea Sechi, one of

Anton Maria Zanetti Count Anton oMaria Zanetti (1689–1767) was a Venetian artist, engraver, art critic, art dealer and connoisseur. He formed a collection of engraved gems, of which he published a lavish catalogue. Life Zanetti spent his early manhood making ...

's drawings of a female singer ''en travesti'' and labelled by him as "La Negri" is in all probability a portrait of her and not of the soprano Antonia Negri Tomii (known as "La Mestrina ") as previously thought.

Roles created

*Elvira in Giuseppe Maria Buini's ''La fede ne' tradimenti'' (Teatro dell'Accademia dei Remoti,

Faenza Faenza (, , ; rgn, Fènza or ; la, Faventia) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed eart ...

, 26 March 1723) *Bradamante in Vivaldi's ''

'' (

, Venice, November 1727) *Arsace in Vivaldi's ''Rosilena ed Oronta'' (Teatro Sant'Angelo, Venice, January 1728) *Virate in Giuseppe Maria Nelvi's ''Siface re di Numidia'' (Frankfurt, January 1732)ré di Numidia''
(libretto printed for the premiere performance, January 1732) *Carilda in Handel's '' Arianna in Creta'' ( King's Theatre, London, 26 January 1734) *Clori in Handel's '' Parnasso in festa'' (King's Theatre, London, 13 March 1734) *Filotete in Handel's ''

Oreste ''Oreste'' ("Orestes", HWV A11, HG 48/102) is an opera by George Frideric Handel in three acts. The libretto was anonymously adapted from Giangualberto Barlocci’s ''L’Oreste'' (1723, Rome), which was in turn adapted from Euripides' '' Iphi ...

'' ( Theatre Royal, London, 18 December 1734) *Polinesso in Handel's ''

Ariodante ''Ariodante'' ( HWV 33) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 4, 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's ''Orlando Furioso''. Ea ...

'' (Theatre Royal, London, 8 January 1735) *Bradamante in Handel's ''

'' (Theatre Royal, London, 16 April 1735) *Irene in Handel's ''

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 ...

'' (Theatre Royal, London, 12 May 1736) *Tullio in Handel's ''

Arminio ''Arminio'' ( HWV 36) is an opera composed by George Frideric Handel. The libretto is based on a libretto of the same name by Antonio Salvi, which had been set to music by Alessandro Scarlatti. It is a fictionalisation of events surrounding the G ...

'' (Theatre Royal, London, 12 January 1737) *Amanzio in Handel's '' Giustino'' (Theatre Royal, London, 16 February 1737) *Arsace in Handel's ''

Berenice Berenice ( grc, Βερενίκη, ''Bereníkē'') is the Ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC, is the oldest epigraphical evidence. Th ...

'' (Theatre Royal, London, 18 May 1737)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Negri, Maria Caterina Operatic contraltos Italian opera singers 1704 births 18th-century deaths Musicians from Bologna Female-to-male cross-dressers 18th-century Italian women opera singers