Giovanni Francesco Grossi (12 February 1653 – 29 May 1697) was one of the greatest

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

castrato singers of the baroque age. He is better known as Siface.

Biography

He was born near

Pescia Pescia () is an Italian city in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located in a central zone between the cities Lucca and Florence, on the banks of the river of the same name. History Archaeological excavations have suggest ...

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, entered the papal chapel in 1675, and later sang at

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. He derived his nickname of Siface from his impersonation of that character in Cavalli's opera, '' Scipione affricano''. It has generally been said that he appeared as Siface in Alessandro Scarlatti's ''Mitridate'', but the confusion is due to his having sung the part of Mitridate in Scarlatti's ''Pompeo at Naples'' in 1683. In 1687, he was sent to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

by the

duke of Modena Emperor Frederick III conferred Borso d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, with the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1452, while Pope Paul II formally elevated him in 1471 as Duke of Ferrara, over which the family had in fact long presided. This latter territo ...

, to become a member of the chapel of James II. He probably did much for the introduction of Italian music into

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but soon left the country on account of the climate. He was murdered in 1697 on the road between

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, 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 1 ...

and Ferrara, allegedly by the agents of a nobleman with whose wife he had a liaison, although later sources indicate that he was killed at the behest of the brothers of Elena Marsili, a widowed Countess, who Siface had an affair with when they were both at the court of the Duke of Modena.Gramophone Magazine - July 2018, p. 97 Among

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest Eng ...

's harpsichord music is an air entitled ''Sefauchi's Farewell'', presumably written when Siface left England and returned to Italy.

References

* This work in turn cites: ** Corrado Ricci, ''Vita Barocca'' (Milan, 1904). {{DEFAULTSORT:Grossi, Giovanni Francesco 1653 births 1697 deaths Italian male singers People from Pescia Castrati