- Giovanni Manzuoli
Giovanni Manzuoli (Giovanni Manzoli) (
1720 -1782 ) was an Italiancastrato who sang as asoprano at the beginning of his career, and later as acontralto . [Hansell, Kathleen Kuzmick. "Manzuoli, Giovanni" IN "The New Grove Dictionary of Opera" New York : Grove's Dictionaries of Music 1992, vol. 3, p. 197.]History
Born in
Florence , Italy, Manzuoli began singing there in 1731. After performing inVerona in 1735, he relocated and performed inNaples until 1748, including at the recently built (1737 )Teatro di San Carlo . ["Manzuoli, Giovanni" IN "Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians" New York : Schirmer Books, 2001, vol. 4, p. 2273.] He is documented as also singing and acting in the following locales for the years indicated:* 1749-1752
Madrid
* 1754Parma
* 1755Lisbon and Madrid
* 1755-1764 various locales throughoutItaly
* 1760Vienna
* 1764-1765London (King's Theatre)
* 1768-1771Milan ["Manzuoli, Giovanni" IN "Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians" New York : Schirmer Books, 2001, vol. 4, p. 2273.]During Manzuoli's sojourn to London, he became friends with the
Mozart family. [Woodfield, Ian. 'New Light on the Mozart's London Visit: A Private Concert with Manzuoli. "Music and Letters", Vol. 76, No. 2 (May 1995), pp. 187-208.] While in Milan, he was appointed Chamber Singer to the Duke of Tuscany. His final appearance was in Milano in 1771. He died eleven years later. [Hansell, Kathleen Kuzmick. "Manzuoli, Giovanni" IN "The New Grove Dictionary of Opera" New York : Grove's Dictionaries of Music 1992, vol. 3, pp. 197-198.]Description of performance
Charles Burney , a contemporary music historian, described the Florentine castrato thus: "Manzoli's voice was the most powerful and voluminous soprano that had ever been heard on our stage since the time ofFarinelli ; and his manner of singing was grand and full of dignity. The applause he received was a universal thunder of acclimation." [Smith, Horace and Woodworth, Samuel. "Festivals, games, and amusements: ancient and modern" New York : J. & J. Harper, 1831, p. 251 (OCLC OCLC search link|166595930)]External links
[http://www.haendel.it/interpreti/old/manzuoli.htm Giovanni Manzuoli in arte Succianoccioli]
References
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