Gaetano Guadagni

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Gaetano Guadagni (born Lodi or Vincenza 11 October 1729, died Padua 11 December 1792) was an Italian alto (though later soprano) castrato singer, most famous for singing the role of Orpheus at the premiere of Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice in 1762. In London, he also worked with George Frideric Handel, who was so impressed with Guadagni's voice that he completely rewrote a piece from his Messiah, "But Who May Abide," and suited it especially to his voice. Originally simply a recitative, Handel added more notes to the piece, transposed it from the voice part of bass to that of alto, and added the virtuosic "For he is like a refiner's fire" section to better show off Guadagni's vocal abilities. Handel also reworked the role that Susanna Cibber had sung in Samson for Guadagni, who furthermore created the role of Didymus in Handel's Theodora at this time. At this time his voice was described by music historian Charles Burney as a "full and well-toned countertenor,"^[1]" and his manner of singing was detailed thus: "attitudes, action and impassioned and exquisite manner of singing the simple and ballad-like air: Che farò, acquired his very great and just applause". His acting ability - which also won praise from Burney - was refined by the well-known actor, author and theatre producer David Garrick.

After various engagements in diverse European cities, on the 5th of October in 1762 Guadagni sang the role of Orpheus in Gluck's adaptation of the well-known story of "Orpheus and Eurydice" at the first performance at Vienna. After this role - which marked the start of Gluck's reforms of opera seria - in 1763 Guadagni sang the role of Orestes in Traetta's Ifigenia in Tauride, and in 1765 took the title role in another of Gluck's operas, Telemaco. According to Burney, he fell out of favour with audiences as, in order to maintain dramatic unity, he would not bow to acknowledge applause: nor would he repeat arias. In his later years he retired to Padua and there sang sacred music as a soprano.

The following anecdote from Horace Walpole is one of few available revelations concerning Guadagni's private life: "Delaval, a wild young fellow, kept an Italian woman, called the Tedeschi^[2]. He had noticed one day that she was actually in bed with Guadagni, a handsome young eunuch, who sings in the burlettas. The injured cavalier takes one of his chairmen and a horsewhip, surprises the lovers, drags them out of bed, and makes the chairman hold Mars, while he flogged Venus most unmercifully. After that execution, he takes Guadagni, who fell on his knees and cried and screamed for mercy - "No, Sir," said Delaval, "I have another sort of punishment for you," and immediately turned up that part, which in England is accustomed to be flogged to, but in its own country has a different entertainment - which he accordingly gave it." It should, however, be emphasised that this tale of anal rape is hearsay at best; similar stories concerning the sexual lives of other castrati have been proved false.

[edit] Reference

• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

[edit] Notes