Margherita Durastanti

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A caricature of Margherita Durastanti. The portrait was drawn while she was prima donna at the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo between 1709 and 1712.

Margherita Durastanti (fl 1700–1734) was an Italian singer of the 18th century. Vocally, she is best described as a soprano, though later in her career her tessitura descended to that of a mezzo-soprano. She is particularly well-known for her association with the composer George Frideric Handel: indeed she enjoyed a longer personal association with the composer than any other musician.

Her early roles with Handel included those of Mary Magdalene in his oratorio La Resurrezione (1709) and the title role in Agrippina later in the same year in her capacity as prima donna of the S Giovanni Grisostomo theatre, where she sang from 1709 to 1712. After singing at Parma, Florence, Naples (where she appeared in operas by Scarlatti), and, in 1719, Dresden, she came to London in 1720, where she created the title role in Handel's Radamisto. In 1721 she gave birth to a girl, and King George I and the Princess Royal were among the child's godparents. Afterwards, her roles included those of Vitige in Flavio and Sextus in Giulio Cesare. In 1724 she left England, ending the season singing "But let old charmers yield to the new/Happy soil, adieu, adieu!".

Handel brought Durastanti back to England for his 1733-34 season, when she sang in Ottone and Il pastor fido, as well as several pasticcios. Durastanti often played trouser roles. The dramatic range of the roles created for her is wide, and the characterization required varied.

Durastanti's unflattering nickname "The Elephant" originated in the following comment from Paolo Rolli:

In 1733, however, Lady Bristol commented favourably upon her singing:

[edit] References

Winton Dean: "Durastanti, Margherita", Grove Music Online ed L. Macy (Accessed 16 January 2007), grovemusic.com, subscription access.