Giovanni Carestini (13 december 1700 in Filottrano, near Ancona â€"
1760 in Filottrano) was an Italian castrato of the 18th century, who
sang in the operas and oratorios of George Frideric Handel. He is also
remembered as having sung for Johann Adolph Hasse and Christoph
Willibald Gluck.Carestini's career began in Milan in 1719, patronised
at the time by the Cusani family (hence the alternative name
Cusanino). He sang for Alessandro Scarlatti in Rome in 1721. The scope
of his burgeoning career quickly began to expand; he was at the
Viennese court during 1723, and followed this up with performances in
Naples, Venice and Rome again, singing in operas by Hasse, Leonardo
Vinci, and Nicola Porpora. He created the role of Arbace in Vinci and
Metastasio's Artaserse, which is known for its difficult and virtuosic
arias. He sang in Munich in 1731 before coming to London to sing for
Handel in 1733.For Handel he sang the main roles in Arianna in Creta,
Ariodante, and Alcina, and also performed in the oratorios Deborah,
Esther, and Athalia. While in Naples in 1735, he commanded a fee
higher than that of the renowned Caffarelli. Charles Burney records an
entertaining anecdote from this time:.mw-parser-output
.templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0
40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote
.templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}Following
this peak, Carestini's career began to wane quickly. A London audience
of 1740 was indifferent, and he returned to Italy in the early 1740s
(singing in Gluck's Demofoonte in Milan in 1743), but was an employee
of Maria Theresa by 1744. From 1747-49 he sang for Hasse in Dresden,
and then moved to Berlin (1750â€"54), and then St Petersburg
(1754â€"56). Audiences in Naples were actively displeased by his
performances in 1758, and Carestini seems to have died not long after.
One of his last appearances was portraying the title role in the world
premiere of Gaetano Latilla's Ezio at the Teatro di San Carlo on 10
July 1758.
1760 in Filottrano) was an Italian castrato of the 18th century, who
sang in the operas and oratorios of George Frideric Handel. He is also
remembered as having sung for Johann Adolph Hasse and Christoph
Willibald Gluck.Carestini's career began in Milan in 1719, patronised
at the time by the Cusani family (hence the alternative name
Cusanino). He sang for Alessandro Scarlatti in Rome in 1721. The scope
of his burgeoning career quickly began to expand; he was at the
Viennese court during 1723, and followed this up with performances in
Naples, Venice and Rome again, singing in operas by Hasse, Leonardo
Vinci, and Nicola Porpora. He created the role of Arbace in Vinci and
Metastasio's Artaserse, which is known for its difficult and virtuosic
arias. He sang in Munich in 1731 before coming to London to sing for
Handel in 1733.For Handel he sang the main roles in Arianna in Creta,
Ariodante, and Alcina, and also performed in the oratorios Deborah,
Esther, and Athalia. While in Naples in 1735, he commanded a fee
higher than that of the renowned Caffarelli. Charles Burney records an
entertaining anecdote from this time:.mw-parser-output
.templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0
40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote
.templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}Following
this peak, Carestini's career began to wane quickly. A London audience
of 1740 was indifferent, and he returned to Italy in the early 1740s
(singing in Gluck's Demofoonte in Milan in 1743), but was an employee
of Maria Theresa by 1744. From 1747-49 he sang for Hasse in Dresden,
and then moved to Berlin (1750â€"54), and then St Petersburg
(1754â€"56). Audiences in Naples were actively displeased by his
performances in 1758, and Carestini seems to have died not long after.
One of his last appearances was portraying the title role in the world
premiere of Gaetano Latilla's Ezio at the Teatro di San Carlo on 10
July 1758.
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