Giusto Fernando Tenducci
Encyclopedia
Giusto Fernando Tenducci (ca. 1736 – 25 January 1790) was a soprano (castrato) opera
singer and composer
, who passed his career partly in Italy but chiefly in Britain.
, and he was trained at the Naples Conservatory. Castration was illegal in both Church and civil law, but the Roman Church employed castrati in many churches and in the Vatican until about 1902; and throughout the 17th and 18th centuries the public paid large sums of money to listen to the spectacular voices of castrati in the opera houses.
In 1753, when he was about seventeen, Tenducci made his professional opera debut in Venice, as Gasparo in Ferdinando Bertoni
's Guinevere.
In 1757 and 1758 he was active at the Teatro di San Carlo
in Naples.
From 1758 to 1765 he was in London, where he was heard at both the King's Theatre
and the Royal Opera House
.
He then sang in Ireland, Scotland and Italy. In 1765 in Dublin he met Dorothea Maunsell, whom he married in 1766. In 1768 he returned to London from Edinburgh, where he remained for almost the rest of his life. He taught singing to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
in Paris in 1777-1778. Impressed with his teacher's singing abilities, Mozart wrote a concert aria for him which is now lost (K. 315b).
He returned to Italy just months before his death in January 1790 in Genoa.
Although a castrato, Tenducci married 15-year old Dora Maunsell in 1766. The marriage was later annulled on the grounds of non-consummation; but Giacomo Casanova
claimed in his autobiography that Dora gave birth to two children.
Two portraits of Tenducci were painted by Thomas Gainsborough
- one is now in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in the University of Birmingham, the other was sold from the collection of Yves Saint Laurent.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, who passed his career partly in Italy but chiefly in Britain.
Biography
Born in Siena in about 1736, Tenducci became a castratoCastrato
A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...
, and he was trained at the Naples Conservatory. Castration was illegal in both Church and civil law, but the Roman Church employed castrati in many churches and in the Vatican until about 1902; and throughout the 17th and 18th centuries the public paid large sums of money to listen to the spectacular voices of castrati in the opera houses.
In 1753, when he was about seventeen, Tenducci made his professional opera debut in Venice, as Gasparo in Ferdinando Bertoni
Ferdinando Bertoni
Ferdinando Bertoni was an Italian composer and organist.He was born in Salò, and began his music studies in Brescia, not far from his birthplace. Around 1740 he went to Bologna, where he studied till 1745 with the famous music theorist Giovanni Battista Martini...
's Guinevere.
In 1757 and 1758 he was active at the Teatro di San Carlo
Teatro di San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo is an opera house in Naples, Italy. It is the oldest continuously active such venue in Europe.Founded by the Bourbon Charles VII of Naples of the Spanish branch of the dynasty, the theatre was inaugurated on 4 November 1737 — the king's name day — with a performance...
in Naples.
From 1758 to 1765 he was in London, where he was heard at both the King's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
and the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
.
He then sang in Ireland, Scotland and Italy. In 1765 in Dublin he met Dorothea Maunsell, whom he married in 1766. In 1768 he returned to London from Edinburgh, where he remained for almost the rest of his life. He taught singing to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
in Paris in 1777-1778. Impressed with his teacher's singing abilities, Mozart wrote a concert aria for him which is now lost (K. 315b).
He returned to Italy just months before his death in January 1790 in Genoa.
Although a castrato, Tenducci married 15-year old Dora Maunsell in 1766. The marriage was later annulled on the grounds of non-consummation; but Giacomo Casanova
Giacomo Casanova
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, Histoire de ma vie , is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century...
claimed in his autobiography that Dora gave birth to two children.
Two portraits of Tenducci were painted by Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
- one is now in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in the University of Birmingham, the other was sold from the collection of Yves Saint Laurent.
Further Reading
- H. Berry, The Castrato and his wife (2011)
- D. Maunsell, True and genuine narrative
- P. Barbier, The World of the Castrati (1996)
- A. Heriot, The Castrati in opera (1956)
- F. Habock, Die Kastraten und ihre Gesangkunst (1927)