L’Épine, (Francesca) Margherita de
L’Épine, (Francesca) Margherita de
L’Épine, (Francesca) Margherita de, famous Italian soprano; b. e. 1683; d. London, Aug. 8, 1746. She began her career at the court in Mantua, then appeared in Venice (1700). She sang in the works of the German composer Jakob Greber at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London; was also his mistress (from 1702). She joined London’s Drury Lane Theatre in 1704, making her first appearance in opera there in Haym’s pasticcio Cantillo in 1706, replacing her archrival, the English soprano Catherine Tofts. When the opera company moved to the Queen’s Theatre in 1708, she continued as a leading member with it until 1714. She sang in several works by Handel, creating the roles of Eurilla in his II Pastor fido (Nov. 22, 1712) and Agilea in his Teseo (Jan. 10, 1713). She also became associated with the composer Pepusch. She appeared in his works at Drury Lane (1715–17) and at Lincoln’s Inn Fields (1718–19), and married him about 1718. In later years she was active mainly as a teacher. She made her last appearance at Drury Lane in 1733. She was the most celebrated soprano on the London stage of her time. Contemporary accounts praise her musical gifts highly but describe her as physically unattractive; indeed, Pepusch dubbed her “Hecate.”
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire