Merighi, Antonia Margherita

views updated

Merighi, Antonia Margherita

Merighi, Antonia Margherita, Italian soprano; b. c. 1680; d. before 1764. She was in the service of the Dowager Grand Duchess Violante Beatrice of Tuscany. After making appearances in Venice (1717–21; 1724–26; 1732–33), Bologna (1719, 1727), Naples (1721–24; 1728–29), Parma (1725), Florence (1725), and Turin (1726), she was engaged by Handel for London, where she created the role of Matilde in his Lotario at her debut on Dec. 2, 1729. She also created the roles of Rosmira in his Partenope (Feb. 24, 1730) and Erissena in his Poro (Feb. 2, 1731). After singing again in Florence (1732) and Modena (1735), she returned to London to sing with the Opera of the Nobility (1736–37). In 1737–38 she was a member of Heidegger’s company. In 1740 she appeared in Munich, and then retired to Bologna.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire