MUSIC. 
805 
feveral attempts at dramatic malic in England, by fir 
William Davenant and others, before the mufic, lan¬ 
guage, or performers, of Italy, were employed on our 
Itage. Pieces ftyled dramatic operas, preceded the Italian 
opera on the ftage of England. Thefe were written in 
Englifli, and exhibited with a profufe decoration of 
fcenery and habits, and with the bell lingers and dancers 
that could be p&cured : Pfyche and Circe are entertain¬ 
ments of this kind : the Tempell and Macbeth were aCled 
with the fame accompaniments. 
During the feventeenth century, whatever attempts 
were made in mufical drama, the language lung was al¬ 
ways Englifli. About the end of that century, however, 
Italian finging began to be encouraged, and vocal as 
well as inllrumental muficians from that country began 
to appear in London. 
The firft mufical drama, performed wholly after the 
Italian manner, in recitative for the dialogue or narrative 
parts, and meafured melody for the airs, was Arlinoe 
Queen of Cyprus, tranllated from an Italian opera of 
the fame name, written by Stanzani of Bologna. The 
Englifh verfion of this opera was fet to mufic by Thomas 
Clayton, one of the royal band, in the reign of William 
and Mary. The fingers were all Englifli: Mefi’rs. Hughes, 
Leveredge, and Cook; Mrs.Tofts, Mrs. Crofs, and Mrs. 
Lyndfey. The tranflation of Arlinoe, and the mufic to 
which it is fet, are execrable; yet fuch is the charm of 
novelty, that this miferable performance, deferring nei¬ 
ther the name of a drama by its poetry, nor of an opera by 
its mufic, fuftained twenty-four representations, and the 
fecond year eleven. 
Operas, notwithllanding their deficiencies in poetry, 
mufic, and performance, (no foreign compofer or eminent 
finger having yet arrived,) became fo formidable to our 
aCtors at the theatres, that it appears from the Daily 
Courant, 14th January 1707, a fubfcription was opened 
“ for the encouragement of the comedians a&ing in the 
Haymarket, and to enable them to keep the diverfion of 
plays under a feparate interell from operas.” 
Mr. Addifon’s opera of Rofamond appeared about this 
time; but the mufic fet by Clayton is fo contemptible, 
that the merit of the poetry, however great, could not 
of itfelf long fupport the piece. The choice of fo mean 
a compofer as Clayton, and Mr. Addifon’s partiality to 
his abilities, betray a want of mufical talle in that ele¬ 
gant author. 
The firft truly great finger who appeared on the frage 
of Great Britain was Cav. Nicolino Grimaldi, commonly 
known by the name of Nicolini. He W'as a Neapolitan ; 
and, though an harmonious finger indeed, was Hill more 
eminent as an aClor. In the Tatler, N° 115. the elegance 
and propriety of his action are particularly defcribed. 
Recently before his appearance, Valentini Urbani, and a 
female linger called the Baronefs, arrived. Margarita 
de l’Epine, who afterwards married Dr. Pepufch, had 
been in this country fome time before. 
The firft opera performed wholly in Italian, and by 
Italian fingers, was Almahide. As at prefent, fo at that 
time, operas were generally performed twice a-week. 
Dr. Crotch calls the productions of the 15th, 16th, 
and 17th, centuries, ancient mufic. We are now, there¬ 
fore, arrived at the rera of modern mufic. We would ra¬ 
ther call it the ara of Handel. 
The year 1710 is diftinguilhed by the arrival of George 
Frederic Handel. This great mulician had been in the 
fervice of the eleClor of Hanover, and came firft to Eng¬ 
land on a vifit of curiofity. His fame had reached this 
country before he himfelf arrived in it; and Aaron Hill, 
then in the direction of the Haymarket theatre, inftantly 
applied to him to compofe an opera. It was Rinaldo ; 
the admirable mufic of which he produced entirely in a 
fortnight. Soon after this period appeared, for the firft 
time as an opera-finger, the celebrated Mrs. Anaftafia 
Robinfon. Mrs. Robinfon, who was the daughter of a 
portrait-painter, had made her firft public exhibitions in 
Vol. XVI. No. 1113, 
the concerts at York-buildings ; and acquired fo much 
public favour, that her father was encouraged to take a 
lioule in Golden-fquare, for the purpofe of eftablilhing 
weekly concerts and aflemblies, in the manner of the 
Italian Converfazioui, which became the refort of the moll 
polite audiences. Soon after, Mrs. Robinfon accepted 
an engagement at the opera, where her falary is laid to 
have been 1000I. and her other emoluments equal to that 
fum. She quitted the ftage in confequence of her mar¬ 
riage with the earl of Peterborough ; as to which, fee 
vol. xv. p. 788. The eminent virtues and accomplifh- 
ments of this lady, who died at the age of eighty-eight, 
entitled her to be mentioned even in a compend too 
fliort for biography. 
The conducting the opera having been found to lie 
more expenfive than profitable, it was entirely fufpended 
from 3717 till 1720. when a fund of 50,000k for fupport- 
ing and carrying it on was fubfcribed by the firft perfon- 
ages of the kingdom. The fubfcribers, of whom king 
George I. was for ioool. were formed into a fociety, and 
named the Royal Academy of Mufic. Handel was com- 
mifiioned to engage the performers. For that purpofe 
he went to Drelden, where Italian operas were at that 
performed in the mod fplendid manner at the court of 
Auguftus eleftor of Saxony, then king of Poland. Here 
Handel engaged Senefino-Berenftadt, Bpfche, and the 
Duranftanti. 
In the year 1723, the celebrated Francefca Cuzzoni 
appeared as a firft-rate finger: and two years afterwards 
arrived her diftinguilhed rival, Fauftina Bordoni. In a 
cantabile air, though the notes Cuzzoni added were few, 
fhe never loft an opportunity of enriching the cantilena 
with the raoft beautiful embellifhments. Her (hake was 
perfeCt. She poflefled a creative fancy; and ilie enjoyed 
the power of occafionally accelerating and retarding the 
meafure in the moll artificial and able manner, by what 
is in Italy called tempo rubato. Her high notes were un¬ 
rivalled in clearnels and fweetnels. Her intonations were 
fo juft and fo fixed, that it feemed as if Die had not the 
power to fing out of tune. Fauftina Bordoni, wife of the 
celebrated Saxon compofer Halle, invented a new kind 
of finging, by running divisions, with a neatnefs and ve¬ 
locity which aftonilhed all who heard her. By taking 
her breath imperceptibly, flie had the art of fuftaining a 
note apparently longer than any other finger. Her beats 
and trills were llrong and rapid; her intonation perfeCt. 
Her profeflional perfections were enhanced by a beautiful 
face, fine fymmetry of figure, and a countenance and 
gefture on the ftage which indicated an entire intelligence 
and pofleffion of the feveral parts allotted to her. Thefe 
two angelic performers excited fo fignally the attention 
of the public, that a party-fpirit between the abettors of 
the one and of the other was formed, as violent and as 
inveterate almoft as any of thole that had ever occurred 
relative to matters either theological or political; yet fo 
diftinCl were their ftyles of finging, fo different their ta¬ 
lents, that the praile of the one was no reproach to the 
other. 
In lefs than feven years, the whole 50,000k fubfcribed 
by the Royal Academy, befides the produce of admiffion 
to non-fubfcribers, was expended, and the governor and 
direClors of the fociety relinquilhed the idea of continu¬ 
ing their engagements; confequently, at the dole of the 
feafon of 1727, the whole band of fingers difperfed. The 
next year we find Senefino, Fauftina, Balde, Cuzzoni, 
Nicolini, Farinelli, and Bofche, at Venice. 
Handel, however, at his own rifle, after a fufpenfion 
of about a twelvemonth, determined to re-commence the 
opera; and accordingly engaged a band of performers 
entirely new. Thefe were lignior Bernacchi, fignora Me- 
righi, fignora Strada, fignior Anibale Pio Fabri, his wife* 
fignora Bertoldi, and John Godfrid Reiml’chneider. 
The facred mufical drama, or oratorio, was invented 
early in the fourteenth century. Every nation in Europe 
feems firft to have had recourle to religious fubjeCts for 
4 I dramatic 
