Event Comment: MMrs Pendarves, 27 Nov.: They [The
king's] have
Farinelli,
Merighi, with
no sound in her voice, but thundering action-a beauty with
no other merit; and one
Chimenti, a tolerable good woman with a pretty voice, and
Montagnana, who
roars as usual! With this band of singers, and dull
Italian operas, such as you almost fall asleep at,
they presume to rival
Handel-who has
Strada, that sings better than ever she did;
Gizziello, who is much improved since last year; and
Annabali, who has the best part of
Senesino's voice and
Caristini's, with a prodigious fine taste and good action! We have had
Alcina, and
Atalanta, which is acted tonight for the last night with the fireworks....
Mrs Porter acts three times a week; I have made a party to go next week; she is the only support of the stage, the house is crammed whenever she acts.-
Delany, Autobiography, I, 5578-79
Performances
Mainpiece Title: Atalanta