"ONE GOD ONE FARINELLI". FARINELLI IN ENGLAND
LECTURE BY THOMAS MCGEARY (November 12, 2002)
usica a Bologna, Musicisti a Bologna

Using many unpublished printed sources and archival documents, this lecture traces the career of Farinelli in England. As early as 1726, the English were receiving reports of the brilliant young singer named Farinelli, even before he traveled to London, the English were flocking to hear him in Italy. After several failed attempts, Farinelli was lured to sing in London for three seasons from 1734-37. In London, he received the most extravagant praise and lavish gifts. However, many satirists and moralists vilified him as representing all the worst effects of Italian opera on the British nation.

Even after he left for Madrid in 1737, he was not forgotten by the English. His stay in Madrid was used by political satirists in the propaganda leading up to the War of Jenkins’ Ear. The mutual regard between the English and Farinelli continued through his retirement to Bologna in 1761. Many English travelers visited his villa and wrote about their gracious reception. Farinelli, in turn, had many mementos of his English friends and spoke highly of his regard for England.

Thomas McGeary first studied philosophy and aesthetics, before receiving his doctorate in musicology at the Univesity of Illinois in 1985. He has written extensively on opera, music, and the arts in eighteenth-century Britain. He has published over 14 articles about Italian opera in London; his many important archival and documentary discoveries about Farinelli have appeared in numerous articles, including “Farinelli in Madrid: Opera, Politics and the War of Jenkins’ Ear” (1998) and “Farinelli and the Duke of Leeds: ‘tanto mio amico e patrone particolare’” (2002).