# Riccardo Broschi (1698 - 1756)



## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Broschi was born in Apulia in 1698. His father Salvatore was a composer and maestro di cappella of the city's cathedral. In 1711, the family moved to Naples. Riccardo was enrolled in the Conservatory of S. Maria di Loreto, where he would study to become a composer under G. Perugino and F. Mancinipresso. Salvatore. Riccardo made his debut in 1725 with _La Vecchia Sorda_. He then moved to London in 1726 where he wrote several heroic operas. He served briefly at the Stuttgart court between 1737 and 1739 before going to join his brother in Madrid. Riccardo died in Madrid in 1756.

His brother was the castrato Farinelli. Farinelli sang in a number of his operas. One of his brother's most famous show pieces was composed by Riccardo for a pasticcio (an "operatic compilation consisting of different scenes composed by different individuals). The aria was "Son qual nave". Wiki's list of selected works includes two arias for soprano castrato which matches Farinelli's range.

Here is a selection of these arias:


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

There doesn't seem to be a lot on YouTube - I'm listening to these arias from La Merope, sung by Cecilia Bartoli, and they're lovely.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Charles Burney comments on Farinelli's celebrated 1734 London performance of _Son qual nave_: "The first note he sung was taken with such delicacy, swelled by minute degrees to such an amazing volume, and afterwards diminished in the same manner to a mere point, that it was applauded for a full five minutes. After this he set off with such brilliancy and rapidity of execution, that it was difficult for the violins of those days to keep pace with him."

Riccardo Broschi's _Merope_ was a huge success at last year's Innsbruck Festival of Early Music. It was conducted by the Festival's artistic director, Alessandro De Marchi, with staging and direction by the esteemed baroque choreographer Sigrid T'Hooft. Farinelli's role was taken by the superb Australian countertenor David Hansen.


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