Banti, Brígida(née Giorgi)

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Banti, Brígida(née Giorgi)

Banti, Brígida(née Giorgi), famous Italian soprano; b. Monticelli d’Ongina, 1759; d. Bologna, Feb. 18, 1806. She sang in Paris cafés, where she attracted the attention of de Vismes, director of the Paris Opéra, who engaged her to sing there. She made her debut on Nov. 1, 1776, singing a song during the intermission. She then studied with Sacchini. In 1779 she went to London for a season, then sang in Vienna (1780), Venice (1782–83), Warsaw (1789), and Madrid (1793–94). Paisiello wrote for her his opera Giuochi di Agrigento, and she sang at its premiere (Venice, May 16, 1792). From 1794 to 1802 she sang at King’s Theatre in London; then retired. She married the dancer Zacearia Banti. Her son wrote her biography.

Bibliography

G. Banti, Vita di B. B.-G. (Bologna, 1869).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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