Domenico Giacinto Fontana (1692–1739), also known as "Farfallino", was an Italian

castrato A castrato (Italian; : castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice can also occur in one who, due to an endocrino ...

singer active primarily in Rome from 1712 to 1736. He specialised in singing

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

female roles and earned the name "Farfallino" ("Little Butterfly") for his graceful stage appearance. He was born in

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

and died there at the age of 47. At times he feared ridicule by performing certain roles, such as a pregnant primadonna.

Roles created

Fontana is known to have created the following roles: *Olimpia in

Giovanni Bononcini Giovanni Bononcini (or Buononcini) (18 July 1670 – 9 July 1747) (sometimes cited also as Giovanni Battista Bononcini) was an Italian Baroque composer, cellist, singer and teacher, one of a family of string players and composers. He was a rival ...

's ''Crispo'' (1721) *Griselda in

Alessandro Scarlatti Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque music, Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan sch ...

's ''

Griselda Griselda, also spelled Grizelda, is a feminine given name from Germanic sources that is now used in English, Italian, and Spanish as well. According to the 1990 United States Census, the name was 1,066th in popularity among females in the Unit ...

'' (1721) *Hippolyte in

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

's '' Ercole su'l Termodonte'' (1723) *Marzia in

Leonardo Vinci Leonardo Vinci (1690 – 27 May 1730) was an Italian Baroque composer known chiefly for his 40 or so operas; comparatively little of his work in other genres survives. A central proponent of the Neapolitan School of opera, his influence on ...

's ''

Catone in Utica ''Catone in Utica'' (; ) is an opera libretto by Metastasio, that was originally written for Leonardo Vinci's Catone in Utica (Vinci), 1727 opera. Following Vinci's success, Metastasio's text was used by numerous composers of the baroque music, ...

'' (1728) *Semiramide in Leonardo Vinci's ''La Semiramide riconosciuta'' (1729) *Mandane in Leonardo Vinci's '' Artaserse'' (1730) *Cleofide in Leonardo Vinci's ''Alessandro nell'Indie'' (1730)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontana, Giacinto 18th-century Italian male opera singers Castrati Musicians from Perugia 1692 births 1739 deaths Musicians from the Papal States