A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Boschi, Giuseppe

by Julian Marshall

BOSCHI, Giuseppe, said to have been a native of Viterbo, was the most celebrated basso of the 18th century. Of his early life, his teacher, or of his first appearance, absolutely nothing is known. To Fétis his very name is unknown. Chrysander (Handel, i. 244) believes him to be the singer of the extraordinary part of Polifeme in Handel's early cantata at Naples in 1709, a portion of which was transferred to 'Rinaldo.' It is at any rate certain that on Feb. 24, 1711, he sang for the first time in London the part of Argante in that opera (Handel's first in London) at the Haymarket Theatre. It is strange enough that Argante was afterwards sung in 1717 by Berenstadt, a German alto, and in 1731 by Francesca Bertolli, a contralto. After this there is a blank in Boschi's history until Handel's return to London. In 1720 we find him again supporting with his magnificent voice the 'Radamisto' of Handel, and Buononcini's 'Astartus.' It is very probable, but not certain, that he was the original Polyphemus of 'Acis and Galatea,' performed privately at Cannons, the seat of the Duke of Chandos; there was then no other basso here capable of singing that part, and Boschi was already singing for Handel. In the same year he was in the cast of 'Muzio Scaevola,' the third act of which was Handel's, as also in those of 'Arsace' by Orlandini and Amadei, 'L'Odio e l'Amore' (anonymous), and Buononcini's 'Crispo.' On Dec. 9, 1721, he took part in the first representation of Handel's 'Floridante,' and on Jan. 12, 1723, in that of 'Ottone,' and of 'Flavio' on May 14; besides which he sang in the 'Coriolano' of Ariosti, and 'Farnace' of Buononcini, and in 1724 in Handel's 'Giulio Cesare' and 'Tamerlane,' Ariosti's 'Artaserse' and 'Vespasiano,' and Buononcini's 'Calfurnia.' From this date he sang for Handel in all the operas during 1725, 6, 7, and 8. In 1728 he sang in 'Siroe,' 'Tolomeo,' and a revival of 'Radamisto.' Then came the break-up of the company, and Boschi's name appears no more. Whether he died, or retired to his native country, he was succeeded in 1729 by J. G. Riemschneider. It was unfortunate for Boschi, with his fine voice and execution, that he appeared in Handel's early time, when the operas were written chiefly for women and evirati; when tenors were rarely employed, and the basso only recognised as a disagreeable necessity. Towards the end of this period Handel began to write more freely for basses, and some fine airs fell to the share of Boschi, such, for example, as 'Finche lo strale' in 'Floridante,' 'No, non temere' and 'Del minacciar' in 'Ottone,' 'Ta di pietà' in 'Siroe,' and 'Respira almen' in 'Tolomeo.' His voice was very powerful, and he could hold his own against Handel's accompaniments, which appeared very noisy to critics of those days. In a satire called 'Harlequin Horace, or the Art of Modern Poetry,' 1735, this line occurs,—

    'And Boschi-like be always in a rage,'

to which the following note is appended: 'A useful performer for several years in the Italian operas, for if any of the audience chanced unhappily to be lulled to sleep by these soothing entertainments, he never failed of rousing them up again, and by the extraordinary fury both of his voice and action, made it manifest that, though only a tailor by profession, he was nine times more a man than any of his fellow-warblers.' His wife, Francesca Vanini, a contralto, had been a great singer, but came to London when much past her prime and her voice failing. She sang in 1711 as Goffredo in Handel's 'Rinaldo'; but in 1712 this was given to Margarita de l'Epine, and Boschi's wife appeared no more.

[ J. M. ]