Double portrait Francesco Bernardi, called Senesino (1680-1750) and Carlo Broschi, called Farinelli (1705-1782)

On the copper engraving are the two famous catrasts of the baroque period Francesco Bernardi (called: Senesino) and Carlo Broschi (called: Farinelli). They lived and worked during Handel’s lifetime. Senesino took over the title games in many Handel operas in London, such as “Giulio Cesare in Egitto” and “Riccardo I, Re d 'Inghilterra.” He celebrated great audience success with these roles. However, with the establishment of the Opera of the Nobility, a competitor to Handel’s own opera company, Senesino changed its place of action. Farinelli, on the other hand, was never engaged by Händel and supported the Opera of the Nobility from the beginning. Nevertheless, he also celebrated great success in London. The present illustration of the castrates Senesino and Farinelli was created around 1785 and comes from the English engraver Joseph Wilson Lowry (1803-1879). He was presented with two copper engravings by Charles Grignion d.Ä. (1717-1810), which in turn (in the case of Farinellis) copied a template Jacopo Amigonis (1675-1752). Grignion’s copper engravings appeared in Hawkins' “A general history of the science and practice of music” (London 1776). The illustrations of the two singers are in an oval, simple frame in which the bourgeois names and their pseudonyms are engraved as inscriptions. In turn, the frames are integrated into various architectural elements. The portrayed artists wear plain clothes that were similar to the style of the time. Caption: Francesco Bernardo Senesino. Carlo Broschi Farinelli. (Stiftung Händel-Haus Halle Foundation)