# Carlo Scalzi

Carlo Scalzi (c. 1700–1793) was an Italian castrato who had an active performance career in major opera houses in Italy from 1718-1738. He was also heard in London in 1733–1734 where he notably created the role of Alceste in the world premiere of George Frideric Handel's Arianna in Creta. The librettist Pietro Metastasio described Scalzi as a "very unique singer" and likened his voice to that of the famous castrato Farinelli.

## Life and career

Nothing is known of Scalzi's early life and the exact year of his birth is unknown. The first definite account of the singer was in 1718–1719 for a series of performances in operas by Alessandro Scarlatti in Rome. From 1719–1722 he was heard in Venice in operas by Giuseppe Maria Orlandini, Carlo Francesco Pollarolo, and Giovanni Porta. He also performed in Reggio Emilia and Modena in 1720.
In 1722 Scalzi was once again heard in Rome and in 1722–1723 he performed in Genoa. He then sang in Florence (1723 and 1729), Milan (1724), Venice (1724–1725), and Parma (1725). He had great success in Naples in 1726–1727 and 1730 in the operas of Johann Adolf Hasse, Nicola Porpora, and Leonardo Vinci. He created roles in two world premieres at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in 1726: Sesostrate in Hasse's Miride e Damari on 13 May 1726 and Ricimero in Vinci's L'Ernelinda on 4 November 1726. In 1728–1729 and 1731–1732 he was again in Rome where he performed in the premieres of Vinci's La Semiramide riconosciuta (6 February 1729, role of Mirteo) and Vinci's Artaserse (4 February 1730, role of Megacle). In 1733 he returned to Genoa for performances.
In 1733–1734 Scalzi was committed to George Frideric Handel's opera company at the King's Theatre in London. Handel changed and extended arias from some of his previous operas for Scalzi: including for revivals of Ottone (November 1733, Adalberto), Sosarme (April 1734, Argone), Acis and Galatea (May 1734, Dorindo), and Il pastor fido (May 1734, Silvio). On 26 January 1734 he created the role of Alceste in the world premiere of George Frideric Handel's Arianna in Creta. On 13 March 1734 he sang the role of Orpheus in the premiere of Handel's masque Parnasso in festa for the wedding of Princess Anne and William IV, Prince of Orange. While Handel greatly admired Scalzi's talents, the English public did not respond to Scalzi with the same enthusiasm that he enjoyed in Italy.
In 1734 Scalzi returned to Italy. His last known performances were in operas by Hasse and Porpora in Venice in 1737–1738. He faded into relative obscurity for a time thereafter, retiring from the stage and giving private voice lessons to aspiring young singers in Italy and also in France. His return to Venice in 1745 was marked by meeting Capt. Isaac Wood (1722-1811) of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The singer was so captivated by the captain's many tales of his fascinating seafaring voyages that he elected to join him on his travels. Maestro Scalzi became the tutor and music teacher to the captain's children as well as a beloved friend, being known affectionately by his favorite moniker, "maestro e amico della famiglia." He resided with the Wood family for the remainder of his life and retired with them to the small town of Lunenburg, Vermont, where he died peacefully in his sleep in the winter of 1793. He is buried with his employers in the Pond Hill Cemetery.