Anna Renzi

Anna Renzi (c. 1620 – after 1661) was an Italian soprano renowned for her acting ability as well as her voice, who has been described as the first diva in the history of opera.

Born in Rome, Anna Renzi made her debut in 1640 at the Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi of the French ambassador, in the presence of Cardinal Richelieu, as Lucinda in Il favorito del principe (music lost) by Ottaviano Castelli and the young composer Filiberto Laurenzi who continued to function as her teacher and/or accompanist in later years. In 1641 she made her sensational Venetian debut as Deidamia, the title role of La finta pazza (The Feigned Madwoman) by Giulio Strozzi and Francesco Sacrati, which inaugurated the Teatro Novissimo, the sets designed by the celebrated stage designer Giacomo Torelli. In 1642 she created Archimene (probably doubling as Venere) in Il Bellerofonte (music lost) by Vincenzo Nolfi and Sacrati at the Novissimo, and in the same year Orazio Tarditi dedicated a collection of two- and three-part canzonette to her, which bears witness to her fame.

In 1643 she created two roles at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo: Aretusa, the title role of La finta savia (The Feigned Wise-Woman; music survives in excerpts) by Strozzi and Laurenzi, and Ottavia in L'incoronazione di Poppea by Giovanni Francesco Busenello and Claudio Monteverdi, in which opera she is also likely to have created the parts of La Virtù and Drusilla. In 1644 she returned to the Novissimo, creating the title role of La Deidamia (music lost) by Scipione Herrico and an unknown composer (possibly Laurenzi). In the same year she was the subject of Le glorie della signora Anna Renzi romana, a collection of encomiums edited by Strozzi, which gives a vivid impression of her characteristics as a performer and of her effect on audiences. In 1645 she sang in Ercole in Lidia (music lost) by Maiolino Bisaccioni and Giovanni Rovetta at the same theatre, probably the roles of Giunone and Fillide. In the same year a marriage contract between Renzi and the Roman violinist Roberto Sabbatini was drawn up, but there is no evidence that the nuptials ever took place.

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