Antonio Bernacchi

Antonio Maria Bernacchi (23 June 1685 – 1 March 1756) was an Italian castrato, composer, and teacher of singing. He studied with . His pupils included Farinelli, for a brief period during 1727, and the tenor Anton Raaff. Nowadays Bernacchi is best remembered for his association with the composer George Frideric Handel, in six of whose operas he sang.

Bernacchi was born in Bologna and, having been engaged at the court of Johann Wilhelm, the Elector Palatine in 1701, began his operatic career in Genoa in 1703. His appointment in 1714 as virtuoso to Prince Antonio Farnese led to widespread recognition throughout Europe, and he performed in operas by various famous composers of the day, including Johann Adolph Hasse, Leonardo Vinci, and Alessandro Scarlatti (Rome 1721). He was an especially frequent visitor to the theatres of Venice, appearing in more than twenty operas in that city between 1712 and 1724. In 1720 the Elector of Bavaria engaged him to sing at Munich, where he often performed until 1727. In the following season, he appeared in Naples in the same company as Carestini. This occasioned much rivalry and musico-political intrigue, with the older singer attempting unsuccessfully to have his younger colleague removed. Bernacchi stood on his dignity and left for Milan in a huff.

In 1729 Handel took Bernacchi as his primo uomo for the second Royal Academy, in place of the departed Senesino. For Handel, Bernacchi created roles in Lotario (1729) and Partenope (1730). He also sang in revivals of Giulio Cesare and Tolomeo, and in the pasticcio Ormisda. Despite his fine European reputation, Bernacchi's success in England was mixed: though Charles Burney praised his intelligence as a singer, English audiences preferred Senesino.

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