Portrait of Faustina Bordini
Bartolomeo Nazari
- Art Funded
- 1996
- Dimensions
- 134 x 106 cm
- Vendor
- Chaucer Fine Arts
George Frederic Handel recruited the Venetian mezzo-soprano Faustina (as she was known) to sing in the 1726-1728 opera seasons.
She made her London debut as Roxana in Handel's 'Alessandro'. While in London, Faustina was drawn into rivalries with other Italian singers in Handel's employ, even exchanging blows on stage with the soprano Francesca Cuzzoni.
Provenance
Probably commissioned by Field Marshal Count Johann Mathias von der Schulenberg (Berlin inventory c.1750, no. 246); by descent; Sotheby's 23/6/82, no.69; Chaucer Fine Arts Ltd.