Antonia Merighi

Antonia Margherita Merighi (born Bologna – died by 1764) was an Italian contralto active between 1703 and 1744 and known for her performances in operas by George Frideric Handel.

[1] Merighi's initial career was in Italy, where for several years she was a virtuosa singer at the court of Violante Beatrice, Grand Princess of Tuscany, and sang in theatres in as well as in Venice, Parma, Turin, Mantua, Naples and her native Bologna, often in travesti roles.

In Naples, she created the role of Iarba in the premiere of Domenico Sarro's Didone abbandonata (Teatro San Bartolomeo, 1 February 1724) and appeared in at least 18 other operas there.

Bernacchi, who is esteemed the best singer in Italy; Signora Merighi, a woman of a very fine presence, an excellent actress, and a very good singer, with a counter-tenor voice ; Signora Strada, who hath a very fine treble voice, a person of singular merit; Sig.

[4]When Merighi returned for the 1736 season after an absence of several years, Delany wrote: Merighi — with no sound in her voice, but thundering action, a beauty with no other merit [5]Merighi's acting ability (and that of the castrato, Nicolo Grimaldi) was also noted by Giambattista Mancini in his 1774 Pensieri e riflessioni pratiche sopra il canto figurato: Nicola Grimaldi, alias Cavalier Niccolino, possessed the art of recitative and acting to such perfection that although he was very poor in other talents and did not have a beautiful voice, he became very singular.