[1] Details of her early career are not known, but by 1728 she was in service to the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, singing at Bologna and Livorno.
After the initial Royal Academy folded, Handel set up a second company of the same name, based at the King's Theatre, and for this purpose in 1729 he engaged Bertolli.
[3] Her Handel roles included (amongst others) Armindo in Partenope, Medoro in Orlando, Ramisa in Arminio, and Selene in Berenice.
She specialised in trouser roles, and was renowned for her good looks: Mrs Pendarves, a close friend of Handel and commentator on the operatic scene of the time, labelled her "a perfect beauty, quite a Cleopatra".
[4] Her physical excellence brought the fruitless attentions of the Prince of Wales in 1733,[5] but her voice did not match her features.