Great Singers, First Series | Page 9

in 1753, at the age of fifty-two.
The life of the distinguished couple during this period is described with
much pictorial vividness in a musical novel, published several years
since, under the name of "Alcestis," which also gives an excellent idea
of German art and music generally. In 1760 Hasse suffered greatly
from the bombardment of Dresden by the Prussians, losing among
other property all his manuscripts in the destruction of the
opera-house--a fact which may partly account for the oblivion into
which this once admired composer has passed. The loss was peculiarly
unfortunate, for the publication of Hasse's works was then about to
commence at the expense of the King. He and his wife removed to
Vienna, where they remained till 1775, when they retired to Venice,
Faustina's birthplace. Two years before this Dr. Burney visited them at
their handsome house in the Landstrasse in Berlin, and found them a
humdrum couple--Hasse groaning with the gout, and the once lovely
Faustina transformed into a jolly old woman of seventy-two, with two
charming daughters. As he approached the house with the Abate
Taruffi, Faustina, seeing them, came down to meet them. Says the
Doctor: "I was presented to her by my conductor, and found her a short,
brown, sensible, lively old lady, who expressed herself much pleased to
meet a _cavalière Inglesi_, as she had been honored with great marks of
favor in England. Signor Hasse soon entered the room. He is tall and
rather large in size, but it is easy to imagine that in his younger days he
must have been a robust and fine figure; great gentleness and goodness
appear in his countenance and manners."

Going to see them a second time, the Doctor was received by the whole
family with much cordiality. He says Faustina was very intelligent,
animated, and curious concerning what was going on in the world. She
had a wonderful store of musical reminiscences, and showed remains of
the splendid beauty for which her youth was celebrated. But her voice
was all gone. Dr. Burney asked her to sing. "Ah! Non posso; ho perduto
tutte le mie facoltà." ("Alas! I am no longer able; I have lost all my
faculty.") "I was extremely fascinated," said the Doctor, "with the
conversation of Signor Hasse. He was easy, communicative, and
rational, equally free from pedantry, pride, and prejudice. He spoke ill
of no one, but on the contrary did justice to the talents of several
composers, among them Porpora, who, though he was his first master,
was afterward his greatest rival." Though his fingers were gouty, he
played on the piano for his visitor, and his beautiful daughters sang.
One was a "sweet soprano," the other a "rich and powerful contralto, fit
for any church or theatre in Europe "; both girls "having good shakes,"
and "such an expression, taste, and steadiness as it is natural to expect
in the daughters and scholars of Signor Hasse and Signora Faustina."
There are two pictures of Faustina Bordoni in existence. One is in
Hawkins's "History," showing her in youth. Brilliant large black eyes,
splendid hair, regular features, and a fascinating sweetness of
expression, attest how lovely she must have been in the heyday of her
charms. The other represents her as an elderly person, handsomely
dressed, with an animated, intelligent countenance. Faustina died in
1793, at the age of ninety-two, and Hasse not long after, at the age of
ninety-four.

CATARINA GABRIELLI.
The Cardinal and the Daughter of the Cook.--The Young Prima
Donna's _Début_ in Lucca.--Dr. Barney's Description of Gabrielli.--Her
Caprices, Extravagances, and Meeting with Metastasio.--Her
Adventures in Vienna.-- Brydone on Gabrielli.--Episodes of her Career
in Sicily and Parma.--She sings at the Court of Catharine of
Russia.--Sketches of Caffarelli and Paochicrotti.--Gabrielli in London,

and her Final Retirement from Art.
I.
One of the great dignitaries of the Papal Court during the middle of the
eighteenth century was the celebrated Cardinal Gabrielli. He was one
day walking in his garden, when a flood of delicious, untutored notes
burst on his ear, resolving itself finally into a brilliant arietta by
Ga-luppi. The pretty little nymph who had poured out these wild-wood
notes proved to be the daughter of his favorite cook. Catarina's beauty
of person and voice had already excited the hopes of her father, and he
frequently took her to the Argentina Theatre, where her quick ear
caught all the tunes she heard; but the humble cook could not put the
child in the way of further instruction and training. When Cardinal
Gabrielli heard that enchanting but uncultivated voice, he called the
little Catarina and made her sing her whole stock of arias, a mandate
she willingly obeyed. He was delighted with her talent, and took on
himself the care of her musical education. She was first placed under