Giulia Frasi

{{Short description|18th-century Italian soprano}} thumb|right|upright=1.5|Giulia Frasi (source unknown)

'''Giulia Frasi''' (also '''Frassi'''<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Giulia Frasi|url=http://www.quellusignolo.fr/sopranos/frasi.html|website=Quell'Usignolo}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite Grove|last=Dean|first=Winton|author-link=Winton Dean|date=2001|title=Frasi [Frassi], Giulia|id=10170}}</ref>) was born c. 1730 and died in 1772<ref name=":0" /> or after May 1774.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Vickers|first=David|title=Handel's last prima donna: Giulia Frasi in London|id=CHSA0403|type=Chaconne Super Audio CD|publisher=Finn S. Gundersen & Chandos Early Music|year=2018|location=Colchester, England}}</ref> She was an Italian soprano who was primarily active in London. She sang in every one of Handel's English oratorios (with the exception of ''Semele)'', including various world premières for which the composer wrote roles specifically for her.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="studio">{{cite web|author=Winton Dean|title=Giulia Frasi|url=http://hemingways-studio.org/dictionary/Entries/S10170.htm|work=hemingways-studio.org|access-date=2010-07-24|archive-date=2025-01-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123075855/http://hemingways-studio.org/dictionary/Entries/S10170.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Early life and career == thumb|right|upright=1.25|Milan in the 18th century, Palazzo Mannati

===Italy=== There is very little biographical information about Giulia Frasi. She was born in or around Milan before 1730. She had a younger brother named Giovanni who, like her, settled in England and died there in 1795 at 65, after having worked extensively as a tailor-embroiderer for the then Prince of Wales, George IV.<ref name=":0">{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Campi|first=Paola|title=FRASI, Giulia - Enciclopedia |date=1998|encyclopedia=Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani|chapter=Frasi, Giulia|chapter-url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/giulia-frasi_(Dizionario-Biografico)/|access-date=28 March 2024|via=Treccani}}</ref>

In her native Italy Frasi studied singing with Milanese composer Brivio. She also performed there for a few years during the early 1740s<ref name=":0" /> making her operatic debut at Lodi (1740) and then singing in Alessandria (1740), Bergamo (1741), and Modena (1742).<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

===London=== thumb|left|upright=0.95|The King's Theatre in Haymarket in the 18th-century She moved to London in autumn 1742 – perhaps following Giuseppe Ferdinando Brivio – with her friend and fellow singer the contralto Caterina Galli.<ref name=":0" /> In England she joined Lord Middlesex's Italian opera company.<ref name=":3" /> Lord Middlesex was director of Italian opera at the Haymarket Theatre whose purpose was to challenge Handel's solid hold on London opera goers. She studied under the English educator, musician and historian Charles Burney.<ref name=":0" />

Her English career began shortly after her arrival, first performing in comprimario roles at the King's Theatre. Her profile rising gradually within the company, she soon appears in secondary roles, including breeches roles (for example: Taxiles (1743) and Cleon (1747–8), both in ''Rossane'', and the giant Briareus in the première of Gluck's ''La caduta de' giganti'' in 1746).<ref name="studio" /><ref name=":0" />

Her actual London début took place on 2 November 1742 at the King's Theatre as Mahobeth in the pasticcio ''Gianguir'' with music by Lampugnani, Hasse and Brivio. The latter's music will also be used in two other pasticcios produced at the King's Theatre during the 1740s: ''Mandane'', premièred on 12 December 1742 (and later, ''L'incostanza delusa'', premièred on 9 February 1745).

thumb|right|upright=4.5|Aria sung by Frasi in Gluck's ''Artamene'', published in ''The favourite songs in the opera call'd Artemene by Sigr. Gluck'' in 1746<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Gluck|first=Christoph Willibald|title=The favourite songs in the opera call'd Artemene by Sigr. Gluck|publisher=I. Walsh|year=1746|location=London|pages=10–12}}</ref> This was followed straight away by a period of intense artistic activity on the London stage, still at the King's Theatre, singing works by Lampugnani, Hasse, Porpora, Galuppi.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

However, just a couple of years after her arrival in the British capital, shortly after the première of the pasticcio ''L'incostanza delusa'', all theatres in London were closed because of the political turmoil caused by the Stuart rising. Charles Burney thus recalls the events:

{{block quote|The great Opera-house being shut up this year [1745] on account of the rebellion, and popular prejudice against the performers, who being foreigners, were chiefly Roman Catholics; an opera was attempted April 7th, at the little theatre in the Hay-market, under the direction of Geminiani. ... The opera was a pasticcio, and called ''L'incostanza delusa''. But Count St. Germain composed several new songs, particularly "Per pietà bell'idol mio", which was sung by Frasi, first woman, and encored every night. The rest of his airs, and two by Brivio, Frasi's master ..., were only remarkable for their insipidity. ... The success of this {{not a typo|enterprize}} was inconsiderable, and the performances did not continue more than nine or ten nights.<ref name="Burney" />}}

When the political situation improved fully-fledged theatrical activities recommenced with a première of Gluck's opera ''La caduta de' giganti'' (The Fall of the Giants) on 17 January 1746. ''La caduta de' giganti'', a command from Lord Middlesex, with a libretto by Vanneschi, glorified the hero of the battle of Culloden, the Duke of Cumberland.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Croll|first=Gerhard|title=Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christoph-Willibald-Gluck|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> Frasi, who had created the role of the giant Briareo for Gluck, was back on stage and continued her intense musical activity: first with a role in Gluck's second London opera (''Artamene'')<ref name=":7" /> and then with works by Capranica, Caldara, Veracini, Terradellas, Paradisi and others.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

In addition, her association with the annual charity concerts in aid of the Fund for Decay'd – known today as the Royal Society of Musicians – started as early as 1743. The earliest documented occasion (a fundraiser event) on which she performed English-language airs, including some by Handel, in public was as early as March 1746.<ref name=":3" /> Her charity fundraising also included benefactors such as the Foundling Hospital, where Handel held regular benefit concerts and annual performances of ''Messiah''<ref>{{Cite news|last=Howell|first=Caro|date=2014|title=How Handel's ''Messiah'' helped London's orphans – and vice versa|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/13/handel-messiah-helped-london-orphans-foundling-hospital|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> that continued until Handel's death and beyond,<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Shaw|title=A Textual and Historical Companion to Handel's ''Messiah''|year=1965}}</ref> the Jermyn Lying-in Hospital, in aid of which she sang in a performance of Arne's revised version of ''Alfred'' organised at the King's Theatre on 12 May 1753,<ref name=":3" /> and many others.

===Noticed by Handel=== A few years after her London début she is noticed by Handel, who, appreciating her singing,<ref name=":0" /> her determination to sing articulately in English and, above all, her musical expressiveness,<ref name=":3" /> hires her for his 1749 season.<ref name=":0" /> That same year she becomes his principal soprano and sings the title role in ''Susanna'' (her first Handel oratorio).<ref name=":2" /> Handel takes her under his wing and she quickly becomes one of his favourites. "The subtle artistry and emotional depth of Handel's [powerful] writing for Frasi"<ref name=":3" /> is a testament to how expressive her singing must have been and to how much Handel must have estimated this particular talent of hers.

[[File:Farewell,_ye_limpid_springs.jpg|thumb|right|upright=4|"Farewell, ye limpid springs" (from ''Jephtha''). To show off Frasi's expressiveness, in this aria, Handel uses rests between phrases (sighs), compound time and simple lines (tender tunes), broken lines and minor key (plaint and sorrows), echos etc. ("It was ...[a] scene tailor-made for Frasi, who would sing it at her last appearance in aid of the Fund for Decay'd Musicians or Their Families [in 1761]."<ref name=":3" />)]] For example, in ''Theodora'' (premièred in 1750 with Frasi being once again the principal soprano in a title role written specifically for her by Handel), act 2, scene 2 opens with "a plaintive symphony for flutes and strings establish[ing] the lonely despair of the character, and [then] her dread for the violation of her chastity is sublimely expressed in 'With Darkness deep as is my Woe' – in the extraordinary key of F-sharp minor; [...with] pathos-generating rolling strings and almost unbearable uses of silence between phrases. After an interlude of 'soft Musick' the desperate woman prays effusively for divine deliverance in 'O that I on Wings cou'd rise'."<ref name=":3" />

===1749, a busy year=== Some of Frasi's engagements during the year 1749:<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />

* Twice weekly: noon concerts at Ranelagh with the tenor John Beard. * revival of Handel's ''Messiah''. * revival of Handel's ''Hercules''. * 10 February: production of Handel's ''Susanna'' (including première and creation of the role of Susanna). * 17 March: production of Handel's ''Solomon'' (including première and creation of the principal soprano roles). * 21 March: Entertainment of Music at the King's Theatre for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for the support of Decayed Musicians or their Families. * 6 April: puts on her own benefit concert at the New Theatre. * 10 April: concert for the benefit of the five-year-old singer Cassandra Frederick, with whom Frasi may later have starred in the première of Handel's ''The Triumph of Time and Truth'' (1757) and the revivals of Handel's oratorios Belshazzar (1758), Jephtha (1758), Messiah (1758), Judas Maccabaeus (1759), and Thomas Arne's ''Alfred'' (1759).<ref>{{Cite Grove|last=Winton|first=Dean|author-link=Winton Dean|date=2001|title=Frederick, Cassandra|id=10177}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite web |title=The London Stage Database, 1660-1800 – Eighteenth Century Drama: Censorship, Society and the Stage – Adam Matthew Digital |url=https://www.eighteenthcenturydrama.amdigital.co.uk/LondonStage/Database |access-date=2023-03-07 |website=www.eighteenthcenturydrama.amdigital.co.uk}}</ref> * 13 April: benefit concert for her friend and colleague Caterina Galli. * 24 April: Mr Tozzi's concert at Hickford's Room.

== Private life ==

=== Addresses in London === thumb|left|upright|Georgian houses in Great Pulteney St. in today's London thumb|Former Westminster Penny Post offices at 39 Gerrard St. From 1745 to 1752 Frasi lived in Great Pulteney street, not far from Golden Square.<ref name=":0" /> Great Pulteney Street had just been laid out during the area's redevelopment in the early eighteenth century (Many of the houses built at this time still survive today). The street was never fashionable though, nor was it identified with any trade or craft. Yet there was a large brewery and there were famous musical instrument makers as well: notably Kirkman's, which had been established there in 1739 and remained until 1750, and, from 1742 to 1774, the harpsichord-maker Burkat Shudi, founder of the firm now known as Broadwood & Sons. Composer Michael Festing also lived there between 1747 and 1752.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1963|title=Brewer Street and Great Pulteney Street Area|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols31-2/pt2/pp116-137#h3-0016|website=British History Online}}</ref>

Then she moved to Gerrard Street,<ref name=":0" /> which is now part of London's Chinatown. She lived there at Charles Churchill's (Horace Walpole's future brother-in-law) for many years with her daughter (born in 1743).<ref name=":0" /> At the time, the City of Westminster had its Penny Post offices at number 39. In 1740, No. 44 had become an apothecary's shop and was occupied until 1765 by the apothecary to George III's household. Many artists lived in Gerrard Street, for instance: the painter Chevalier Andrea Casali, or the architect John Crunden. The tavern at number 9 was the first home of The Club, founded in 1764 by Joshua Reynolds and Dr. Samuel Johnson.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1966|title=Gerrard Street Area: The Military Ground, Gerrard Street|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols33-4/pp384-411#anchorn5|website=British History Online}}</ref>

=== Wages === She was paid 6 guineas, very high wages at the time, for the charity revivals of Handel's ''Solomon'' at the Foundling Hospital in 1754, 1758 and 1759. She was the highest paid singer at Handel's Foundling Hospital performances of ''Messiah''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

== Voice == [[File:"Gracious_Heav'n",_aria_by_Thomas_Arne.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2.5|The first two pages of "Gracious Heav'n, O hear me!", aria composed by Thomas Arne for Frasi and added to act 2, scene 2 of ''The Masque of Alfred'' for the 1753 revival of the work. The text at the top of the first page reads: "Sung by Signora [Ms] Frasi"]] Frasi was endowed with a beautiful and robust soprano voice whose expressive qualities were greatly valued by Handel, much more than her technical ones. Indeed, allegedly, Frasi had a very limited interest in studying and practicing;<ref name=":0" /> Burney tells us an anecdote showing the composer's sarcasm about Frasi's motivation regarding training: "When Frasi told him, that she should study hard; and was going to learn Thorough-Base, in order to accompany herself: Handel, who well knew how little this pleasing singer was addicted to application and diligence, says, 'Oh – vaat may we not expect!' "<ref name=":3" /> Nonetheless she did study under Handel<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Burney">{{cite book|last=Burney|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Burney|title=A General History of Music from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period|publisher=Oxford Publishing Company|editor=F. Mercer|date=1935|page=841|orig-year=1789}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> – along with Caterina Galli – and benefited greatly from his tuition.<ref name=":2" />

In his ''General History of Music'' (1789), Charles Burney remembers her at the beginning of her career as "[being...] young, and interesting in person, with a sweet and clear voice, and a smooth and chaste style of singing, which, though, cold and unimpassioned, pleased natural ears, and escaped the censure of critics."<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> At the time the roles she sang were often of cold and unimpassioned characters, Burney, however, does not clarify "whether her 'cold' singing emerged from dramatic concerns, or whether her casting reflected the perception of her performance style"<ref name=":14" />

She had excellent reviews, especially in Salisbury, and was highly appreciated by the British public,<ref name="studio" /><ref name=":2" /> whose preference yet was the nightingale singing of castrati rather than a voice whose abilities had nothing exceptional however delicate it was.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />Although she did reprise some castrati roles in revivals (for example in ''Artaxerxes'') and that arias written specifically for her do occasionally include fiery – if short – coloraturas. "Gracious Heav'n, O hear me!" composed by Arne for Frasi and added to ''The Masque of Alfred'' is a "lively da capo aria di bravura."<ref name=":3" /> "Là per l'ombrosa sponda!", found in Vincenzo Ciampi's ''Trionfo di Camilla'' is another example of virtuoso aria written for Frasi. Both arias are strongly influenced by the Neapolitan school, whose composers Frasi had sung earlier in her career. Burney also recorded that the 1742 London pasticcio, entitled ''Meraspe o L’Olimpiade'', based on Pergolesi’s ''L'Olimpiade'', was so successful that its virtuoso aria "Tremende oscuri atroci", was sung at concerts by Frasi for ten years, at least, after the run of the opera was over.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="Burney" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite journal |last=Segrave |first=Jeffrey O. |title=The legacy of Pietro Metastasio's L'Olimpiad in music, music and literary history, and Olympic Games history |url=http://isoh.org/wp-content/uploads/JOH-Archives/johv16n3i.pdf |journal=Journal of Olympic History |volume=16 |issue=3 |via=International Society of Olympic Historians}}</ref> This aria, written for the castrato Angelo Monticelli, is "ferociously difficult ... with virtuosic text-painting in the vocal line, rapid passagework and repeated notes that would have required honed technique and a soprano of light agility".<ref name=":14">{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Jonathan Rhodes |url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt65b4q1d2/qt65b4q1d2.pdf |title=Virtue Rewarded: Handel's Oratorios and the Culture of Sentiment |publisher=UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations |year=2013}}</ref>

[[File:Coloratura_in_Artaxerxes.jpg|thumb|right|upright=2.5|Twelve-bar coloratura from "Amid a thousand racking woes", written for Tenducci, in Arne's ''Artaxerxes'' (act 1, scene 2). The passaggi battuti, cantar di sbalzo, mordenti, arpeggi etc. are hallmarks of castrato arias. (In the 1769 revival of Arne's opera, Frasi would have sung this aria.)]]

However, inspired by her rare and particular talent in musical expressiveness, Handel composed for her music of overwhelming sensitivity and beauty.<ref name=":1" /> "Time and time again [you] feel [yourself] drawn to the empathetic temperament and lyrical ease of the vocal writing, embodied in the music Handel wrote for her."<ref name=":5">{{harvc|last=Hughes|first=Ruby|in=Vickers|year=2018|chapter=Foreword by the soloist}}</ref> Her roles contain vivid scenes of emotional and spiritual drama; they depict suffering and distress along with courage, dignity, and selflessness,<ref name=":3" /> a whole palette of subtle and complex human emotions. The wonderful series of oratorio parts Handel composed for her, including the two Queens in ''Solomon'', the title roles in ''Susanna'' and ''Theodora'', and Iphis in ''Jephtha'', are an indication of his regard for her expressive powers, though they are not technically arduous; their extreme compass is B3 to A5.<ref name=":2" />

Following in Handel's steps, Smith's ''Paradise Lost'' required Frasi to express innocence, culpability, pious sorrow and penitence when Eve faces the consequences of her new and inevitable mortality.<ref name=":3" /> The aria "It comes" is a showcase of Smith's and Frasi's abilities in conveying such emotions. ''Rebecca'' is another example of Smith showcasing Frasi's talent at expressing human feelings in music.

On a different note, Burney highlights that "having come to this country at an early period of her life, she pronounced our language in singing in a more articulate and intelligible manner than the natives".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> thumb|center|upright=5.5|First part of the emotional act 2I, scene 2 from ''Theodora'', written by Handel for Frasi

== Repertoire and career== Note that the table below is not exhaustive. Note also that the works/events listed in ''bold'' are documented; the ones not in bold are plausible suppositions.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

{| class="wikitable"" |+ ! Year ! Work ! Role ! Composer(s) ! Premiere ! Additional notes |- |1740 |'''''La Costanza in trionfo<ref name=":2" />''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Risultati ricerca |url=https://opac.sbn.it/risultati-ricerca-avanzata/-/opac-adv/detail/PAR1234306 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=OPAC SBN |language=it-IT}}</ref>''' | |Brivio | |Lodi, Italy |- |1740 |'''''Il Bajazet<ref name=":2" />''''' | |Giovanni Colombri | |Alessandria, Italy |- |1742 |'''''Tito vespasiano o La clemenza di Tito<ref name=":2" />''''' | |Hasse |revival |Modena, Italy |- |1742 |'''''Gianguir'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=02 November 1742 |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=21400 |access-date=5 March 2023 |website=London Stage Database}}</ref> |Mahobeth | * Lampugnani * Brivio * Capua * Hasse |première |pasticcio at the King's Theatre. * Gianguir''':''' Amorevoli * Cosrovius''':''' Angelo Monticelli * Semira''':''' Caterina Visconti * Zama''':''' Sga Giovanna Contini * Mahobeth''':''' Sga Giulia Frasi |- |1742 |'''''Mandane'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=04 December 1742 |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=21472 |access-date=5 March 2023 |website=London Stage Database}}</ref><ref name=":14" /> |Emira | * Brivio * Gluck |première |pasticcio based on Gluck's ''Artaserse'', at the King's Theatre. * Dorimaspes''':''' Amorevoli * Mandana''':''' Siga Visconti * Emira''':''' Siga Frasi * Almerind''':''' Monticelli * Idrenus''':''' Siga Galli * Floridan''':''' Siga Contini |- |1742 |'''''Enrico'''''<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Corago |url=http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/DRT0016197 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=corago.unibo.it}}</ref> |Costanza |Galuppi |première |at the King's Theatre. |- |1743 |'''''Temistocle'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Roxana |Porpora |première |at the King's Theatre. * Themistocles''':''' Amorevoli * Aspasia''':''' Siga Visconti * Roxana''':''' Siga Frasi * Xerxes''':''' Monticelli * Lisimachus''':''' Siga Galli * Sebastes''':''' Siga Contini |- |1743 |'''''Sirbace'''''<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":15" /> |Nirena |Galuppi |première |at the King's Theatre. * Rosbales''':''' Amorevoli * Eurene''':''' Siga Visconti * Nerena''':''' Siga Frasi * Sirbace''':''' Monticelli * Astarbus''':''' Siga Galli * Lesbano''':''' Siga Contini |- |1743 |'''''Roxana; or, Alexander in India (Rossane o Alessandro Nell'Indie)'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=15 November 1743 |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=21911 |access-date=5 March 2023 |website=London Stage Database}}</ref> |Tassile |Lampugnani |première |pasticcio at the King's Theatre. In 1743 Lampugnani took the place of Galuppi as musical director of the King's Theatre. On 15 November of the same year he produced, ''Rossane'', his first composition, at the house for which he was the new resident composer, possibly a rearrangement of Handel's ''Alessandro''. |- |1744 |'''''Alphonso'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 03 January 1744 at King's Theatre |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=21999 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Corago |url=http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/DRT0001553 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=corago.unibo.it}}</ref> |Garzia |Lampugnani |première |at the King's Theatre, January. * Alfonso''':''' Monticelli * Elvira''':''' Rosa Mancini * Pelagio''':''' Fratesanti * Garzia''':''' Siga Frasi * Ermesenda''':''' Siga Visconti * Fernando''':''' Sga Caselli |- |1744 |'''''Rosalinda'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=31 January 1744 |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=22055 |access-date=5 March 2023 |website=London Stage Database}}</ref> |Ernesto |Veracini |première |at the King's Theatre. Adapted from ''As You Like It'', by P. A. Rolli. * Rosalinda''':''' Siga Visconti * Clelia''':''' Siga Mancini * Constante''':''' Monticelli * Ernesto''':''' Siga Frasi * Montano''':''' Siga Caselli * Selvaggio''':''' Fratesanti |- |1744 |'''''Aristodemo, tiranno di Cuma'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 03 April 1744 at King's Theatre |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=22170 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Corago |url=http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/DRT0004645 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=corago.unibo.it}}</ref> |Timotele |Pescetti |première |pasticcio at the King's Theatre, April. * Senocrita''':''' Sga Visconti * Cleonice''':''' Rosa Mancini * Timotele''':''' Sga Frasi * Eurito''':''' Sga Caselli * Ippomedonte''':''' Fratesanti |- |1744 | colspan="4" |'''''Music for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for the support of Decayed Musicians or their Families."'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 10 April 1745 at Covent Garden |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=22754 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref> |at the King's Theatre. 10 April. Frasi sings two arias: * ''"Per Pietà"'' (from Brevio's ''L'incostanza Delusa'') * "''Scherza Quest' Alma Mia''" (from Lampugnani's ''Bajazet'') |- |1744 |'''''Alceste'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=24 April 1744 |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=22217 |access-date=5 March 2023 |website=London Stage Database}}</ref> |Olinto |Lampugnani |première |at the King's Theatre. Based on Metastasio's ''Demetrio.'' * Rosmira''':''' Siga Visconti * Alceste''':''' Monticelli * Barsene''':''' Siga Mancini * Olinto''':''' Siga Frasi * Mitrane''':''' Siga Caselli * Fenicio''':''' Fratesanti |- |1745 |'''''L'incostanza delusa''''' |Corina |Brivio Saint-Germain |première |pasticcio. According to David Hunter, the count contributed some of the songs to ''L'incostanza delusa'', an opera performed at the Haymarket Theatre on all but one of the Saturdays from 9 February to 20 April 1745.<ref name="jstor2">{{cite journal |jstor= 3650726|title= Monsieur le Comte de Saint-Germain: The Great Pretender|journal= The Musical Times|volume= 144|issue= 1885|pages= 40–44|last1= Hunter|first1= David|doi= 10.2307/3650726|year= 2003}}</ref> |- |1746 |'''''Alessandro nell'Indie'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corago |url=http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/DRT0001285 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=corago.unibo.it}}</ref> |Timagene |Lampugnani |revival |at the King's Theatre. |- |1746 |'''''Il Trionfo Della Continenza'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 28 January 1746 at King's Theatre |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=23096 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref>'''''/ Il Trionfo Della Costazza'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Quintus Flaminius |Galuppi |première |New opera at the King's Theatre, January. * Lucius''':''' Monticelli * Anagilda''':''' Sga Imer * Eriphilis''':''' Sga Pompeati * Indibilis''':''' Jozzi * Quintus Flaminius''':''' Sga Frasi * Scipio'''r:''' Ciacchi |- |1746 |'''''La caduta de' giganti''''' |Briareo |Gluck |première |Lampugnani had to return to Italy, and he was replaced by Christoph Willibald Gluck who accepted the post at the musical director of the King's Theatre upon an invitation from Lord Middlesex.The opera consists largely of music from Gluck's earlier works, lack of time having forced him to this device. The opera did not meet with success.<ref name=":6" /> |- |1746 | colspan="4" |'''''"A Concert"'''''<ref name=":15" /> |For the ''"Benefit [of Herr] Gluck, composer of the operas at the King's Opera House in the Haymarket ... With a Concerto upon a New Instrument of 26 Glasses. ... Song – Signora Frasi'''."''''' |- |1746 |'''''Antigono'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 13 May 1746 at King's Theatre |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=23299 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref> |Clearchus |Galuppi |première |at the King's Theatre. a pasticcio with some new music by Galuppi<ref name=":15" /> * Antigono''':''' Ciacchi * Berenice''':''' Sga Imer * Demetrius''':''' Monticelli * Ismene'''r:''' Sga Pompeati * Alexander''':''' Jozzi * Clearchus''':''' Sga Frasi |- |1746 |'''''Artamene''<ref name=":7" />'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corago |url=http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/DRT0005087 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=corago.unibo.it}}</ref> |Tamur |Gluck |première |The opera also consists largely of music from Gluck's earlier works, lack of time having forced him to this device. The opera did not meet with success either.<ref name=":6" /> |- |1746 |'''''Anibale in Capua'''''<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Corago |url=http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/DRT0003547 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=corago.unibo.it}}</ref> | | |première | |- |1746 |'''''Mitridate'''''<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Corago |url=http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/DRT0028517 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=corago.unibo.it}}</ref> |Arbate |Terradellas |première | |- |1747 |'''''Fetonte'''''<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Corago |url=http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/DRT0018247 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=corago.unibo.it}}</ref> |Teone |Paradies |première | |- |1747 |'''''Bellerofonte'''''<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Corago |url=http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/DRT0007001 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=corago.unibo.it}}</ref> |Assiane |Terradellas |première | |- |1747 |'''''Rossane o Alessandro Nelle Indie''''' |Cleon | *Handel *Lampugnani |revival |pasticcio |- |1747 |'''''Lucius Verus (Lucio Vero)<ref name=":2" />'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Lucilla |Handel |première |pasticcio at the King's Theatre. ''"Lucius VERUS consist[s] of celebrated Airs from Mr Handel's Operas"''It was performed by the "Middlesex" opera company (named after Lord Middlesex) * Berenice : Sga Casarini * Lucilla : Sga Frasi * Lucius Verus: Sga Pircher * Vologesus : Sga Galli * Flavius : Sga Sibila * Anicetus : Sig Ciacchi |- |1748 |'''''La ingratitudine punita'''''<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Corago |url=http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/DRT0023971 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=corago.unibo.it}}</ref><ref name=":15" /> |Silvia | * Hasse

* Paganelli * Pergolesi * Lampugnani |première |pasticcio at the Little Theatre. "... The Music of the ... Pastoral is chiefly extracted from the Works of the most famous Italian Composers. ... with a new Concerto on the Fiolincello." * Nerina: Sga Casarini * Silvia: Sga Frasi * Alcasto: Sga Pircher * Tirsi: Sga Palli * Idreno: Sig Ciacchi |- |1748 |'''''Didone (abbandonata)'''''<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Metastasio |first1=Pietro |url=http://www.urfm.braidense.it/rd/04508.pdf |title=Didone. Drama per musica pel Teatro di S.M.B. |last2=Algarotti |first2=Francesco |last3=Hasse |first3=Johann Adolf |publisher=G. Woodfall |year=1748 |location=London}}</ref> |Selene |Hasse |revival |at the King's Theatre.

* Didone: sga Casarini * Enea: sig Reginelli * Selene: sga Frasi * Emirena: sga Pirker * Jarba: sig Ciacchi * Araspe: sga Galli * Osmida: sga Sibilla |- |1748 |'''''Semiramide riconsciuta'''''<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Metastasio |first1=Pietro |url=https://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100100671923.0x000001#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=5&xywh=-216%2C88%2C3186%2C1854 |title=La Semiramide riconosciuta. Drama per musica pel Teatro di S.M.B. – London |last2=Hasse |first2=Johann Adolf |publisher=G. Woodfall |year=1748 |location=London}}</ref> |Tamiri |Hasse |English première |at the King's Theatre. * Scitalce: sig Reginelli * Tamiri: sga Frasi * Berenice: sga Pirker * Ircano: sig Ciacchi * Mirteo: sga Galli * Sibari: sga Sibilla |- |1748 |'''''Don Calascione (Gismondo)'''''<ref name=":14" /> | |Latilla |revival | |- |1748 |'''''Judas Maccabaeus<ref name=":3" />''''' |Israelite woman |Handel |revival |David Vickers explains that "when Handel needed to recruit a new principal soprano soloist for his revival of ''Judas Maccabaeus'' (4 March 1748), Frasi managed to squeeze in her fully fledged English oratorio debut for him between performances of a revival of Galuppi's ''Enrico''."<ref name=":3" /> |- |1748 |'''''Enrico<ref name=":3" />'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 05 March 1748 at King's Theatre |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=24123 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref> |Costanza |Galuppi |revival |at the King's Theatre, March. ''"New Songs- with alterations of Sga Cassarini, Sga Frasi."'' |- |1748 | colspan="4" |'''''Entertainment of Music for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for the support of Decayed Musicians or their Families."'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 05 April 1748 at King's Theatre |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=24174 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref> |at the King's Theatre, 5 April. Frasi sings two Handel arias: * ''"Heart thou Seat of soft Delight"'' (from ''Acis and Galatea'') * ''"The Prince unable to Conceal his Pain"'' (from ''Alexander's Feast'') |- |1749 | colspan="4" |'''''Entertainment of Music for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for the support of Decayed Musicians or their Families."'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 21 March 1749 at King's Theatre |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=24675 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref> |at the King's Theatre, 21 March. Frasi sings three arias: * "Scherza il nocchier talora" ''by Brevi'' * "''Parto non ho costanza per rimirarti"'' by Galuppi * "''O Sleep, why dost thou leave me?"'' (from Handel's ''Semele'') |- |1749 |'''''Susanna'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Susanna |Handel |première |at Covent Garden with the contralto Caterina Galli, the bass Henry Theodor Reinhold and the tenor Thomas Lowe. |- |1749 |'''''Solomon'''''<ref name=":15" /> | * Pharoah's Daughter * Nicaule * First Harlot |Handel |première |at Covent Garden with the contralto Caterina Galli, the bass Henry Theodor Reinhold and the tenor Thomas Lowe. |- |1749 | colspan="4" |'''''"A Concert of Music"''''' <ref name=":15" /> |at the Little Theatre, 10 April, for the "''Benefit for Miss Frederick''"Vocal Parts: Sga Frasi and Sga Galli. Harpsichord: Miss Cassandra Frederick, ''"a child of five and a half years and a scholar of Mr Paradies."'' |- |1749 |'''''Hercules''''' |Iole |Handel |revival | |- |1749 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano |Handel |revival |at Covent Garden with Caterina Galli<ref name=":4" /> |- |1750 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano |Handel |revival |with Caterina Galli and Gaetano Guadagni. (Handel composed new versions of "But who may abide" and "Thou art gone up on high" for Guadagni).<ref name=":4" /> |- |1750 | colspan="4" |'''''"Entertainment of Vocal and Instrumental Music for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for the support of Decayed Musicians or their Families."'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 10 April 1750 at King's Theatre |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=25245 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref> |at the King's Theatre, 10 April. Frasi sings two arias by Ciampi: * ''Infelice van milagno'' * ''Oh dio mancar mi sento'' (from ''Adriano in Siria'') and she closes the concert with a duet from Handel's ''Saul'', with Guadagni: * ''"O fairest of ten thousand fair"'' |- |1750 |''Alceste'' |Calliope |Handel |n/a |This was rehearsed but eventually abandoned. Handel re-used the music in oratorios.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|last=Morin|first=Alexander J.|date=1998|title=CD Review – George Frideric Handel, ''Alceste'' – Incidental Music HWV 45|url=http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/a/abs00897a.php|website=ClassicalNet}}</ref> It is plausible that Frasi was part of the cast as, by then, she was already Handel's favourite principal soprano. Moreover, Calliope's ode to sleep ("Gentle Morpheus") shows typical hallmarks of other "Handel/Frasi collaborations". |- |1750 |'''''Saul''''' |Michal |Handel |revival |at Covent Garden |- |1750 |'''''Adriano in Siria''''' |Emirena |Ciampi |revival but première of the aria "Oh Dio! Mancar mi sento" |at the King's Theatre, with the famous castrato Gaetano Guadagni and the tenor Filippo Laschi. For Frasi Ciampi wrote the emotional aria "Oh Dio! Mancar mi sento" and added it to act 3, scene 7 of the London version.<ref name=":3" /> The opera ran for eight performances, concurrently with Handel's ''Theodora''<ref name=":3" /> |- |1750 |'''''Theodora'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Theodora |Handel |première |at Covent Garden premiere, with Gaetano Guadagni. |- |1750 |'''''Il Trionfo di Camilla'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Camilla |Ciampi |première |at the King's Theatre. The opera was a failure and had only two performances.<ref name=":3" /> * Camilla: Sga Frasi * Latino: Sig Laschi * Turno: Sga Giacomazzi * Lavinia: Sga Mellini * Prenesto: Sig Guadagni * Mezio: Sga Moretti |- |1750 |'''''La Serva Padrona''''' |Serpina |Pergolesi |revival | |- |1751 |'''''"A Pasticcio"'''''<ref name=":15" /> | |Arne |première |at the Little Theatre, 5 February, for the "Benefit Master Arne". "To be divided into three Interludes. After the first a new Concerto on the Organ composed by Arne performed by Master Arne. The second Interlude to conclude with a new Pastoral Scene, the Words selected from Shakespeare and composed by Mr Arne. After the third Interlude a Serenata set to music by Arne. Vocal Parts: Sga Frasi." |- |1751 |'''''The Judgement of Paris'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Venus |Arne | |at the Little Theatre, 5 February, for the ''"Benefit Master Arne".'' * Paris: Master Arne * Mercury: Mr Lowe * Venus: Sga Frasi * Pallas: Sga Galli * Juno: Mrs Arne |- |1751 |'''''Belshazzar''''' |Nitocris |Handel |revival | |- |1751 |'''''Alexander's Feast''''' | |Handel |revival |''The choice of Hercules'' and ''Alexander's feast'' were interpreted the same evening (1 March 1751) with great success. The cast included her friend the soprano Caterina Galli, the tenor Thomas Lowe and perhaps Gaetano Guadagni in the part of Pleasure. |- |1751 | colspan="4" |'''''"Entertainment of Vocal and Instrumental Music for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for the support of Decayed Musicians or their Families."''''' |at the King's Theatre, 16 April. Frasi sings: * ''Infelice in van mi lagno'' (by Ciampi) * ''Se vedi nascere'' (by Giovanni Chinzer) * ''Return O God of Hosts'' (from Handel's ''Samson'') |- |1751 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano |Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital |- |1751 |'''''The Choice of Hercules''''' |Pleasure |Handel |première |''The choice of Hercules'' and ''Alexander's feast'' were interpreted the same evening (1 March 1751) with great success. The cast included her friend the soprano Caterina Galli, the tenor Thomas Lowe and perhaps Gaetano Guadagni in the part of Pleasure. |- |1751 |'''''Esther''''' |Esther |Handel |revival | |- |1752 | colspan="4" |'''''Concert of Vocal and Instrumental Music for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for the support of Decayed Musicians or their Families."''''' |at the King's Theatre, 29 March. Frasi sings: * ''Caro sposo, amato oggetto'' (by Alberti) * ''See Hercules how smiles yon myrtle plain'' (from Handel's ''The Choice of Hercules'') * ''Se perde l'usignolo'' (from Jommelli's ''Cajo Mario'') and a trio with Beard and Wass: * ''The Flocks shall leave the Mountain'' (from Handel's ''Acis and Galatea'') |- |1752 |'''''Joshua''''' |Achsah |Handel |revival | |- |1752 |'''''Jephtha'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Iphis |Handel |première |at Covent Garden. with the tenor John Beard. This is Handel's last oratorio |- |1752 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano |Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital |- |1753 |'''''Alfred''''' |Eltruda |Arne |revival but première of the aria "Gracious Heav'n, O hear me!" |at the New Haymarket Theatre. ''Alfred'' was originally a concise masque the score of which Arne expanded for the 1753 charitable concert. Notably, he added the aria "Gracious Heav'n, O hear me!" to act 2, scene 2, a piece composed specifically for Frasi.<ref name=":3" /> |- |1753 |'''''Enrico'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corago |url=http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/DRT0016199 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=corago.unibo.it}}</ref> |Costanza |Galuppi |revival | |- |1753 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano |Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital |- |1754 | colspan="4"|'''''"Entertainment of Vocal and Instrumental Music for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for the support of Decayed Musicians or their Families."'''''

|at the King's Theatre, 28 February. Frasi sings: * "''Non vi piacque ingiusti Dei"'' (from Mazzoni's ''Siroe, re di Persia'') * ''"Ti parli in seno amore"'' (from Perez's ''Farnace'') |- |1754 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano |Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital. For this performance the transposed Guadagni arias were restored to the soprano voice.<ref name=":4" /> |- |1754 |'''''Alexander Balus''''' |Cleopatra |Handel |revival | |- |1754 |'''''Solomon''''' | * Pharoah's Daughter * Nicaule * First Harlot |Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital |- |1754 |'''''Deborah''''' |Deborah |Handel |revival | |- |1754 |'''''Admeto, re di Tessaglia''''' |Antigona |Handel |revival |with La Viscontina and the tenor Ottavio Albuzzi. |- |1754 |'''''Artaserse'''''<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Metastasio |first1=Pietro |url=https://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100100766399.0x000001#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=3&xywh=0%2C-127%2C3969%2C2310 |title=Artaserse. Drama per musica pel Teatro di S.M.B. |last2=Boldini |first2=Giovanni |last3=Lalli |first3=Domenico |last4=Hasse |first4=Johann Adolf |publisher=G. Woodfall |year=1754 |location=London}}</ref> |Semira |Hasse |revival |at the King's Theatre. * Artaserse: sga Passerini * Mandane: sga Visconti * Artabano: sig Albuzzio * Arbace: sig Serafini * Semira: sga Frasi * Megabise: sig Ranieri |- |1754 |'''''L'allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato''''' | |Handel |revival |on the same day as ''Ode for St. Cecilia's day'' (23 May) |- |1754 |'''''Ode for St. Cecilia's day''''' | |Handel |revival |on the same day as ''L'allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato'' (23 May) |- |1754 |'''''Ipermestra''<ref name=":11" />''' |Ipermestra |Lampugnani |revival |at the king's theatre, covering for Regina Mingotti and eventually taking over the role.<ref name=":11" /> |- |1755 |'''''L'allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato''''' | |Handel |revival |revival on the same day as ''Ode for St. Cecilia's day'' (21 February) |- |1755 |'''''Ode for St. Cecilia's day''''' | |Handel |revival |revival on the same day as ''L'allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato'' (21 February) |- |1755 |'''''The Fairies''''' | |Smith |première |at the Drury Lane Theatre. Frasi is cast along with castrato Gaetano Guadagni, next to whom she had one of her greatest successes. |- |1755 |colspan="4"|'''''"Entertainment of Vocal and Instrumental Music for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for the support of Decayed Musicians or their Families."'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 17 March 1755 at King's Theatre |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=27510 |access-date=2023-03-05 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref> |at the King's Theatre, 17 March. Frasi sings: * "''Tremende oscuri atroci"'' (from Pergolesi's ''L'Olimpiade'') * ''"Return O God of Hosts"'' (from Handel's ''Samson'') |- |1755 |'''''Ricimero, Re di Goti'''''<ref name=":11" /> |Ernelinda |Galuppi |revival |at the King's Theatre, covering for Regina Mingotti and eventually taking over the role.<ref name=":11" /> |- |1755 |'''''Samson''''' |triple part of Dalila, the Philistine and Israelite woman |Handel |revival | |- |1755 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano |Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital. Handel was severely afflicted by the onset of blindness and he turned over the direction of the ''Messiah'' hospital performance to his pupil, John Christopher Smith<ref name=":4" /> |- |1755 |'''''Joseph and his Brethren''''' |Asenath |Handel |revival | |- |1755 |'''''Andromaca''<ref name=":11">{{Cite book|last=Burden|first=Michael|title=Regina Mingotti: Diva and Impresario at the King's Theatre, London|publisher=Royal Musical Association Monographs, Ashgate|year=2013|location=London}}</ref>''' |Ermione |Jommelli |revival |Commercial failure, only two performances<ref name=":11" /> |- |1755 |'''''Andromaca''<ref name=":11" />''' |Andromaca |Jommelli |revival |at the king's theatre, covering for Regina Mingotti and eventually taking over the role.<ref name=":11" /> |- |1756 |'''''Athalia''''' |Josabeth |Handel |revival | |- |1755 |'''''Demofoonte''<ref name=":11" />''' |Creusa |Jommelli |revival |at the king's theatre on 9, 13, 16, 20, 27, 30 December and on 3, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27, 31 January and 3 and 7 February.<ref name=":11" /> |- |1755 |'''''L'Olimpiade'''''<ref name="Burney" /><ref name=":13" /> |Argene | *Galuppi *Pergolesi |première |pasticcio |- |1756 |'''''Andromaca''<ref name=":11" />''' |Andromaca |Jommelli |revival |at the King's Theatre in lieu of ''Ezio'' by Davide Perez, taking over Regina Mingotti's role due to the latter's indisposition.<ref name=":11" /> |- |1756 |'''''L'Olimpiade''<ref name=":11" />''' |Argene |Galuppi |revival |with additional arias by Felice Giardini, at the King's Theatre on 17 and 21 February, 6, 9, 13, 20, 23, 27 March and 6 April. Reprised again for benefits on 27, 29 April and 1 May<ref name=":11" /> |- |1754 |''Ipermestra''<ref name=":11" /> |Ipermestra |Lampugnani |revival |at the king's theatre on 25, 29 May and 3, 12, 19 June,<ref name=":11" /> possibly covering for Regina Mingotti. |- |1756 |'''''Eliza''''' | |Arne |première |at the Drury Lane Theatre. |- |1756 | colspan="4" |'''''Grand Entertainment of Vocal and Instrumental Musick for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for Support of decay'd Musicians, or their Families."'''''<ref name=":15" /> |at the King's Theatre, 5 April. |- |1756 |'''''Tito Manlio''<ref name=":11" />''' |Sabina |Abos |English première |at the King's Theatre. * Titus Manlius: Sig Pazzagli * Manlius: Sig Ricciarelli * Servilia: Sga Mingotti * Sabina: Sga Frasi * Lucius: Sga Mattei * Decius: Sga Mondini |- |1756 |'''''Israel in Egypt''''' | |Handel |revival | |- |1756 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano |Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital, direction by John Christopher Smith<ref name=":4" /> |- |1756 | | |Boyce | |at Hereford Cathedral for Three Choirs Festival. |- |1757 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano |Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital. Handel comes back at the direction.<ref name=":4" /> |- |1757 |'''''The Triumph of Time and Truth'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Beauty |Handel |première |at Covent Garden. ''"Alter'd from the Italian with several new Additions."'' * Time: Mr Champness * Counsel (or Truth): Miss Young; * Beauty: Sga Frasi * Pleasure: Mr Beard * Deceit: Sga Beralta |- |1757 |'''''Demetrio, re di Siria''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bucciarelli|first=Melania|title=Italian opera in Central Europe|publisher=Berliner Wissenschafts / Verlag|year=2006|location=Berlín}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite book|last=Pascual|first=Josep|title=Guía Universal de la Música Clásica|publisher=Ed. Robinbook, ed.|year=2004}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite book|title=Ópera|publisher=Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft|year=1999}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Metastasio|first=Pietro|title=Demetrio|publisher=Ed. Lorenzo Francisco Mojados|year=1751|location=Madrid}}</ref>''' |Barsene |Cocchi |revival |at the King's Theatre on 8, 12, 15, 19, 22, 26 and 29 November; 3, 6, 10, 13, 17, and 23 December. Recitatives in English and arias in Italian. |- |1758 |'''''Zenobia''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Metastasio|first=Pietro|title=Zenobia, dramma per musica da representarsi nell'imperial Favorita|year=1740}}</ref><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" />'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=10 January 1758 |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=28817 |access-date=5 March 2023 |website=London Stage Database}}</ref> |Egle |Cocchi |première |at the King's Theatre on 10, 14, 17, 21 and 28 January; 4, 11 and 18 February. Recitatives in English and arias in Italian. * Zenobia''':''' Signora Colomba Mattei * Radamisto''':''' Signora Angola Calari * Tiridate''':''' Pasquale Portenza * Egle''':''' Signora Giulia Frasi * Zopira''':''' Salvadore Pazzagli * Mitrane''':''' Signora Laura Rosa. |- |1758 |'''''Solimano'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Emira | * Bertoni * Handel * Perez |première |pasticcio, at the King's Theatre. * Solimano: Sig Pazzaglia * Selim: Sig Potenza * Narsea: Sga Mattei * Osmino: Sga Galori * Emira: Sga Frasi * Resteno: Sga Rosa |- |1758 |'''''Solomon''''' | * Pharoah's Daughter * Nicaule * First Harlot |Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital |- |1758 |'''''Issipile''''' |Issipile |Cocchi |première |at the King's Theatre. In 1757 Gioacchino Cocchi came to England, and had several works represented there, but he failed to gain public's recognition as an opera composer. He then devoted himself to teaching singing for fifteen years, which allowed him to accumulate considerable wealth. He also published music in London.. He left London in 1773. |- |1758 |'''''Jephtha'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Iphis |Handel |revival |''"With New Additions And Alterations."'' * Jephtha : Mr Beard * Iphis: Sga Frasi * Hamor : Miss Young * Storage: Miss Frederick * Zebul : Mr Champness |- |1758 |'''''Belshazzar'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Nitocris |Handel |revival |''"With New Additions And Alterations."'' * Belshazzar: Mr Beard * Nitocris: Sga Frasi * Cyrus: Miss Young * Daniel: Miss Frederick * Gobrias: Mr Champness |- |1758 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital |- |1758 |colspan="4"|'''''Concert for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for the support of Decayed Musicians or their Families."'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 06 April 1758 at King's Theatre |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=28980 |access-date=2023-03-05 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref> |at the King's Theatre, 6 April. Frasi sings three arias by Handel: * ''"Wise Men's Flattery"'' (from ''Belshazzar'') * ''"He Shall Feed His Flock"'' (from ''Messiah'') * ''"Ye Sacred Priests... Farewell ye Limpid Springs"'' (from ''Jephtha).'' |- |1759 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano |Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital and at Covent Garden (the final performance of the work at which Handel was present: 6 April 1759, eight days before his death).<ref name=":4" /> |- |1759 |'''''Judas Maccabaeus''''' |Israelite woman |Handel |revival | |- |1759 |'''''Alfred the Great'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 02 February 1759 at Covent Garden |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=29375 |access-date=2023-03-05 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref> |Eltruda |Arne |revival |at Covent Garden, ''"With several new Songs composed by Mr Arne"'' |- |1759 |'''''Solomon''''' | * Pharoah's Daughter * Nicaule * First Harlot |Handel |revival |at the Foundling Hospital |- |1760 |'''''Paradise lost''''' |Eve |Smith |première |role creation shared with Charlotte Brent |- |1761 |colspan="4"| '''''Concert for the "Benefit and Increase of a Fund for the support of Decayed Musicians or their Families."'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Stage Event: 12 March 1761 at King's Theatre |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=30559 |access-date=2023-03-05 |website=londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu}}</ref> |colspan="1"|at the King's Theatre, 12 March. Frasi sings two arias from Handel's ''Jephtha'': * ''"Freely I to Heaven Resign"'' * ''"Ye Sacred Priests... Farewell ye Limpid Springs"'' |- |1761 |'''''Rebecca''''' |Rebecca |Smith |première | |- |1763 |'''''Telemachus''''' |Parthenope |Hayes |première |in Oxford. A projected London performance of ''Telemachus'' was advertised in 1764 but seems to have been cancelled.<ref name=":3" /> |- |1767 |'''''Esther''''' |Esther |Handel |revival | |- |1767 |'''''Messiah''''' |soprano |Handel |revival | |- |1769 |'''''Judas Maccabaeus''''' |Israelite woman |Handel |revival | |- |1769 |'''''Artaxerxes'''''<ref name=":15" /> |Arbaces |Arne |revival |organised by herself at the King's Theatre. in aid of the Jermyn Lying-in Hospital.<ref name=":3" /> A charity evening dedicated to the composer.<ref name=":0" />

The role interpreted by Frasi was originally created in 1762 by the castrato Tenducci, also known as "the second" Senesino. Frasi had seldom performed trouser roles since her formative early years in London.<ref name=":3" />

* Artabanes: Vernon; * Rimenes: Raworth; * Artaxerxes: Mrs Dorman, Mrs; * Artabaces: Sga Frasi, Signora, First appearance; * Semira: Mrs Scott, Mrs; * Mandane: Mrs Barthelemon |- |1770 |'''''Judas Maccabaeus'''''<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=04 May 1770 |url=https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=35315 |access-date=5 March 2023 |website=London Stage Database}}</ref> |Israelite woman |Handel |revival |at the Little Theatre. ''"By Permission of the Lord Chamberlain. Benefit for Sga Frasi. Boxes 10s. 6d. Pit 5s. First Gallery 3s. 6d. Second Gallery 2s. To begin at Twelve. Doors open at 11:00 a.m"'' |- |April 1774 | | | | |at the Little Theatre.with the very young Nancy Storace.<ref name=":3" /> |- |May 1774 | | | | |at Hickford's Room. |}

== Second part and end of career ==

=== Handel's last prima donna === [[File:Arms of the Foundling Hospital with an admission ticket (BM 1858,0417.578).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.75|"At the [Foundling] Hospital. For the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted children in Lambs Conduit Fields, on [x] day of [x] 17 [xx] at [x] o'clock there will be, performed in the chapel of the said hospital, a sacred oratorio called [x] composed by George Frederick Handel, Esq. The gentlemen are desired to come without swords and the ladies without hoops. NB; there will be no collection. Tickets may be had of the steward at the Hospital, at Arthur's Chocolate House in St. James's Street, at Batson's Coffee House in Cornhill & at Tom's Coffee House in Devereux Court at half a Guinea each."]] As of 1749 Frasi sings in all of the Covent Garden concerts that Handel gave for the rest of his life<ref name=":3" /> and she remained Handel's Prima Donna in all his later seasons, creating and interpreting parts he often wrote specifically for her. Her greatest successes were Handel's oratorios.<ref name=":0" />

thumb|left|upright=1.9|London's Foundling Hospital From 1750 ''Messiah'' had annual performances at the Foundling Hospital until Handel's death and beyond.<ref name=":4" /> Based on Frasi's professional relationship with Handel and her involvement in charity, she is likely to have taken part in most of them. Indeed, David Vickers states that "Frasi participated in all of Handel's annual performances of Messiah, in the chapel of the Foundling Hospital (from 1750)."<ref name=":3" />

Many of Handel's oratorios had numerous revivals with her, including in provincial cities: Oxford in 1754, 1756, 1759, Salisbury in 1758, 1761, 1765, Ranelagh in 1751, 1752, and for nine consecutive years at the Three Choirs Festival (1756–64).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

For instance:

On 22 June 1754 the ''Oxford Journal'' published the following advertising:<ref>{{Cite news|date=1754|title=Saturday 22 June 1754 – Advertisements|newspaper=Oxford Journal|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000073/17540622/011/0003}}</ref> <blockquote> On Wednesday the 3rd, Thursday the 4th and Friday the 5th of July, being the three Days following the Commemoration of Founders and Benefactors to the University, L'Allegro, il Penseroso, &c. Judas Macchabæus, and ''Messiah'' will be performed in the Theatre. The principal ''Vocal'' Parts by Signora Frasi, Mr. Beard, Mr. Wass, and others; and the ''Instrumental'' Parts by many of the most excellent Performers of every Kind from London. Further particulars will be specified in the Bills of each Days Performance.</blockquote>

On 30 June 1759 the ''Oxford Journal'' published the following advertising:<ref>{{Cite news|date=1759|title=Saturday 30 June 1759 – Advertisements|newspaper=Oxford Journal|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000073/17590630/006/0003}}</ref> <blockquote> On Tuesday the 3rd of July (the Day of the Installation) will be performed, in the Theatre, the Oratorio of ''Samson''; on Wednesday the 4th (the Day appointed for commemorating our Founders and Benefactors), the Oratorio of ''Esther''; and on the 5th ''Messiah'', or the Sacred Oratorio; together with select pieces between the Acts (as will be specified in the Bill of each Days Performance) by a numerous and excellent Band from London, Bath and other Places. The principal Vocal Parts by Signora Frasi, Miss Brent, Mess. Beard, Champnes, Wass and Hudson from London and Master Norris from Salisbury. Tickets are to be had at Mr. Cross's Music Shop and at the Coffee Houses; Price Five Shillings.</blockquote>

thumb|left|upright|Regina Mingotti, 1745 Throughout the 1750s, "Frasi's concert repertoire stretched from Purcell to Terradellas."<ref name=":3" /> She was considered a paramount principal soprano in English oratorios or other works of the sort by Handel and by other composers. Frasi was at nine consecutive meetings of the Three Choirs Festival: she sang for William Boyce at Hereford in 1756, then she performed for Arne, and so on. She gave regular concerts in Oxford too. She also continued to be part of the Covent Garden oratorio concerts given by Handel and, later, by John Christopher Smith and John Stanley. (The latter two would produce their own oratorios (or other works suitable for the occasion) whilst also putting together revivals of Handel's.<ref name=":3" />) In fact, after Handel's death in 1759, Frasi continued as Prima Donna under his successors until about 1768.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

In total Frasi also participated in at least fourteen opera seasons at the King's Theatre between 1742 and 1761.<ref name=":3" /> In addition to which, during the 1754–1756 seasons, she regularly covered for Regina Mingotti. (Mingotti's fits of temper, antagonisms with the director of the opera company of the King's Theatre and ailings often made her "indisposed". Frasi covered for her many a time, more often than not ending up taking over Mingotti's role for the rest of the performances as Regina Mingotti "[would] not yet [have] recovered of her indisposition".<ref name=":11" /> Michael Burden quotes the following newspaper clip:<ref name=":11" /> <blockquote> Signora Mingotti having acquainted Sig Vanneschi Yesterday Afternoon that she continues very much indisposed, and is not able to sing To morrow night, by which Reason the Opera called Ezio cannot be performed; instead thereof Sig. Vanneschi begs Leave to perform the Opera of Andromaca, in which Signora Frasi will do the part of Signora Mingotti; and Signora Peralta is to do the part of Signora Frasi.</blockquote>

During the 1760s, Frasi continued to play a prominent part in the musical life of London. She seems to have transitioned smoothly to the new music style of the generation of composers younger than her; composers like Philip Hayes, who announce the advent of the Classical Era.

She was part of the London Stage for about 31 years in total.<ref name=":0" /> Aside from interpreting Handel's and other composers' music on stage, Frasi also continued to sing regularly in charity concerts; she also took part regularly in the annual Musicians Fund (and other) benefits, and sang at the Castle and Swan concerts, at Ranelagh and elsewhere.<ref name=":2" />

===Progressive retirement=== From 1764 onwards her public appearances became less frequent. In 1767 she appeared at London's Covent Garden in ''Esther'' and at Haberdashers' Hall in ''Messiah.''<ref name=":0" />

She made her last appearances in 1769 in Handel's ''Judas Maccabaeus'' at the King's Theatre, and as Arbaces in ''Artaxerxes'' by Thomas Arne. The latter is her last known appearance on the stage in an opera.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />

Finally, in 1770 – after having been "confined for some Time by a bad State of Health" – she appeared again at the Little Theatre on 4 May for a charity concert to her own benefit singing ''Judas Maccabaeus''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> For this concert she gathers musical London luminaries such as Giardini, playing first violin and solos, her singer colleague Gaetano Guadagni, and cellist Jean-Pierre Duport. However, the organisation of the concert was plagued with difficulties which eventually lead her to give a "full-scale oratorio ... at the unsociable hour of noon."<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":12" />

Three years later she appeared in a few concerts, making a new "come-back" about which ''The Morning Post and Daily Advertiser'' wrote sarcastically: "Signora Frazi, who may be said, with respect to the musical world, to have been long since dead and buried, is expected to rise again in Lent[.]" Vickers adds that "the soprano's comeback comprised a few scattered concerts at inauspicious venues".<ref name=":3" />

===A significant musical figure=== Frasi was not only able to quickly win over the London opera stage, but she had Handel's assent as well. She also gained the affection and became a favourite of the English public.

The thirty-one-year career that Frasi enjoyed in London was broad and varied. She was Handel's last prima donna, but she also sang Gluck, the Venetian heritage style of Galuppi, the Neapolitans like Porpora, Pergolesi, Lampugnani, Hasse, Cocchi, and English composers, among which Boyce, Smith, Hayes and Arne.<ref name=":1" /> Operas and oratorios on the London stage were a rather important part of her career but so was her music making in other occasions. She did have a non-negligeable place in London's community of musicians and participated in the cultural richness and musical diversity of London and Britain during the mid-Georgian era.<ref name=":3" />

Ruby Hughes says of the roles written by Handel for Frasi that they "seem to engender a depth of female characterisation which may well have subverted the norm at a time". The soprano adds that she is "struck by the significance of [Frasi's] considerable achievements."<ref name=":5" /> == Death == Frasi's infamous profligacy inevitably caused problems when her vocal powers ran out. Her accumulated debts due to her expensive and extravagant lifestyle reduced her to poverty, so much so that, in her latest years, after her last documented concert at Hickford's Room on 16 May 1774, she allegedly found herself forced to flee to Calais where she died destitute.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

== Discography == * There are countless commercial recordings of Handel's works, including the ones sung by Frasi. * ''Handel's Last Prima Donna: Giulia Frasi In London''. Ruby Hughes (soprano); Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Laurence Cummings. (Chaconne Hybrid SACD, Chandos CHSA0403, 2018). This CD is a tribute to Frasi and includes 4 world première recordings of works by Ciampi, Hayes and Smith. There is a historical and musicological essay by David Vickers in the CD booklet. * ''Mozart in London''. Helen Sherman (soprano); The Mozartists, Ian Page. (Signum Classics, B07BF2482X, 2018). This CD offers a musical landscape of the London of the 1760s. The tracklist encompasses works by J. C. Bach, Abel, Pescetti, Perez, Rush and Bates, many of which are world première recordings. It also includes two arias from ''Artaxerxes'' by Thomas Arne and both are arias Frasi would have sung in the 1763 revival: act 1, scene 2: "Amid a thousand racking Woes" and act 1, scene 13: "O too lovely, too unkind".

==Notes== {{reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* E. Ferrettini, ''C. W. Gluck'', Torino 1914, p. 31 * P. H. Lang, ''Händel'', Milano 1985, pp. 511 s., 536, 555, 560, 585 * A. Loewenberg, ''Annals of Opera'', I, 1597–1940, Geneva 1955, col. 228 * P. H. Highfill, K. A. Buenim, E. A. Langhans, ''A biographical Dict. of actors, actress, musicians... in London, 1660–1800'', V, Carbondale, Illinoi, 1978, pp. 398 s. * ''Diz. enc. univ. della musica e dei musicisti'', App., pp. 292 s. * Bucciarelli, Melania (2006). ''Italian opera in Central Europe (La ópera italiana en Centroeuropa)'' (in English). Berlín: Berliner Wissenschafts / Verlag. * Burden, Michael (2013). ''Regina Mingotti: Diva and Impresario at the King's Theatre, London''. London: Royal Musical Association Monographs, Ashgate. * Pascual, Josep (2004). Ed. Robinbook, ed. ''Guía Universal de la Música Clásica.''. 8496222098. p. 445. {{ISBN|9788496222090}} * ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', II, pp. 289 s. * Metastasio, Pietro (1751). ''Demetrio''. Ed. Lorenzo Francisco Mojados. Madrid. * Shaw (1965). ''A Textual and Historical Companion to Handel's Messiah''.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Frasi, Giulia}} Category:Italian operatic sopranos Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Year of death unknown Category:18th-century Italian women opera singers Category:Singers from Milan Category:1730s births Category:1770s deaths Category:Italian expatriates in England