Great Singers, First Series

On June 20, 1727, London’s opera house burst into hissing, clapping, shrieking and stamping as Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni appeared together. Even the presence of royalty could not quiet the crowd—or the feud between its rival favorites.

In George T. Ferris’s late-nineteenth-century portraits, the opera houses of Europe are arenas where artistry, ambition and public allegiance collide. Beginning with the turbulent musical world of Handel’s time, Ferris follows singers from Bordoni to Henrietta Sontag, tracing their gifts, careers and private trials. Bordoni’s brilliance and amiable poise stood against Cuzzoni’s touching voice and fierce pride, while factions of London’s fashionable audience took sides. Their rivalry was more than a contest of singing: it threatened to overwhelm the music itself. What could make a crowd choose between two voices—and turn an evening at the opera into a battle?

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