An Innocent Abroad? Caterina Galli's Finances in New Handel Documents

Abstract

New documents relating to Handel and one of his singers have come to light at The National Archives in London. In a legal dispute between Caterina Galli and two of her servants, the singer provides an outline of her earnings for the period 1744–48 which mentions the names not only of Handel, but also of Francesco Geminiani, Niccolo Pasquali, and a “Mr Glooc” (almost certainly, Christoph Willibald Gluck). From the documents we learn of the singer's alleged extravagance and financial difficulties in London, her peripatetic lifestyle, and the probable reasons why she returned to the continent in 1754. They also add to our scant knowledge of singers' salaries and, in particular, record what Handel paid Galli for performing in his oratorios. The complainant's bill and interrogatories mention several significant patrons of the London music scene, and the defense's case is supported by a series of signed depositions, including one from John Christopher Smith the elder, Handel's secretary, treasurer, and principal copyist. Galli's claims to have sung for Handel as early as 1744 are examined and largely dismissed; nevertheless, the fees she says she earned are credible because they accord with Smith's testimony and the little we know about singers' salaries in the 1740s and 1750s.