Riccardo Broschi (b: Naples, c. 1698; d: Madrid, 1756) was a composer of baroque music and the brother of the opera singer Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli.

His parents were Salvatore Broschi, a composer and chapelmaster of the Cathedral of the Puglinese citizens, and Caterina Berrese according to the Book of Baptisms of the Church of S. Nicola, today near the Episcopal Archives. The Broschi family, moved to Naples at the end of 1711, and enrolled Riccardo, firstborn, in the Conservatory of S. Maria di Loreto, where he would study to become a composer under G. Perugino and F. Mancinipresso. Salvatore, meanwhile, died unexpectedly , at 36, on 4 November of 1717. Caterina subsequently made Riccardo head of the family.

He made his debut in 1725 with "La Vecchia Sorda". Next, he moved to London in 1726 and stayed there until 1734 and wrote 6 heroic opera's, his most successful being "Artaserse". In 1737 he moved to Stuttgart and briefly served at the Stuttgart court (1736-7) for the Duke Carl Alexander of Wurttemberg, then returned to Naples before joining his brother in Madrid in 1739.

His works include:

• La Vecchia Sorda (Naples 1725);
• L’Isola Di Alcina (Rome. 1728);
• Idaspe (Venice, 1730)
• Arianny e Teseo (Milan, 1731);
• Merope (Torino, 1732)
• Artaserse (London, 1734 - in collaboration with J.A.Hasse);
• Nerone (Rome, 1735);
• Adriano In Siria (Milan, 1735).

References

• http://www.wqxr.com/cgi-bin/iowa/cla/learning/grove.html?record=1333
• http://www.haendel.it/compositori/broschi.htm

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