Senesino

(b Siena; d ?there, by 27 Jan 1759). Italian alto castrato. He served at the Dresden court, 1717-20, then sang in Handel's opera company in London, creating many of Handel's finest heroic roles (including Julius Caesar and Admetus); he was renowned for his power and his skill in both coloratura and expressive singing. On increasingly bad terms with Handel, he joined the rival Opera of the Nobility in 1733 and in 1736 he returned to Italy.