Carlo Arrigoni
b Florence, 5 Dec 1697; d Florence, 18 Aug 1744Click here for editions available on this site
Italian lutenist, theorbo player and composer - was active in Florence until around 1731 when he spent five years in London (same time as the period in which the Opera of the Nobility flourished) during which he gave many concerts as a performer, supervised the performances of his opera Fernando in 1734 and sang and played at the original performances of Handel's Alexander’s Feast at Covent Garden in February and March 1736. Following this time in England he returned to Florence under the patronage of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, as a result of which his music was performed in Vienna, although there is no evidence he ever travelled there. He died leaving a wife and four sons, one of whom may be the 'signor Arrigoni' mentioned in connection with performances in England, Scotland and Ireland, during 1756–63.