Giuliano,

Baker's has the following information:

"Hasse, Faustina (nee BOrdoni), wife of Johann Adolf Hasse; famous
mezzo soprano of noble birth; born Venice, c. 1799; died there,
November 4, 1781.  She studied with Gasparini and Benedetto Marcello.
She made her debut in 1716 in Pollarolo's opera _Ariodante_, and
obtained such success that soon she was called the 'New Siren.'  When
she sang in Florence a few years later (1722), a special medal was
issued in her honor; she was equally successful in Naples.  She became
a member of the court theater in Vienna in 1724, at a high salary.
Handel heard her there, and engaged her for his opera enterprise in
London, where she made here debut on May 5, 1726, winning high
praise.  She remained in London for 2 seasons; her quarrel with
Francesca Cuzzoni in a competition ofr public attention resulted in
her departure from England.  She went back to Venice; in 1730 she
married Hasse, and devoted her life thenceforth to his success,
without abandoning her own career.  From 1731 untill 1763 they lived
in Dresden; then in Vienna (until 1775), finally settling in Venice.
According to Burney, she could sustain a note longer than any other
singer;  her trills were strong and rapid; her intonation perfect.
Burney also praised her physical qualities.  __Cf. A. Niggli,
_Faustina Bordoni-Hasse_, in Waldersee's "Sammlung musikalischer
Vortrage" (1880); G.M. Urbani de Gheltof, 'La Nuova Sirena' ed il
'Caro Sassone' (Venice, 1890); Margarete Hogg, _Die Gesangskunst der
Faustina Hasse und das Sangerinnenwesen ihrer Zeit in Deutschland_
(Berlin, 1931).  An interesting novel rather than a biography is Else
Polko's _Faustina Hasse_ (Leipzig, 1860; new ed., 1895)."

Dick Hihn


Giulio Finessi writes:
>
>Can anybody give me any information about this very important singer who
>was married to Hasse and (it seems) dominated the opera stage of her time?
>I am particularly interested to know which operas were written expressly
>for her.