Vittoria Tesi Tramontini, also known as "La Fiorentina" or "La Moretta" (the Florentine or the Moorish or brunette girl) (Florence, 13 Feb 1701 – 9 May 1775 in Vienna) was an Italian opera singer (later singing teacher) of the 18th century. Her vocal range was that of a contralto. She is "regarded as the first eminent singer of color in the history of Western music". Biography She was born in Florence in 1701, daughter of Alessandro, a lackey of African origin, nicknamed "il Moretto" (the Moorish one"), and of a Florentine woman, Maria Antonia Rapacciuoli. Her father was in the service of castrato Francesco ("Cecchino") De Castris (c1650 – 1724), who stood as the newborn girl's godfather along with famous soprano as the godmother: Tesi was evidently named after the latter. Thanks also probably to such uncommon connections with the entertainment scene, she had the opportunity to study singing (as well as acting and dance) first in Florence and then in Bologna where his family moved in 1715. The following year she commenced her operatic career at an exceedingly young age, performing in a revival of Emanuele d'Astorga's Il Dafni at Parma and later also appearing at Bologna. By 1718 she was virtuosa di camera for the Prince of Parma at Venice. The following year she was at Dresden, singing for Antonio Lotti alongside Senesino and Margherita Durastanti. By 1721 she was back in Italy for the Florentine Carnival, and for the next 26 years she performed almost exclusively in Italy dividing the years between its Central Northern cities and Naples, and appearing very often, from 1724 to 1732, alongside her great friend Farinelli. Only in 1739–1740, accepting a fabulous engagement, did she travel outside of Italy and perform at the Madrid court, where Farinelli himself had permanently settled. Her career peaked in the late 1730s and 1740s, when she sang alongside such singers as Caffarelli and Angelo Amorevoli. In 1737 she participated in the inauguration of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, assuming the travesti title role in Sarro's Achille in Sciro; in 1744 she performed the title role in Gluck's Ipermestra at the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice and in 1747 she took her leave of Italian audiences appearing at the Naples court and the Teatro San Carlo in the festa teatrale Il sogno di Olimpia by Giuseppe de Majo, opposite Caffarelli, Gizziello and Giovanni Manzuoli. The