of 1766, she created the title role in the premiere of Josef Mysliveček's Semiramide (the composer's first opera) at the Teatro di Cittadella in Bergamo. Mysliveček was still a resident of Prague when Galli performed in the opera theater there between 1760 and 1762. Later life and career in England After 1770, Galli was once again committed to the London stage. She had a particular triumph as the contralto soloist in Handel's Messiah at the Haymarket Theatre in 1773. That same year she sang the role of Aniceto in Antonio Sacchini's Lucio Vero to great success at the King's Theatre opposite soprano Cecilia Davies. She was mainly active at the King's Theatre for the remainder of her career, performing both serious and comic roles. In 1777 she announced her retirement and gave a farewell concert in London on 30 May of that year. Galli was a close friend of fellow singer Martha Ray who was the longtime mistress of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. She notably was with Ray the night that Ray was murdered by James Hackman following a performance of Thomas Arne's and Isaac Bickerstaffe's comic opera Love in a Village at Covent Garden on 7 July 1779. Galli came out of retirement in her 60s when she began to experience financial difficulties. She appeared as an oratorio singer and in operas at Covent Garden as late as 1797 when she was 70 years old. These later performances, however, were not as well received as those during her earlier career. She lived in London until her death in 1804. References 1720s births 1804 deaths Italian operatic mezzo-sopranos 18th-century Italian women opera singers