Valeriano Pellegrini was an Italian soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

 castrato

Castrato

A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...

 singer of the 18th century. He is largely remembered today for his association with the composer George Frederic Handel, whom he sung for in Italy and then later followed to London. He sang the role of Nero in Handel's opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 Agrippina

Agrippina (opera)

Agrippina is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel, from a libretto by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani. Composed for the Venice Carnevale season, the opera tells the story of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, as she plots the downfall of the Roman Emperor Claudius and the installation of...

at the work's initial run in Venice (26 December 1709), a part which demanded a high level of technical skill.

His first performance in London was a concert at the Old Spring Garden in the April 1712, and during his time in London performed several roles in operas by Handel; among them Mirtillo in Il pastor fido (22 November 1712), the title role in Teseo

Teseo

Teseo is an opera seria with music by George Frideric Handel, the only Handel opera that is in five acts. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Philippe Quinault's Thésée...

(10 January 1713), and Lepidus in Silla

Silla (opera)

Silla is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Giacomo Rossi. The story concerns the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla as recounted by Plutarch.The opera appears to have been a pièce d'occasion, whicht may have been performed only once...

(2 June 1713). Having lost his voice in 1728, he retired from singing and became a priest.