A GENERAL BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. BY JOHN GORTON, AUTHOR OF THE "GENERAL TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY," &c. &c. A NEW EDITION. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. II. LONDON: WHITTAKER AND CO., AVE-MARIA LANE. 1838. G GENERAL BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. ABBIANI (ANTONY DOMENIC) an | beauty of her person, the richness of her voice Italian artist, was born at Florence in and the possession of great musical talent, than 1652, and studied under Ciro Ferri at Rome. for the unbounded caprice that governed her He excels most in minor subjects, as gambols of in the exercise of the latter. She was a pupil genii, children, &c. His most famous work in of Porpora and Metastasio, under whose infresco is the large cupola of Cestello, which structions she attained to such excellence he did not live to finish, falling from a scaffold that even Pachierotti was with great difficulty in 1726 while employed on it. His colouring, prevailed on to appear in the same opera with though sometimes feeble, is generally good, her, lest her superiority should prove the ruin but he fails most in the execution of his dra-of his own fame. From the circumstance of peries.-Pilkington. GABRIEL (JAMES) an eminent French architect, built the palace at Choisy. He also undertook the Pont Royal at Paris, but died before it was finished in 1686, leaving the completion of it to his son James, and Frere Romain.-JAMEs, the younger, was born at Paris in 1667, and became overseer-general of buildings, gardens, arts and manufactures, first architect and engineer of bridges and | banks through the kingdom, and knight of St Michael. He died at Paris in 1742, leaving a son also first architect to the king, who died in 1782.-Nouv. Dict. Hist. The her father having been in the service of a GABIA (JOHN BAPTIST) one of the Roman cardinal in the capacity of cook, she revivers of literature, was born at Verona, and in her earlier years acquired the soubriquet of flourished in the sixteenth century. He was "La Cuochetina;" neither her countenance professor of Greek at Rome, and is said to nor deportment however gave any indication of have distinguished himself by his knowledge a vulgar origin. After exciting the greatest of the learned languages, of mathematics, and enthusiasm by her singing at most of the Europhilosophy, and even of theology. His works pean capitals, she went to Russia, where she are-A translation from Greek into Latin of remained three years, and ranked high in court the Commentaries of Theodoret, bishop of favour. In 1775 she visited England, and Cyrus, on Daniel and Ezekiel, printed at appeared at the King's theatre during that and Rome, 1563; A translation of the history of the following season. While in this country, Scylitzes Curopalates, 1570; and a Latin trans- she exhibited fewer of those freaks which lation of Sophocles. It is affirmed by Maffei abroad tended much to interfere with her pothat he also translated Zosimus and the Hebrew pularity, from a sense, it is said, of fear, lest Psalms, and translated into Greek the Grego- an English audience should "break her bones." rian Kalendar with Santi's tables, with an intro- Of her whims Brydone gives a curious instance ductory epistle in Greek by himself.—Moreri. which occurred during her stay at the Sicilian Maffei Verona Illustrata. court. The viceroy, it seems, had honoured her with an invitation to a party, composed of the elite of the nobility of Palermo, which she accepted, but not arriving at the appointed hour, the dinner was actually put back, and a messenger dispatched, who found her reading in bed. She rose and accompanied him, apologizing to the company on the ground that she had really forgotton the engagement. viceroy was offended, and still more so when, on coming to the opera, no persuasion could induce her to sing a note above her breath. He threatened her with punishment, which only made her more obstinate, and she returned GABRIEL SIONITA a learned Maronite, for answer, that his excellency "might indeed was professor of the Arabic and Syriac lan make her cry, but he never should force her to guages at Rome, and flourished in the seven- sing." The consequence of this contumacy teenth century. He was invited to Paris to was immediate incarceration. She remained assist in M Le Jay's Polyglott, and carried in confinement twelve days, during which time with him some Syriac and Arabic versions of she gave magnificent entertainments, and paid the Bible, transcribed by himself from MSS. at the debts of the poorer prisoners, till the viceRome, to which he added the vowel points, roy, who was a good-tempered man, gave up which were not in the original. The Latin the contest, and set her at liberty without translations of these versions were also fur-carrying his point. The most successful exnished by Sionita; but in consequence of some pedient to ensure her singing was found to be misunderstandings between himself and his the prevailing on her favourite admirer to place employers, he did not fulfil the department assigned to him in the Polyglott, but was succeeded by Ecchellensis. Sionita was also the translator of other Arabic works, and among the rest, of the "Geographia Nubiensis" of Scheriff al Edrissi. He was appointed professor royal of the Syriac and Arabic languages at Paris, where he died in 1648. Walton has copied his versions into the English Polyglott. Moreri. Nouv. Dict. Hist. himself in a conspicuous part of the theatre, when she would generally address her airs to him, and exert herself to the utmost. She amassed great wealth, although by no means of a mercenary disposition; the principal source of her riches being the bounty of the emperor of Germany, who was much attached to her, but at length banished her from Vienna, on account of the continual broils, occasioned as much by her intriguing spirit, as by the influence of her GABRIELLI (CATERINA) one of the most personal charms. The time of her decease is celebrated singers of the last century, born at uncertain.-Biog. Dict. of Mus. Rome in 1730, not more remarkable for the GABRINI (see RIENZI.) BIOG, DICT. Vol. II. * R |