Maria Giustina Turcotti

Maria Giustina Turcotti
Pen and ink drawing of Turcotti by Marco Ricci,[1] c. 1720–1730
Born	c. 1700 Florence
Died	after 1763
Occupations	Opera singer voice teacher
Organizations	Margravial Opera House, Bayreuth

Maria Giustina Turcotti, sometimes shortened to Giustina Turcotti, (born c. 1700 − died after 1763) was an Italian vocalist who had a career in opera. Sources vary in describing her voice type, some identifying her as a soprano and others a mezzo-soprano. She performed in opera houses in Italy from 1717 through 1746, and then toured Europe as a member of Pietro Mingotti's opera troupe from 1746 to 1750. She was a resident singer at the Bayreuth court opera; a position she held from 1750 until 1758 and then again from 1760 through 1763. After this period no record of the singer has been found.

Turcotti was a gifted singer of coloratura and several composers of the era wrote music specifically for her voice; including Antonio Vivaldi, Nicola Porpora, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Giuseppe Sellitto, Giovanni Battista Pescetti, and Francesco Corselli. She also worked as a voice teacher, and one of her pupils was the tenor Ernst Christoph Dressler. Several publications writing on the singer's late career have emphasized her weight; particularly focusing on the quotes of her employers, colleagues, and critics in regards to her size. This also includes a well known caricature of the singer from 1742 by the Venetian artist Antonio Maria Zanetti which emphasized her girth and is now part of the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.