Castrato singers such as Farinelli were adored by female fans
Posted on 03/29/2006 3:32:07 AM PST by alnitak
Castrati were the singing superstars of the 18th Century. But, as a new exhibition illustrates, theirs is a tale with some modern parallels.
They look rather innocent in the museum display case - like a pair of old-fashioned shears. But these "castratori" were the implements used to castrate boys - who were making an irreversible sacrifice for their singing careers.
It might seem more like tears in their eyes than Stars in their Eyes, but this was the uncomfortable route to stardom taken by thousands of poor families who wanted their sons to become rich and famous musical stars.
In 17th and 18th Century Italy, about 4,000 boys were castrated each year, from the age of eight upwards, with the aim of making a fortune as opera singers and soloists with choirs in churches and royal palaces.
The castrato's voice was prized for its combination of high pitch and power - with the unbroken voice able to reach the high notes, but delivered with the strength of an adult male.
Composers were enthusiastic about the more complex musical possibilities of these voices - and music lovers turned these exotic figures into the pop idols of their day.
Female fans
"The best castrati were superstars, adored by female fans. Their voices had a tremendous emotional impact on the audiences of the day," said Sarah Bardwell, director of the Handel House Museum, which is staging the exhibition.
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Castrato singers such as Farinelli were adored by female fans
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These singers, known by nicknames such as Nicolini, Senesino and Farinelli, and often notoriously temperamental, travelled around the courts and capitals of Europe, pulling the crowds wherever they performed.
And as with today's celebrities, cartoonists lampooned their extravagant appearance, lavish lifestyles and their reputation for tantrums and stormy personalities.
Historian David Starkey draws several parallels with modern pop singers - not least the way young stars are the products of their parents' ambitions.
"The full horror of it is in that display case - those crude surgical instruments.
"But imagine his parents doing it. It's horribly like the child star of today, forced into this artificiality, forced through the shocking mill of Hollywood - to deliver that ineluctable, strange, desirable thing of star quality."
Mutilation
And he says that there are echoes in modern culture of this link between changing physical form as part of performance.
 Alessandro Moreschi was the only castrato to have his voice recorded
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"We're very familiar in modern times with the association between mutilation and art - the idea of human beings changing themselves, the idea of the natural, physical body being something for you to transform," said Dr Starkey.
"This is the idea that art is something sublimely unnatural - and probably the supreme example of this is the art of the castrati.
"It is unnatural in every way, depending on an operation that is an abomination to every man, and yet if it worked, delivered something that, in the opinion of some of the greatest composers of all time, was the supreme human voice - founded on utter and supreme inhumanity."
And rather like many modern pop stars, he says that the androgyny and sexual ambiguity of the castrato singers was part of their appeal.
'Long live the knife!'
A further connection between the 18th Century singing stars and their modern equivalents is that the museum, in the Mayfair house where George Handel lived, was also where Jimi Hendrix lived in the 1960s.
 Exhibition curator, Nicholas Clapton, says castrato sounded like "Pavarotti on helium"
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Handel's era was the heyday of the castrati, but the fashion for their musical style faded - and increasingly women began to take the roles originally performed by the castrati.
The last premiere of an opera to feature a castrato was in 1824 - and the last performance of a castrato in London was in 1844. By 1870, the Italian government had banned such castration in the cause of art.
The last-ever performing castrato, and the only one recorded, was Allessandro Moreschi, who was supposedly applauded by crowds with the call "Eviva il coltello" ("Long live the knife!").
The voice of Moreschi, who had become conductor of the choir of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, was captured in 1902 by a gramophone company, when the singer was aged 44.
Described by the exhibition curator, Nicholas Clapton, as sounding like "Pavarotti on helium", these castrato voices had an eerie mix of power and innocence.
The vocal range was of a pre-pubescent boy, but the singer had the lung capacity of an adult - giving it a quality that was different from a woman, a boy or a male "falsetto" voice.
Rather grimly, only a small number of those boys who had been castrated became star performers, with the majority failing to make a career in music - even after this toughest of career choices.
Handel and the Castrati, Handel House Museum, 25 Brook Street, London W1K 4HB. Exhibition: 29 March to 1 October 2006.
I wonder who first came up with this idea and how they sold it. "Just let us chop off your...."
Were not the Bee Gees Castroti as well?
One of the earlier---and better---Anne Rice novels was about a castrato. "Cry To Heaven."
Slim Whitman comes to mind for some reason. 10-4
Ping to self.
Odds are, the first castrati was an accident -- a boy singer who lost his ... er ... package through misfortune, and whose voice did not change thereafter.
I listened to it. I'm not impressed. The singing was almost as painful as, well...
Takin' One for the Team ping!
"Oh, Tito! What are you doing with that knife?"
Well...even by 1902 recording standards he didn't sound all that good! However, from listening to him you can hear the difference between a male falsettist and a castrati. I once read that the only European country to outlaw castration during its heyday, (and put some force behind the law), was France.
Gee, wonder why.
Ever hear of the "plaster casters"?
I agree with this quote:
"It is unnatural in every way, depending on an operation that is an abomination to every man, and yet if it worked, delivered something that, in the opinion of some of the greatest composers of all time, was the supreme human voice - founded on utter and supreme inhumanity."
There is a hellish quality that goes along with the sound of the voice, knowing that someone has been mutilated for the pleasure of others.
Besides, what good does it do to be adored by women if you can't do anything about it?
In one chapter, the main character's ex-girlfriend is dating an agent/manager who is trying to convince the parents of a young man, that the boy should be castrated, to maintain his beautiful young singing voice.
The ex-girlfriend is offended at the request at takes the boy into the back room and screws him.
The boy comes rushing out and pops the agent/manager in the mouth.
The implication is that she was showing the boy what he might miss out on if castrated.
Happens to me all the time.
Michael Jackson
So, do you ever get tired of screwing young boys?
;-)
yikes
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