The Castrato : Reflections on Natures and Kinds.

By:

Feldman, Martha

Material type: Text

text

Media type:

computer

Carrier type:

online resource

ISBN:

9780520962033

Subject(s):

Castrati

Genre/Form:

Electronic books.

Additional physical formats: Print version:: The CastratoDDC classification:

782.8/6

LOC classification:

ML1460 -- .F453 2015eb

Online resources:

Click to View

Contents:

Cover -- Contents -- Preface -- Note on Textual Transcription, Translations, Lexicon, and Musical Nomenclature -- PART ONE. REPRODUCTION -- 1. Of Strange Births and Comic Kin -- 2. The Man Who Pretended to Be Who He Was: A Tale of Reproduction -- PART TWO. VOICE -- 3. Red Hot Voice -- 4. Castrato De Luxe -- PART THREE. HALF-LIGHT -- 5. Cold Man, Money Man, Big Man Too -- 6. Shadow Voices, Castrato and Non -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Notes -- Bibliography -- List of Illustrations -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.

Summary: The Castrato is a nuanced exploration of why innumerable boys were castrated for singing between the mid-sixteenth and late-nineteenth centuries. It shows that the entire foundation of Western classical singing, culminating in bel canto, was birthed from an unlikely and historically unique set of desires, public and private, aesthetic, economic, and political. In Italy, castration for singing was understood through the lens of Catholic blood sacrifice as expressed in idioms of offering and renunciation and, paradoxically, in satire, verbal abuse, and even the symbolism of the castrato's comic cousin Pulcinella. Sacrifice in turn was inseparable from the system of patriarchy--involving teachers, patrons, colleagues, and relatives--whereby castrated males were produced not as nonmen, as often thought nowadays, but as idealized males. Yet what captivated audiences and composers--from Cavalli and Pergolesi to Handel, Mozart, and Rossini--were the extraordinary capacities of castrato voices, a phenomenon ultimately unsettled by Enlightenment morality. Although the castrati failed to survive, their musicality and vocality have persisted long past their literal demise.

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The Castrato is a nuanced exploration of why innumerable boys were castrated for singing between the mid-sixteenth and late-nineteenth centuries. It shows that the entire foundation of Western classical singing, culminating in bel canto, was birthed from an unlikely and historically unique set of desires, public and private, aesthetic, economic, and political. In Italy, castration for singing was understood through the lens of Catholic blood sacrifice as expressed in idioms of offering and renunciation and, paradoxically, in satire, verbal abuse, and even the symbolism of the castrato's comic cousin Pulcinella. Sacrifice in turn was inseparable from the system of patriarchy--involving teachers, patrons, colleagues, and relatives--whereby castrated males were produced not as nonmen, as often thought nowadays, but as idealized males. Yet what captivated audiences and composers--from Cavalli and Pergolesi to Handel, Mozart, and Rossini--were the extraordinary capacities of castrato voices, a phenomenon ultimately unsettled by Enlightenment morality. Although the castrati failed to survive, their musicality and vocality have persisted long past their literal demise.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.

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