The World of the Castrati The History of an Extraordinary Operatic Phenomenon

The World of the Castrati: The History of an Extraordinary Operatic Phenomenon By Patrick Barbier
1998 | 272 Pages | ISBN: 0285634607 | PDF | 33 MB
This entertaining and authoritative study of the castrati during the baroque period explores the lives and triumphs of more than 60 singers over three centuries-their social origins, training, and relationship to society and church. Blending history and anecdote, it traces the course of a phenomenon that held Europe in its thrall. People were fascinated by these hybrids-part man, part woman, and part child-who became virile heroes on the operatic stage. The reader will learn of the horrors of castration, the nature of the strange castrato voice, and the conflicts these singers experienced.