Voices, bodies, identities: the modern imagery of castratos in contemporary performance

• Bianca de Mario ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Milan

     University of Milan

     Milán, Italia

     
• Localización: Trans : Transcultural Music Review = Revista Transcultural de Música, ISSN-e 1697-0101, Nº. 18, 2014 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Special Issue: Vocal Performance: New Perspectives in the Study of Vocal Music)
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • Several choices of recording industry and current productions of sixteenth- or seventeenth-century opera, contributes to the creation of a singer's image that, through countertenors or women in male roles, substituting castratos voices, forces the boundaries of gender and identity. This article deals with three directions: Giasone by Cavalli/Clément, Rinaldo by Händel/Alden; the Proud Prisoner by Pergolesi/Brockhaus. Although different for themes, dramatic structure, composition background and direction choices, these works depict some common features which contributes to the creation of a peculiar image of 'modern castratos'.