[Milton-L] Haydn's Creation and castrati

[Hannibal Hamlin]

Whoops. Apologies re. Samson. Substitute Orlando. A lesson in the perils of
pulling examples out of one's head! I too have heard the famous recording of
the last castrato, but I think it cannot convey a sense of what the great
castrati were really like. For that, the electronically created voice in the
film Farinelli must surely be more like the real thing. Certainly not all
heroic roles were sung by castrati, but some notable ones were, and they
were (presumably) little like modern counter-tenors. Andreas Scholl is a
superb singer, but even the best counter-tenor has nothing like the power of
a heroic tenor (like Vickers) or sopranos like Horne et el.

On 5/22/09, srevard at siue.edu <srevard at siue.edu> wrote:
>
> Although a number of heroic males were sung by castrati, Samson was written
> for a tenor.  Those lucky enough to have heard Jon Vickers sing it know
> how impressive the tenor voice was in that role.  Some of the males
> in oratorios were actually written for mezzo-sopranos rather than castrati.
> See my article on PL as opera and oratorio in Milton and the Arts,
> which also includes a discussion of Haydn's Creation.
>
> Stella Revard
>
> Quoting Nancy Charlton <charltonwordorder1 at gmail.com>:
>
> > Hannibal Hamlin wrote:
> >
> > It's also worth remembering that the heroic roles (Julius Caesar, Samson,
> > etc.) in baroque opera were generally sung by men -- castratos -- who,
> given
> > the hormonal results of surgery, were like nothing living today. Imagine
> > perhaps a counter-tenor the size of a football player with the vocal
> power
> > of Jessye Norman.
> >
> > Some time ago I had the privilege of hearing a scratchy recording of the
> > last castrato, made about 80 years ago. I don't recall his name, but he
> was
> > primarily a cantor, a singer of liturgical music at the Vatican. His
> singing
> > sounded as if an oboe reed had been substituted for his larynx. I decided
> > I'd prefer the fictional voice that was synthesized in the film
> "Farinelli,"
> > but that well behind  accomplished, virile countertenors the likes of
> > Andreas Scholl OR powerful mezzos such as Dame Janet Baker, Marilyn
> Horne,
> > or Stephanie Blake (who sang Gluck's "Orfeo" in February shown in Met
> > broadcasts to theaters.)  Dame Janet's final performance was a "Julius
> > Caesar" in English, Sir Charles Mackerras conducting; I was bowled over
> by
> > and video of it about 15 years ago, and it's among awesome performances I
> > can count on one hand. I also heard/saw Ms Horne as Tancred, but it was
> not
> > as sublime as the JC.
> >
> > In a time when the popular press is trumpeting the demise of classical
> > music, it is singular that there is a revival of interest in Handel
> > opera--and an abundance of singers capable of singing it. This includes
> the
> > rise of several world-class countertenors, whereas for years Sir Peter
> Pears
> > was the only one, and he best known for singing the music written for him
> by
> > Benjamin Britten. And then there was Barbra Streisand, later the Celtic
> > Women, making a popular song out of "Lascia ch'io piangia."
> >
> > To bring this back to Milton, has there been any study of his Italian
> poems?
> > For that matter, of his use of Tasso and Ariosto as well as Dante?
> >
> > Nancy Charlton
> >
>
>
>
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-- 
Hannibal Hamlin
Associate Professor of English
The Ohio State University
Burkhardt Fellow,
The Folger Shakespeare Library
201 East Capitol Street SE
Washington, DC 20003
hamlin.22 at osu.edu/
hamlin.hannibal at gmail.com
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