The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-03-08
Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Castle at Young Peoples Concert
Carnegie Hall, March IA.

the extinct variety we may ask our
selves why this sort W singer suddenly
became so popular. The answer is that
the familiarity OF musical ears with
the voices OF boys created a desire to
retain as long as possible the juvenile
quality Of the sound Even the best
and most skilful falsettists could not
furnish a perfect replica OF this tone.
Therefore the method Of preservation
which seems revolving TO us was intro
duced Tho children set apart for vocal
careers began their studies very young
and at an early age had mastered the
techniC Of their art.
The artificial voice preserved It's
purity and elasticity for a long period
II was not uncommon for one of these
singers to have a career extending over
forty years. The facility with which
these voices executed iiurid music in
duced composers To- give them every
opportunity for display Of their agility.
and this continual exhibition Of brill
fancy was what toward the end OF the
seventeenth century led TO the compost
ton Of operas In which all the roles
were forid.
To trace the history OF the eVirato
in detail would be a herculean task. but
something may toe said about few OF
the great ones. According to the Eng
! lish historian koCkstro the first arti-
| fic!al male soprano was the Padre Giro
! lamo Rossini of perng!a who was APP
! pointed to the Papal choir in 1901 and
died in 1914. This may be correct. at
any rate the period Is that In which the
evirato began his extraordinary career
| in Italy. whence he was To extend Il
| over Europe.
| Nothing moro seems to he known
about this first Of all the Rpssinis. for
| once buried In the retirement OF the
Papal Chapel ne was lost To- history.
But those who appeared On the operate
stage left tangible RECORDS behind them
The first to gain celebrity WIS Lorctd
Nittori. born at Spolcta IN 1888. He was
attached to the house Of ottaN!O Doni
father of the musical historian. Ht
studied under both Naninis ana also SUI
riano. Afterward he entered the service
nt COsmo de MedCi ard SANK some oi
the principal roles In flurcntlno repre-
sensations. In these he excited the
greatest enthusiasm. In 1922 ne became
, singer in the Papal Chapel, but n
spite of this made numerous appear
. ances in pubic. lie died in 1870, an,
= lltTt IL "a monument W bAi'i Ai Nv
Church of Minerva. Rome.
Nittori was "A great singer, tho great
est master OF his time of the young ar
! Of operate recitative created by Per
p and Caccni. According to his biog
) rapher. Nicias Erythrnus, and othe
!, contemporaries this art found It's per
feet EXPRESSION in his delivery. 1t |
Q recorded that his singing moved tn
- public to indcscribablc Transports
y Ery thrRus says that when he san
y many persons were almost SURROGATE
with emotion and were obliged hasti
o To throw open their garments. So grea
= was his popularity In Rome that TN
II people broke into the Palace Of til
i Jesuits at one of his representations an
l. literally chased out mobiles and Card
Il nails. When people could not get in
It his representation they crowded aronn
: the palace to try to catch few echo.
y, through the wlndows.
N To conceive the style Of sing'
= such as this one should study the mus
of the composers OF his time partic'
e larly that Of Monteverde, In some
Ic whose intermez2i Nlttori sang at Inrn
l. in 1927. One needs also to know SOM
II thing Of the way IN which the singers
rs that time were trained. singing WI
l. regarded as part OF the education oi
L. gentleman and for fifty years befo
Vittorrs public life began had be-
}" esteemed as one Of the noblest arts
o. Italy The famous schools which We
m formed after the birth of dramatic rec
ID tativc did not teach the reciters on
IA TO charm the ear, but paid much ate
e, ton to the appeal to the Intelligent
I'd It was deeply felt that the office Of t