Portrait of a castrato
Subtitle: politics, patronage, and music in the life of Atto Melani
By: Roger Freitas.
Series: New perspectives in music history and criticism
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 431
ISBN-13: 9780521885218
Subjects: Melani, Atto, -- 1626-1714; Castrati -- Biography
Genres: Biography.
Description: " ... Explores the fascinating life of the most documented musician of the seventeenth century. Born in 1626 into a bourgeois family in Pistoia, Italy, Atto Melani was castrated to preserve his singing voice and soon rose to both artistic and social prominence. His extant letters not only depict the musical activities of several European centers, they reveal the real-life context of music and the musician : how a singer related to patrons and colleagues, what he thought about his profession, and the role music played in his life"--P. [i].
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Creating a castrato; title: The politics of patronage: 1638-1653; title: In pursuit of prestige: 1653-1655; title: The sexuality of the castrato; title: Disgrace and transformation: 1656-1671; title: Atto Melani and the cantata; title: Completing the portrait: 1671-1714.