The world of the castrati

This entertaining and authoritative study of the castrati during the baroque period explores the lives and triumphs of more than 60 singers over three centuriestheir 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 hybridspart man, part woman, and part childwho 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.