Jenkins MT 2010 Mozart Castrati

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Mozart and the castrati Author(s): JOHN S. JENKINS Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 151, No. 1913 (WINTER 2010), pp. 55-68Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25759517Accessed: 10-10-2015 23:16 UTC

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i. JS Jenkins: 'The voice of

the castrato', in The Lancet

vol.351 (i998),pp.i877-8o.

JOHN S. JENKINS

Mozart and the castrati

During the i8th century Italian vocal music was dominated by the voices of castrati and from a very early age Mozart encountered

these extraordinary singers. Throughout his career he composed music, mostly operatic but also liturgical and concert arias, to encompass their remarkable characteristics, and in his many letters he expressed his

personal thoughts on the nature of these strange creatures.

The stimulus to preserve the pre-pubertal male voice into adult life by castration had, in the first place, come from the Church of Rome in the late

16th century.1 The first official provision of four castrati in the choir of the

Sistine chapel was in 1589 in a papal Bull issued by Pope Sixtus V. Following this the practice spread rapidly throughout the churches, so that by 1640 castrati were members of all the main choirs of Italy. They continued to

take their place in the Sistine chapel for over three centuries.

But the main reason for the rise in popularity of the castrato voice was

the coming of opera to the Italian musical scene early in the 17th century. The development of opera in the form of opera seria, with its stylised plots often centred round ancient legends and gods, lent itself especially to the

unreal sound of the castrato voice even in roles of heroic male characters.

It was usual, therefore, for the cast in an opera seria to include one or more

castrati. The rise and fall of the castrato closely paralleled the popularity of

opera seria, reaching its peak in the middle of the 18th century. After castration boys who showed vocal aptitude were apprenticed to a

singing master or entered a conservatorio to embark upon a long period of

instruction in vocal technique and, particularly, breath control. This intensive

training, together with the effect of castration on the vocal cords and its

production of a greatly increased chest capacity, resulted in the great vocal

range, power and agility for which the castrati were famous. The format of

opera seria with its emphasis on the da capo aria enabled them to provide the

extended ornamentation so much enjoyed by audiences, although this was

often to the detriment of real characterisation and dramatic expression. Those with the finest voices became operatic idols. Such was their

enthusiasm for the castrato that the audiences' cry was 'Evviva il costello!'

('Long live the knife!'). By the first half of the 18th century opera had

spread from the great centres of Naples, Venice and Rome to many

European cities, including London, where the top visiting castrati were

regarded as international stars able to command enormous fees. Amongst other musicians, however, castrati were not always regarded favourably.

the musical times Winter 2oio 55



56 Mozart and the castrati

2. Charles Burney: A general

history of music (1776?1789), 2 vols, edited by Frank Mercer (New York, 1935), vol.2, p.867.

3. Ian Woodfield: 'New light on the Mozarts' London

visit', in Music & Letters

vol.76 (i995),pp.i87-2o8.

Their physical features, increased height and feminine appearance were

sometimes the subject of mockery, and the behaviour of some led to charges of arrogance, petulance and poor acting. There was also envy over the much

larger fees that they could command compared with normal singers.

Giovanni Manzuoli (ijzS?yz) Mozart and his family arrived in London in April 1764 and in the following autumn they witnessed the opening of the Italian opera season at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket with the appearance of Giovanni Manzuoli asprimo uomo in the pasticcio opera Eîo. Manzuoli, born in Florence, was the most

eminent of the current castrati, and according to Leopold Mozart he was paid

?1500 for coming to London as well as receiving the very large sum of 1000

guineas for a single benefit performance. These values should be multiplied

by at least 150 in present terms. Charles Burney writes of his performance: 'Manzuoli's voice was the most powerful and voluminous soprano that had

been heard on our stage since the time of Farinelli; and his manner of singing was grand and full of taste and dignity.'2 He performed in all the Italian operas of the London season to great acclaim, whatever the merits of the opera, and

also performed at private concerts for the aristocracy. On 12 March 1765 Lady

Margaret Clive, wife of Lord Clive of India, refers, in a letter, to a concert, which she planned to hold the next day at her house in Berkeley Square, at

which Manzuoli would sing and 'the little Mozarts, the boy aged 8 and the girl 12 will also play most completely well.'3

It was during this year in London that Manzuoli became so entranced by the young Wolfgang that he took the trouble to give the boy singing lessons.

This instruction from a master in vocal technique was to prove invaluable to Mozart in his first attempts at opera composition only two years later.

The fruits of the tuition were demonstrated by the Honourable Daines

Barrington, an eminent lawyer and amateur musician who, having attended

public concerts at which Wolfgang had performed, was determined to put the abilities of this apparent prodigy to proper tests, which he then carried

out at Mozart's house in London. In his long, detailed report, which he

subsequently published, he says

Happening to know that the little Mozart was much taken notice of by Manzoli [sic], the famous singer, who came over to England in 1764,1 said to the boy that I should be glad to hear an extemporary Love Song such as his friend Manzoli might choose in an opera. The boy on this (who continued who continued to sit at his harpsichord) looked back with much archness, and immediately began five or six lines of a jargon recitative proper to

introduce a love song [...]. Finding that he was in humour and, as it were inspired, I then

desired him to compose a Song of Rage, such as might be proper for the opera stage. The

boy again looked back with much archness and began five or six lines of a jargon recitative

proper to precede a Song of Anger. This lasted also about the same time with the Song



4. Daines Barrington: 'An

account of a remarkable

young man', in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal

Society vol.60 (1771)

pp.54-64.

5. Emily Anderson, ed.:

The letters of Mozart and

his family (third edition, London, 1985), pp.130-131.

of Love; and in the middle of it he had worked himself up to such a pitch that he beat his

harpsichord like a person possessed, rising sometimes in his chair.4

At the end of the London opera season Manzuoli returned to Florence. In

April 1770 he was reunited with the Mozarts, father and son, during their first

visit to Italy. The purpose of this visit was for Wolfgang to obtain firsthand

experience of Italian music, particularly opera, of which they saw a great deal. During their extensive travels in the country they reached Bologna, where they paid their respects to the most famous castrato of all, Carlo

Broschi, known as Farinelli (1705?82), by visiting him in his retirement at

his villa outside the city. In Milan the young Mozart composed three arias

(K.78, 79, 88), all with a text from Metastasio's Artaserse, for a concert

held on 12 March 1770 by the influential diplomat Count Karl Firmian. As

a result of the very favourable response from the noblemen present who

were responsible for the Milan opera, he was awarded a contract to compose his first opera seria, Mitridate, re di Ponto, to be performed in December

1770. Mozart writes 'Manzuoli is negotiating with the Milanese to sing in

my opera. With that in view he sang four or five arias to me in Florence

including some which I had to compose in Milan so that the Milanese who

had heard none of my dramatic music should see that I am capable of writing an opera. Manzuoli is demanding a thousand ducats'.5 In fact, the singers commissioned to perform in Mitridate did not include Manzuoli after all.

For his first opera seria the Milan authority gave Mozart no less than three

castrati out of a cast of seven for whom he had to compose the music. They were Pietro Benedetti (soprano), also known as Sartorini, in the role of

Sifare son of Mitridate, Giuseppe Cicognani (alto), as Farnace, the second

son, and Pietro Muschietti (soprano), as Governor of Nymphaeum. Of

these Benedetti was already known to him from a concert he had attended in

Rome, and earlier in the year, at Mantua, he had heard Cicognani in Hasse's

opera La clemenia di Tito. According to Mozart his voice was delightful, with a beautiful cantabile. Two months later, in Bologna, Mozart took part in a concert with Cicognani.

By 1770, under the reforms of Gluck and others, opera seria was already

moving away from the standard da capo aria of the Baroque era to more

complex styles and Mozart was alert to these new developments. For the

three acts of Mitridate he composed nine castrato arias - four for Sifare, four for Farnace and one for Arbace. The music fully demonstrates their

considerable abilities, involving much coloratura, but, constrained by the

libretto and the conventions of opera seria, the young Mozart was not yet able

to bring to Mitridate the degree of dramatic expression which characterised

his later works. Nevertheless, his achievement in the genre is astonishing

when, at the age of 14, the beauty of the music and his composition is

measured against those of his experienced contemporaries.

THE MUSICAL TIMES Winter 2010 57




6. ibid., p.207.

Mitridate, re diPonto was so well received that the following year, after his

return to Salzburg, he was commissioned to write another work for Milan, to

celebrate the marriage of Empress Maria Theresa's 17-year-old son Archduke

Ferdinand to Princess Maria Beatrice d 'Este of Modena. This opera in two parts, or festa teatrale as it was designated, was Ascanio in Alba, a pastoral allegory on

Empress Maria Theresa as Venus and the young couple as Ascanio and Sylvia. This time, Manzuoli was cast in the role of Ascanio. As the shepherd Fauno, there was a second castrato, Adamo Solzi, already known to the Hapsburg court by his performance in Florian Gassman's E-fio, which marked Emperor

Joseph's visit to Rome in 1770. However, the main opera for the celebrations

was Johann Adolf Hasse's Ruggiero, in which Manzuoli was also to take part. Mozart always composed specifically for a particular voice and would not

compose the arias before meeting the singers in person ? 'so as to fit the suit

to the figure', as Leopold said. In the case of Manzuoli he was of course

already very familiar with his voice, but it is noticeable that the music he

composed for this castrato, who was then 46 years old and probably past his prime, does not involve a high tessitura, whereas for Solzi provision was made for much greater range and agility. His two arias, 'Se il labbro piu non dice' and the very long 'Dal tuo gentil sembiante', with its repeated

sequences of coloratura, demonstrate the talent of the younger castrato.

Ascanio in Alba was performed on 17 October 1771, the day following Hasse's Ruggiero, and although the form of a festa teatrale gave little scope for characterisation, according to Leopold it completely overwhelmed the

work of the old master: 'I'm sorry but Wolfgang's serenata has so beaten

Hasse's opera that I cannot describe it.'

But Mozart's views on Manzuoli's character after his performances in the two operas were now shown to be very different from previous encounters.

Writing to his sister from Milan on 24 November 1771 he says

Manzuoli, who up to the present has been generally looked upon as the most sensible of

the castrati, has in his old age given the world a sample of his stupidity and conceit. He

was engaged for the opera at a salary of five hundred cigliati but as the contract did not

mention my serenata he demanded another five hundred for that, that is, one thousand

cigliati in all. The court only gave him seven hundred and a fine snuff-box (quite enough, I think.) But he like a true castrato returned both the seven hundred cigliati and the snuff

box and went off without anything.6

This appears to be Manzuoli's last stage appearance and he died in Florence

in 1782.

Giusto Ferdinando Tenducci (1736?90)

Born in Sienna, Tenducci arrived in London in 1758 and he continued to live

there for much of his life. His debut in Italian opera was at the King's Theatre



7. Tobias Smollet:

Humphrey Clinker (1771;

Harmondsworth, 1988), p.123.

8. Otto Erich Deutsch:

Mozart: a documentary

biography (third edition, London, 1991), p.187.

in // Ciro reconosciuto by Giacchino Cocchi and was well received, but in 1761 he achieved even greater acclaim for his appearance in Thomas Arne's most

successful opera, Artaxerxes, in the role of the young hero Arbaces.

On 26 January 1765 the much anticipated opera Adriano in Siria by Johann Christian Bach, music master to the Queen, opened at the King's Theatre.

The primo uomo was Manzuoli and the secondo uomo was Tenducci in the

title role. During his stay in London Mozart attended the performance and

he subsequently became very friendly with Tenducci who, in addition to the

season's performances at the King's Theatre, sang regularly at Ranelagh Pleasure Gardens in a series of song arrangements written for him by Bach.

In 1765 Tenducci visited Dublin where he repeated his success with

Artaxerxes and in the following year whilst in Ireland he, surprisingly, eloped with a young singer, Dora Maunsell, and married her in Cork. The girl's

parents were very antagonistic and succeeded in getting the bridegroom

imprisoned for the seduction of their daughter, and he was only finally set

at liberty when he became seriously ill. The Maunsell family eventually relented and he returned with his wife to London, where he continued to

perform in opera, at the Bach-Abel concerts and at Ranelagh. JC Bach

introduced Tenducci to a friend of his, the artist Thomas Gainsborough, who painted the portrait of him which is now in the Barbour Institute of

Fine Art, Birmingham. The nature of his voice is enthusiastically described

by Lydia Melford in Tobias Smollett's novel Humphrey Clinker when she

says, after a visit to Ranelagh, 'There I heard the famous Tenducci, a thing from Italy

? it looks for all the world like a man, though they say it is not.

The voice to be sure is neither man's nor woman's but it is more melodious

than either; and it warbled so divinely that while I listened I really thought

myself in paradise'.7 In August 1778 Bach arrived in Paris to prepare his new opera Amadis de

Gaule in the company of Tenducci, who had fled from England to escape his

debts, and it was here that the two friends were reunited with Mozart, who

had been in the city for five months looking for employment. Mozart wrote

to his father in Salzburg:

Mr Bach from London has been here for the last fortnight [...] You can easily imagine his

delight and mine at meeting again [...]. Tenducci is here too. He is Bach's bosom friend.

He was also delighted to see me again. I must make haste for I am composing a scena for

Tenducci which is to be performed on Sunday; it is for pianoforte, oboe, horn and bassoon.

The manuscript is now lost but Charles Burney gives further information in

a letter quoted by Daines Barrington:

Mozart being at Paris, in 1778, composed for Tenducci a scena in 14 parts, chiefly obligati; viz. two violins, two tenors, one chromatic horn, one oboe, two clarinets, a pianoforte, a soprano voice part, with two horns and a base di rinforza. It is a very elaborate and

masterly composition, discovering a great practice and facility of writing in many parts.8

the musical times Winter 20io 59



6o Mozart and the castrati

Tenducci returned to London, and his last opera performance was

in G luck's Orfeo at the King's Theatre in 1785. It was not a success and

at the age of 50 his voice was now spent. He gave a final concert for the

commemoration of his friend Bach and returned to Italy, dying in Genoa

on 25 January 1790.

Venaniio Rauîni (1746?1810)

Following his successes in Milan, Mozart received yet another contract

to compose an opera seria, Lucio Silla, for the festival at the end of 1772. The singers assigned to the opera included the renowned soprano Anna

de Amicis-Buonsolazzi in the prima donna role of Giunia and the young castrato Venanzio Rauzzini as her lover Cecilio. Mozart was already familiar

with the voice of de Amicis during a visit to Naples the previous year but

Rauzzini was unknown to him.

Veneziano Rauzzini was born at Camero in the Italian Marches and after

operatic roles in Rome he entered the service of the Elector of Bavaria in

Munich in 1767. At this time Charles Burney described him as 'a charming

singer, a pleasing figure and a good actor'. As usual Mozart would not

compose his arias until he was present but when he finally arrived, Leopold Mozart says that at rehearsal he sang his first aria, 'II tenero momento', 'like an angel'. Charles Burney subsequently wrote of him: 'the beautiful and

animated young man had a voice which was sweet, flexible and extensive,

being in compass more than two octaves.' Mozart, accordingly, wrote for

him exploiting this quality. In his aria 'Ah se a morir mi chiama' Rauzzini

soared from At] to Ab almost two octaves higher. For his prima donna, de

Amicis, Mozart, at her own insistence, also wrote very demanding music to

show off her fine technique, but the relationship between the two soloists

became soured when at the first performance on 26 December Rauzzini was

very warmly applauded by the Archduchess of Milan, Maria Beatrice, at the

expense of de Amicis. According to Leopold Mozart, writing to his wife on 2

January 1773 about the success of the opera, Rauzzini had previously told the

Archduchess that he was so nervous about his coming performance that he

might not be able to sing unless the court encouraged him. The very jealous de Amicis was not placated until the next day when she was given a special audience with the Archduchess - in Leopold's view 'a typical castrato's

trick'.

Following Lucio Silla, Mozart, while still in Milan, composed for Rauzzini

the celebrated motet Exsultate jubilate (K.165), which was sung at the

Theatine Church on 17 January 1773. Although a sacred work, it is operatic in style. Scored for solo soprano and orchestral accompaniment, it consists

of two arias connected by a recitative and ends with the famous 'Alleluia'.



In 1774 Rauzzini left Italy for London to take up the position of primo uomo

at the King's Theatre, where he also composed for the company. After 1777 he

became increasingly in demand as a singing teacher, attracting such illustrious

pupils as Nancy Storace, Mozart's first Susanna in Le none di Figaro, and

her lover, the tenor John Braham. Rauzzini finally moved to Bath where, in

charge of the concerts, he was very influential in the vibrant musical life of

the city. He died there on 8 April 1810 and was buried in Bath Abbey, where

there is a memorial to him erected by Nancy Storace and John Braham.

Tommaso Consoli (ij53-1810) On 13 March 1773 Mozart returned to Salzburg and to a new Archbishop,

Hieronymous Colloredo. In the absence of further work in Italy, father

and son spent the summer in Vienna with the hope that after the successes

in Milan a substantive position would become available. This did not

materialise and at the end of September they returned to Salzburg. Two

months later, Wolfgang received a commission from Count Joseph von

Seeau, Superintendent of Theatrical the Entertainments in Munich, to

compose an opera buffa entitled La finta giardiniera for the Munich festival.

The exact cast of singers provided is uncertain but it included the castrato

Tommaso Consoli.

Born in Rome, Consoli came to Munich in 1773, but there is little

information about his early career. It was unusual for a castrato to be given a role in an opera buffa since these exotic singers were more suited to the

legendary world of opera seria than the down to earth nature of comic

opera, but his presence may result from the fact that La finta giardiniera has

the most confused libretto of all, with which Mozart was involved. Most

of the characters, including that of the title role and her lover Belfiore, are

recognisable as those from a typical opera buffa, whereas the second pair of

lovers, Ramiro and Arminda, are cast in a serious mode. Accordingly, the

castrato Consoli was given the part of Ramiro and the well-known soprano Rosa Manservisi was cast as Arminda. In this respect La finta giardiniera is

a combination of buffa and seria, and within this very confused scenario

Mozart was attempting to depart from the standard pattern of comic opera and introduce darker elements of vengeance and betrayal. The music

composed for Consoli, in particular the beautiful aria 'Dolce d'amor

compagna' and the powerful 'Va pure ad altri in braccio', brings to the

role of Ramiro feelings of passion not given to the comic nature of the

other characters. The opera is flawed by its ridiculous libretto but the very fine music which Mozart composed for this work demonstrates that he was

already fluent in both operatic genres and presages the masterpieces of Le

noê di Figaro and Don Giovanni.

the musical times Winter 2010 61




Mozart returned home to Salzburg in March 1775 and awaiting him was

another commission for an opera from no less than his own Archbishop Colloredo. This time, it was to be part of the festivities to welcome

Archduke Maximillian, Empress Maria Theresa's youngest son, to Salzburg in April 1775. The work chosen was the opera seria lirepastore, with a well

known libretto by Metastasio, and it had already been set to music at least 14 times by many eminent composers before Mozart. The plot was typical of

opera seria, involving ancient heroes, with Alexander the Great installing a

humble shepherd, Aminta, on the throne of Sidon. For the Mozart version

the cast was drawn from the Salzburg court singers but their identity is

unknown apart from Tommaso Consoli: he was brought from Munich for

the primo uomo role of Aminta, since at that time there were no castratos

available in Salzburg. The numerous previous composers for // re pastore had generally treated the work as a typical static opera seria, but even within

this stylised format Mozart attempted to display real emotions, notably in

the exchanges between Aminta and his lover the shepherdess Elisa. He was

helped by the fact that Consoli not only had a powerful voice for bravura

arias but, in contrast to many castrati, he had a reputation as a fine actor.

The performance in Salzburg at the Archbishop's palace took place on 23

April 1775 and Mozart himself thought sufficiently well of his music for

Consoli to use Aminta's first aria, Aer tranquillo e di sereni', for Aloisia

Weber, his future sister-in-law, to sing in concert at Mannheim in February 1778. Aminta's final aria is the beautiful 'L'Amero, saro costante', richly orchestrated and now a favourite soprano concert aria.

During 1776?77 Pietro Rosa's touring opera company came to Salzburg and Mozart was asked to compose arias for their singers, one of whom was the

alto castrato Francesco Fortini from the court of Bavaria. In September 1777 Mozart wrote for him the concert aria 'Ombra felice... Io ti lascio' (K.255) to a text from the opera Arsace by Michele Mortellari. This aria begins with an orchestral recitative followed by a rondo with much dramatic feeling of farewell and abandonment. Mozart regarded this aria so well that, years

later, in April 1783, he requested his father to send him a copy for his use in

Vienna.

In late 1777 Consoli left Munich and returned to Italy, where for the next

two decades he continued as an operatic singer in many of the main cities

before finally becoming resident in Rome, his birthplace, in 1801. He was

admitted as chorister to the Sistine chapel and died in Rome in 1810.

Francesco Ceccarelli (ij52?1814) On 4 September 1776 Mozart wrote to his mentor, the renowned music scholar Padre Giovanni Battista Martini, in Bologna, bemoaning the state



9. Anderson: Letters, p.266.

10. ibid., p.342.

11. ibid., p.526.

of music in Salzburg under the rule of Archbishop Colloredo ?As for the theatre we are in a bad way for lack of singers. We have no castrati, and we

shall never have them, because they insist on being handsomely paid; and

generosity is not one of our faults.'9

But in October of the following year, whilst Wolfgang and his mother were in Mannheim, his sister Nannerl wrote to them from Salzburg: a castrato who happened to be passing through sang yesterday at Court. Papa was there

and heard him but he did not like his singing particularly for he has a rather nasal voice and is a long-legged fellow with a long face and a low forehead. All the same, he sings far better than Madame Duschek. As the Archbishop is of the same opinion perhaps he will take him into his service.10

Late in 1777 the Archbishop did appoint the castrato, in the person of

Francesco Ceccarelli, to the Court Chapel. Ceccarelli was born in Foligno but little is known of his early career.

Before his appointment in Salzburg he was singing in the theatres of

Perugia in 1770 and Venice in 1775. In spite ?f Leopold Mozart's initially unfavourable opinion, his views quickly changed and over the next ten years he developed a close relationship with Ceccarelli. Frequent references to him

in the Mozart family letters provide an insight not only into their musical

associations but also views on castrati in general. Soon after Ceccarelli's

appearance in Salzburg Leopold informed his son in Mannheim that the castrato was a good sight reader, and that he had sung in a performance of

Wolfgang's Mass in Bb major (K.275) excellently. Ceccarelli soon became very friendly with Leopold who, on 6 April 1778,

writes from Salzburg to Wolfgang, now in Paris with his mother: 'The

castrato, who comes to see us every day, sends you his greetings. He sings for us, while Nannerl accompanies him like a first-rate Kapellmeister.' It

appears that Leopold, a noted violin teacher, gave Ceccarelli violin lessons

because a week later he writes:

He comes to our house every evening unless there happens to be a big concert and always

brings with him an aria and a motet. I play the violin and Nannerl accompanies and plays the solo passages written for violas or wind instruments. Then we play

a clavier concerto

or perhaps a violin trio, Ceccarelli playing the second violin; and indeed we sometimes get

a good laugh for it was in Salzburg that he began to learn the violin and he has only been

playing it for six months. His time is up at the end of April. If he returns in the autumn or

if he now stays on for good the Archbishop is to give him 800 gulden a year for six years. He has agreed to stay for this salary but only for two years, and provided the Archbishop will pay his travelling expenses as well. He is now waiting for a reply. If he returns to

Salzburg he will be back on November ist. He is going to leave all his arias with us, only taking away a few. He much regrets that he has not met the two of you and is sorry that

he did not make our acquaintance immediately after his arrival for apart from us he does

not associate with anyone.11

Ceccarelli did obtain the contract to return to Salzburg on 1 November and

Leopold describes his friendship most enthusiastically: 'I have never come





12. ibid., p.595.

across such a good and sincere Italian, not to mention a castrato, as he is.

The whole town are delighted that he is returning.' Mozart, still in Paris suffering from the recent death of his mother there

and never having met Ceccarelli, had his reservations. Writing to his friend

Abbe Bullinger in Salzburg, he rails against the state of music in the city, the lack of a decent orchestra, and no Kapellmeister

? 'Salzburg is no place

for my talent!' He then waxes sarcastically about the Court advertising for a

good female singer when they now have a castrato. He continues:

You know what sort of animal he is? He can sing high treble and thus take a woman's part to perfection. Let Ceccarelli be sometimes man and sometimes woman [...] we could get

Metastasio to come over from Vienna, or at least make him an offer, to write a few dozen

opera texts in which the primo uomo and the prima donna would never meet. In this way the castrato could play the parts of both the lover and his mistress and the story would be

even more interesting.12

After his long absence Mozart returned to Salzburg in January 1779 an<^

finally met Ceccarelli. That year he revised the motet Exsultate, Jubilate,

originally written for Rauzzini six years previously in Milan, for Ceccarelli to sing at the Church of the Holy Trinity. The motet was transposed up a

whole tone to G Major to accommodate the organ in the church and the text

was altered in the first aria and the recitative. There is then little mention of

Ceccarelli during the next 18 months that Mozart was in Salzburg before he

left for Munich in November 1780 to compose his opera Idomeneo. In March 1781 Archbishop Colloredo, on a visit to his old father, Prince

Rudolph Joseph, summoned Mozart together with other musical members of the household, including Ceccarelli and the violinist Antonio Brunetti, to Vienna, where they were expected to take part in a series of concerts.

Mozart was given a room in the Archbishop's place of residence probably to keep him under close observation, whereas the other musicians were

accommodated elsewhere. It is clear that Mozart disliked the presence of the Salzburg musicians, especially that of the coarse, brash Brunetti, and neither did he share his father's enthusiasm for Ceccarelli. However, he

composed three new works for the concert given at the house of Archbishop Colloredo's father on 8 April: a rondo for violin and orchestra for Brunetti

(K.373), a sonata with violin accompaniment (K.379) for himself, and a recitative and aria, A questo seno deh vieni' (K.374), for Ceccarelli. In

this concert aria the text was by Giovanni de Gamerra, the librettist of

Mozart's Lucio Silla, and the music demonstrated the sensuous virtuosity of the castrato so well that the rapturous audience demanded an encore from Ceccarelli. In spite of its reception Mozart was furious because he received no remuneration from the Archbishop and he had been forced to forego an

invitation to another concert given by his aristocratic patron the Countess

Thun-Hohenstein at which the Emperor was present, so that an important



13. ibid., p.778.

contact was lost. The Archbishop then gave orders for his musicians to

return to Salzburg. Mozart, however, stayed on in Vienna. His fury finally

erupted, resulting in his resignation from the Archbishop's service, and on

the 8 June he was famously kicked out of the house by the chamberlain

Count Arco, never to return to Salzburg.

During November he received a letter from his father saying that Ceccarelli

was revisiting Vienna and would Wolfgang give him accommodation.

Mozart flatly refused:

In regard to Ceccarelli it is quite impossible even for a single night; for I have only one room which is not large and is so crammed already with my wardrobe, table and clavier and I

really do not know where I could put another bed ? and as for sleeping in one bed that I shall

only do with my future wife. I will look about for as cheap a lodging as possible.13

Ceccarelli arrived but Mozart was cool: 'No doubt Ceccarelli will want to

give a concert with me. But he won't succeed for I don't care about going shares with people. All that I can do, as I intend to give a concert in Lent, is

to let him sing at it and then to play for him gratis at his own.'

Mozart did not collaborate with Ceccarelli again until 1790, when on

the 15 October he gave a benefit concert in Frankfurt at which Ceccarelli

sang an aria, probably A questo seno deh vieni', written for him nine

years previously for the hated concert in Vienna. In the intervening years Ceccarelli had continued to sing in Salzburg, including the opera Andromeda

andPerseo by the court composer Michael Haydn in 1787, following which he

left to perform in Naples, Venice and, finally, Dresden, where he remained

until his death in 1814. Ceccarelli's voice was such that Leopold rated him

as excellent and even Wolfgang said that Salzburg would not get a better

castrato for the money that the Archbishop was prepared to pay.

Vincenô dalPrato (ij56-1828) In the summer of 1780 Mozart was requested by the new Elector of Bavaria, Karl Theodor, to compose an opera for the 1781 Munich festival. Mozart was

especially pleased because the Elector had brought with him the renowned

musicians from Mannheim, many of whom he knew. The work chosen

for him was the opera seria Idomeneo, re di Creta, now generally regarded as Mozart's first operatic masterpiece. The libretto was by Giambattista

Varesco, Archbishop Colloredo's chaplain in Salzburg who had previously written the libretto of II re pastore. The cast for the opera included the tenor

Anton Raaff in the title role, and Dorothea and Lisel Wendling as Ilia

and Elettra respectively, with whom Mozart was well acquainted from his

visit to Mannheim in 1777. The role of Idamante was given to the castrato, Vincenzo dal Prato, who was unknown to him.

Born in Imola, dal Prato began his singing career at the age of 16 in Fano





14. ibid., p.664.

15. ibid., p.701.

in 1772. By 1779 he was invited to sing in Stuttgart at a concert in honour of the Crown Prince of Russia, and it was here that dal Prato caught the

attention of the Elector of Bavaria, who recruited him for Munich.

Much is known about the creation of Idomeneo from Mozart's frequent

correspondence with his father, in Salzburg, who acted as critic and go between for the composer and his librettist. It is clear from these letters that

he had considerable problems with Raaff and with dal Prato in particular. Raaff, now 66 years old, at a time when his voice could be expected to be

finished, insisted on changes to some of the arias provided by the librettist and in the music. Mozart, who was very respectful of his age, did his best to accommodate him by writing less exacting music for the role: 'Raaff is a

worthy and thoroughly decent fellow.'

But Mozart was exasperated with dal Prato from his first acquaintance. He

says 'To my molto amato castrato dal Prato I shall have to teach the whole

opera. He has no notion how to sing a cadenza effectively, and his voice is so uneven! He is only engaged for a year and at the end of that time, next

September, Count Seeau will get somebody else. Ceccarelli might then have a chance ? serieusement.' He goes on 'The day before yesterday dal Prato

sang at the concert ? most disgracefully. I bet you that fellow will never get

through the rehearsals, still less the opera. Why, the rascal is rotten to the core.'14 Explaining to his father why he consented to shorten two scenes, Mozart says 'Raaff and dal Prato spoil the recitative by singing it without

any spirit or fire and so monotonously. They are the most wretched actors

that ever walked on a stage.' In spite of Mozart's misgivings about his two male singers, the rehearsals

were very well received by the Elector, who pronounced the music to be

magnificent. Referring to the great quartet Andro ramingo e solo' in act 3, Mozart says 'We repeated it six times and now it goes well. The stumbling block was dal Prato; the fellow is utterly useless. His voice would not be so

bad if he did not produce it in his throat and larynx. But he has no intonation, no method, no feeling, but sings like the boys who come to be tested in the

hope of getting a place in the chapel choir.'15 It is noticeable that the music written for dal Prato did not contain the decoration that Mozart wrote for

the castrati in his earlier operas, possibly because of the singer's limitations, but this was actually in keeping with the increased dramatic effect that the

composer strove for in this opera, with the result that with Idomeneo he lifted opera seria to emotional heights never previously associated with this

genre. In 1786 he rewrote the role of Idamante for a tenor in an amateur

performance of the opera in Vienna and this is the usually preferred form for modern performances.

In spite of Mozart's fulminations against his 'molto amato castrato', dal Prato was well enough received by the Munich court for his employment to



continue until 1805, and after his retirement he was sufficiently well regarded to be provided with a pension by the Elector until his death in 1828.

It was not until 1791, in the last year of his life, that Mozart wrote again for the castrato voice.

Domenico Bedini fc. IJ4S?after IJ95)

Leopold II succeeded to the Hapsburg throne in 1790 and was crowned

King of Bohemia in 1791. As part of the coronation celebrations in Prague a performance of the opera seria, La clemenia di Tito, was chosen by the

impresario for opera, Domenico Guardasoni. This choice was made

for political reasons so that Leopold could be identified with the wise

benevolent ruler, Titus. The libretto of the opera had originally been

written by Metastasio in 1734 and had been set to music by many eminent

composers including Gluck. For the present version the librettist selected

was Caterino Mazzola, the Dresden court poet, who adapted Metastasio's

work, shortening it and reducing it to two acts.

There has been much discussion over the years as to why Mozart should

have written for a now outdated genre, opera seria, when, at the end of the

18th century, it was in the process of decline. But it is clear that Leopold II, who had previously been Grand Duke of Tuscany since 1765, living in

Florence, had acquired the Italian taste for opera seria, unlike his predecessor,

Joseph, in Vienna, whose interests were predominantly in comic opera. It is

also likely that Mozart wished to accommodate the preferences of the new

Emperor with a view to obtaining further employment. The contract for this

coronation opera stipulated that the cast should include a first-class castrato

as primo uomo. The one selected was Domenico Bedini as Sesto. The role

of Vitellia was given to the famous soprano Maria Marchetti Fantozzi and

Titus was sung by the tenor Antonio Baglioni. Of the three, only Baglioni was known to Mozart, since he had previously written for him the role of

Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.

Bedini was born about 1745, probably at Fossombrone in the Italian

Marches. His operatic career began in 1762 at nearby Pesaro and thence he

performed in opera seria in many of the great Italian opera houses, including

Venice, Rome, Naples and Florence, for the next 30 years. During 1780?86 he sang in six operas in Florence where he would have become known to

Grand Duke Leopold, and in 1785 he sang there as primo uomo together with

Marchetti asprima donna in the opera L'Olimpiade by Giovanni Borghi. It was fortunate for Mozart that the castrato, the prima donna and the

tenor were very experienced, since the time allotted to compose La clemenia di Tito was very short, with limited opportunity for rehearsals. It appears that the contract was accepted by him in mid-July 1791, with the premiere





16. ibid., p.967.

to be on 6 September, the date of the coronation. Mozart's fine music for his

castrato is well shown by Sesto's great virtuoso aria in act i, 'Parto, ma tu, ben mio', accompanied by a magnificent obligato part for clarinet written

for his friend Anton Stadler, for whom, only a few weeks later, he wrote his

last instrumental work, the Clarinet Concerto (K.622). In spite of Mozart's efforts La clemenia di Tito was not well received

by the first-night audience. Their lead was taken by Leopold's wife, the

Empress Maria Luisa, who was bored and, reputedly, referred to it as

'Porcheria tedesca' ? German swinishness. Whether or not the comment

was really made it seems that the Italianate Empress was already prejudiced

against a German composer for the coronation celebrations. However,

subsequent audiences were more appreciative. The last performance was

on 30 September, by which time Mozart had left Prague for Vienna to attend

the premiere of Die Zauberflote on the same date and to great acclaim. On 7 October he wrote to his wife in Baden, where she was taking a cure

I have had a letter which Stadler has sent me from Prague [...] And the strangest thing of all

is that on the very evening when my new opera was performed for the first time with such

success ' Tito' was given in Prague for the last time with tremendous applause. Bedini sang

better than ever [...] Cries of 'Bravo' were shouted at Stodla [sic] from the parterre and

even from the orchestra ? What a miracle for Bohemia. But indeed I did my very best.16

Bedini returned to Italy and in 1792 was singing in the Florence Carnival.

But his voice was by now past its peak and by 1795 he joined the chapel of the

Santa Casa at Loreto in the region of his birth, the Italian Marches. Nothing further is recorded about his career and it is presumed he died there.

m my y

ith La clemenia di Tito, Mozart's penultimate opera, came the last

% \ I of his castrati. The line stretched back 21 years to his youthful first

T T opera seria, Mitridate, re di Ponto, followed by six other operas which featured castrati, including his masterpiece Idomeneo, and Mozart wrote beautiful music for all of them, demonstrating to the full the features

of the castrato voice. In contrast, his personal opinion of their characters was often unflattering, but in this respect he probably reflected the views of

many of his contemporary musicians.

La clemenia di Tito coincided with the steady decline in the dominance of

the castrato. Tastes in operatic style had changed, and the frenetic enthusiasm

of audiences in the earlier part of the century with their cries of 'Evviva il

costello!' was replaced with distaste for the very concept of the process.

By 1791 the last top rank operatic castrato, Giovanni Velluti (1780-1861), had already been castrated and there was none to replace him. After nearly 200 years the dominance of these exotic creatures on the operatic stage was

coming to an end, although in the Sistine chapel of the Popes, where the castrato had originated, they continued for another century.



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Jenkins MT 2010 Mozart Castrati

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