Mozart and The Castrati

Mozart and the castrati
Author(s): JOHN S. JENKINS

Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 151, No. 1913 (WINTER 2010), pp. 55-68
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
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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
on the nature of these strange creatures.
personal thoughts
The stimulus to preserve the pre-pubertal male voice into adult life by
castration had, in the firstplace, come from the Church of Rome in the late
16th century.1The firstofficial 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 themain choirs of Italy. They continued to
take their place in the Sistine chapel for over three centuries.
But themain 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.
Itwas 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 itspeak in themiddle of the 18th century.

After castration boys who showed vocal aptitude were apprenticed to a
master or entered a conservatorio to embark upon a long period of
singing
instruction invocal technique and, particularly, breath control. This intensive
on the vocal cords and its
training, together with the effect of castration
a in the great vocal
production of greatly increased chest capacity, resulted
range, power and agility forwhich the castrati were famous. The format of
opera seriawith its emphasis on the da capo aria enabled them to provide the
extended ornamentation so much enjoyed by audiences, although thiswas
often to the detriment of real characterisation and dramatic expression.
was their
Those with the finest voices operatic idols. Such
became
enthusiasm for the castrato that the audiences' crywas 'Evviva il costello!'
('Long live the knife!'). By the first half of the 18th century opera had
centres of Rome to many
spread from the great Naples, Venice and
European cities, including London, where the top visiting castrati were
i. JS Jenkins: 'The voice of
regarded
as international stars able to command enormous fees. Amongst
the castrato', in The Lancet
vol.351 (i998),pp.i877-8o. other musicians, however, castrati were not always regarded favourably.
the musical times Winter 2oio 55
56 Mozart and the castrati
were
Their physical features, increased height and feminine appearance
sometimes the subject of mockery, and the behaviour of some led to charges
of arrogance, petulance and poor acting. There was also envy over themuch
larger fees that they could command compared with normal singers.
GiovanniManzuoli (ijzS?yz)
Mozart and his family arrived in London inApril 1764 and in the following
autumn season at the
theywitnessed the opening of the Italian opera King's
Theatre in theHaymarket with the appearance of Giovanni Manzuoli asprimo
uomo in the was themost
pasticcio opera Eîo. Manzuoli, born in Florence,
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
at least 150 in present terms. Charles Burney writes of his
by performance:
'Manzuoli's voice was themost 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.'2He performed in all the Italian operas
of theLondon season to great acclaim, whatever themerits of the opera, and
also performed at private concerts for the aristocracy. On 12March 1765Lady
a
Margaret Clive, wife of Lord Clive of India, refers, in a letter, to concert,
which she planned to hold the next day at her house in Berkeley Square, at
which Manzuoli would sing and 'the littleMozarts, the boy aged 8 and the girl
12will also most
play completely well.'3
Itwas during thisyear inLondon thatManzuoli became so entranced by
the young Wolfgang thathe 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
an eminent
Barrington, lawyer and amateur musician who, having attended
concerts at which was determined to put
public Wolfgang had performed,
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
2. Charles Happening toknow thatthe little

Mozart was much takennotice of byManzoli [sic],the
Burney: A general famous came over to in 1764,1 said to the
singer, who England
I
boy that should be glad
history of music (1776?1789),
to hear an Love such as his friend Manzoli choose in an opera.
2 vols, edited extemporary Song
by Frank might
Mercer (New York, 1935), The boy on this(who continuedwho continuedto sitathis harpsichord)lookedbackwith
vol.2, p.867. much archness, and immediately began five or six lines of a jargon recitative proper to
introduce a love song [...]. that he was in humour and, as itwere I then
Finding inspired,
3. IanWoodfield: 'New light
desired him to compose a of such as be for the
on theMozarts' London Song Rage, might proper opera stage. The
looked back with much archness and five or six lines of a recitative
visit', inMusic & Letters boy again began jargon
vol.76 proper to a of Anger. This lasted also about the same time with the Song
(i995),pp.i87-2o8. precede Song
of Love; and in themiddle of ithe hadworked himselfup to such a pitch thathe beat his
like a person rising sometimes in his chair.4
harpsichord possessed,
At the end of theLondon opera season Manzuoli returned to Florence. In

was reunitedwith theMozarts, father and son,
April 1770 he during theirfirst
visit to Italy. The purpose of this visit was forWolfgang to obtain firsthand
a
experience of Italian music, particularly opera, of which they saw 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 12March 1770 by the influential diplomat Count Karl Firmian. As
a result of the very favourable response from the noblemen present who
were was awarded a contract to compose
responsible for theMilan opera, he
his first opera seria,Mitridate, re di Ponto, to be performed inDecember
1770. Mozart writes 'Manzuoli is negotiating with theMilanese to sing in
my opera. With that in view he sang four or five arias to me in Florence

some which I had to compose inMilan so that theMilanese who
including
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
to Mitridate did not include Manzuoli after all.
commissioned perform in
For his firstopera seria theMilan authority gave Mozart no less than three
castrati out of a cast of seven forwhom he had to compose themusic. They
were Pietro Benedetti as Sartorini, in the role of
(soprano), also known
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, atMantua, he had heard Cicognani inHasse'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.
was
By 1770, under the reforms of Gluck and others, opera seria already
moving away from the standard da capo aria of the Baroque era tomore
was alert to these new For the
complex styles and Mozart developments.
-
4. Daines Barrington: 'An
three acts ofMitridate he composed nine castrato arias four for Sifare,
account of a remarkable four for Farnace and one forArbace. The music fully demonstrates their
young man', inPhilosophical
Transactions of theRoyal
considerable abilities, involving much coloratura, but, constrained by the
Society vol.60 (1771) libretto and the conventions of opera seria, theyoung Mozart was not yet able
to to
bring Mitridate the degree of dramatic expression which characterised
pp.54-64.
5. Emily Anderson, ed.: his laterworks. Nevertheless, his achievement in the genre is astonishing
The letters ofMozart and
hisfamily (thirdedition, when, at the age of 14, the beauty of the music and his composition is
London, 1985), pp.130-131. measured against those of his experienced contemporaries.
THE MUSICAL TIMES Winter 2010 57
Mitridate, rediPonto was so well received that the following year, afterhis
return to was commissioned towrite another work forMilan, to
Salzburg, he
celebrate themarriage of Empress Maria Theresa's 17-year-old son Archduke
Ferdinand toPrincess Maria Beatrice d 'Este ofModena. This opera in twoparts,
or as was was Ascanio inAlba, a on
festa teatrale it designated, pastoral allegory
Maria Theresa as Venus and theyoung as Ascanio and
Empress couple Sylvia.
This time,Manzuoli was cast in the role of Ascanio. As the shepherd Fauno,
therewas a second castrato, Adamo Solzi, already known to the Hapsburg
court
by his performance in Florian Gassman's E-fio, which marked Emperor
toRome in 1770. However, themain opera for the celebrations
Joseph's visit
was JohannAdolf Hasse's was also to take part.
Ruggiero, inwhich Manzuoli
Mozart always composed specifically for a particular voice and would not
? 'so as to fit the suit
compose the arias before meeting the singers in person
to the as In the case of Manzuoli he was of course
figure', Leopold said.
already very familiar with his voice, but it is noticeable that themusic he
was then 46 years old and
composed for this castrato, who probably past
his prime, does not involve a tessitura, whereas for Solzi
high provision
was made formuch greater range and two arias, 'Se il labbro
agility. His piu
non dice' and the very tuo
long 'Dal gentil sembiante', with its repeated
sequences of coloratura, demonstrate the talent of the younger castrato.
Ascanio inAlba was performed on 17 October 1771, the day following
a
Hasse's Ruggiero, and although the form of festa teatrale gave little scope
for characterisation, according to Leopold it completely overwhelmed the
work of the old master: 'I'm sorry butWolfgang's serenata has so beaten
Hasse's that I cannot describe it.'
opera
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 fromMilan 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 of his conceit. He
sample stupidity and
was at a as the contract did not
engaged for the opera salary of five hundred cigliati but
mention my serenata he demanded another five hundred for that, that is, one thousand
cigliatiinall.The courtonlygave him sevenhundredand a finesnuff-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 inFlorence

in 1782.
Giusto Ferdinando Tenducci (1736?90)
Born in Sienna, Tenducci arrived inLondon in 1758 and he continued to live

there formuch of his life.His debut in Italian opera was at the
King's Theatre
6. ibid., p.207.
in//Ciro reconosciutoby Giacchino Cocchi and was well received, but in 1761
he achieved even greater acclaim for his appearance inThomas Arne's most
successful opera, Artaxerxes, in the role of the young hero Arbaces.
On 26 January 1765 themuch anticipated opera Adriano inSiria by Johann
Christian Bach, music master to theQueen, 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 friendlywith 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 forhim 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

was set
imprisoned for the seduction of their daughter, and he only finally
at
libertywhen he became seriously ill. The Maunsell family eventually
relented and he returned with his wife to London, where he continued to
at the Bach-Abel concerts and at
perform in opera, 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 toRanelagh, 'There I heard the famous Tenducci, a thing
from Italy ? it looks for all theworld like a man, though they say it is not.
The voice to be sure is neither man's nor woman's but it ismore melodious
than either; and itwarbled so I listened I really thought
divinely thatwhile
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 itwas here that the two friendswere reunited with Mozart, who
had been in the city for fivemonths 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
and mine at is here too. He is Bach's bosom friend.
delight meeting again [...]. Tenducci
He was also delighted to see me again. I must make haste for I am composing a scena for
Tenducci which is to be on it is for horn and bassoon.

performed Sunday; pianoforte, oboe,
7. Tobias Smollet:
Humphrey Clinker (1771;

The manuscript is now lost but Charles Burney gives further information in
a letter
quoted by Daines Barrington:
Harmondsworth, 1988),
p.123.
Mozart at Paris, in 1778, for Tenducci a scena in 14
8. Otto Erich Deutsch: being composed parts, chiefly obligati;
a viz. two violins, two tenors, one chromatic horn, one oboe, two clarinets, a pianoforte,
Mozart: documentary
a soprano voice part, with two horns and a base di rinforza. It is a very elaborate and
(thirdedition,
biography
London, 1991), p.187. a great and facility of writing inmany parts.8
masterly composition, discovering practice
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)

successes in Milan, Mozart received yet another contract
Following his
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 theprima 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 inRome he entered the service of the Elector of Bavaria in

Munich in 1767. At this time Charles Burney described him as 'a charming
a a
singer, pleasing figure and 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,
more than two octaves.' Mozart,
being in compass 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 firstperformance on 26 December Rauzzini was
very warmly applauded by theArchduchess 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
not be able to
might 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 inMilan, composed forRauzzini

the celebrated motet Exsultate jubilate (K.165), which was sung at the
Theatine Church on 17 January 1773. a sacred work, it is
operatic
Although
in style. Scored for solo soprano and orchestral it consists
accompaniment,
of two arias connected by a recitative and ends with the famous 'Alleluia'.
In 1774Rauzzini leftItaly forLondon to take up the position of primo uomo
at the After 1777 he
King's Theatre, where he also composed for the company.
became increasingly indemand as a singing teacher, attracting such illustrious
as Nancy Storace, Mozart's firstSusanna inLe none di Figaro, and
pupils
her lover, the tenor John Braham. Rauzzini finallymoved to Bath where, in
was very influential in the vibrant musical life of
charge of the concerts, he
the city.He died there on 8April 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 13March 1773Mozart returned to Salzburg and to a new Archbishop,
Hieronymous Colloredo. In the absence of furtherwork in Italy, father
and son spent the summer inVienna 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 theMunich festival.

The exact cast of singers provided is uncertain but it included the castrato
Tommaso Consoli.
Born in Rome, came to Munich
Consoli in 1773, but there is little
information about his early career. Itwas unusual for a castrato to be given
a role in an opera buffa since these exotic singers were more suited to the
to earth nature of comic
legendary world of opera seria than the down
opera, but his presence may result from the fact thatLa finta giardiniera has
themost confused libretto of all, with which Mozart was involved. Most
of the characters, including that of the title role and her lover Belfiore, are
as those from a of
recognisable typical opera buffa,whereas the second pair
Ramiro and Arminda, are cast in a serious mode. the
lovers, Accordingly,
castrato Consoli was given the part of Ramiro and thewell-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
for Consoli, in particular the beautiful aria 'Dolce d'amor
composed
'Va pure ad altri in braccio', brings to the
compagna' and the powerful
role of Ramiro of not to the comic nature of the
feelings passion given
other characters. The opera is flawed by its ridiculous libretto but the very
finemusic which Mozart composed for thiswork demonstrates that he was
and presages themasterpieces of Le
already fluent in both operatic genres
noê di Figaro and Don Giovanni.
the musical times Winter 2010 61
Mozartreturned home to Salzburg inMarch 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
inApril 1775.The work chosen was the opera seria lirepastore, with a well
known libretto by Metastasio, and ithad already been set tomusic at least 14
times by many eminent composers before Mozart. The was
plot typical of
opera seria, involving ancient heroes, with Alexander the Great a
installing
humble shepherd, Aminta, on the throne of Sidon. For theMozart version
the cast was drawn from the Salzburg court singers but their identity is
unknown apart from Tommaso Consoli: he was brought fromMunich for
theprimo uomo role of Aminta, since at that time therewere no castratos
available in Salzburg. The numerous previous composers for // repastore
had generally treated thework 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
a
helped by the fact that Consoli not only had powerful voice for bravura
arias but, in contrast tomany castrati, he had a reputation as a fine actor.
The performance in Salzburg at theArchbishop's palace took on 23
place
April 1775 and Mozart himself thought sufficientlywell of his music for
Consoli to use Aminta's
firstaria, Aer tranquillo e di sereni', forAloisia
Weber, his future sister-in-law, to sing in concert atMannheim inFebruary

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 a rondo with much dramatic
by feeling
of farewell and abandonment. Mozart this aria so well that, years
regarded
later, inApril 1783, he requested his father to send him a copy for his use in
Vienna.
In late 1777 Consoli leftMunich and returned to

Italy,where for the next
two decades he continued as an
operatic singer inmany of themain cities
before finally becoming resident in Rome, his
birthplace, in 1801. He was
admitted as chorister to the Sistine
chapel and died inRome in 1810.
Francesco Ceccarelli (ij52?1814)

On 4 September 1776 Mozart wrote to his mentor, the renowned music
scholar Padre Giovanni Battista Martini, in the state
Bologna, bemoaning
of music in Salzburg under the rule of
Archbishop Colloredo ?As for the
theatrewe 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 inOctober of the following year, whilst Wolfgang and his mother
were inMannheim, his sisterNannerl wrote to them from
Salzburg:
a castrato who to be at Court. was there
happened passing through sang yesterday Papa
and heard him but he did not likehis singingparticularlyforhe has a rathernasal voice
and isa long-leggedfellowwith a longfaceand a low forehead.All thesame,he singsfar
betterthanMadame Duschek. As theArchbishop isof thesame opinion perhapshewill
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 tenyears
he developed a close relationship with Ceccarelli. Frequent references to him
in theMozart family letters an not
provide insight only into theirmusical
associations but also views on castrati in general. Soon after Ceccarelli's
appearance in Salzburg Leopold informed his son inMannheim that the

castrato was a a
good sight reader, and that he had sung in performance of
Wolfgang's Mass in Bb major (K.275) excellently.
soon became very
Ceccarelli friendlywith Leopold who, on 6April 1778,
writes from Salzburg toWolfgang, 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 thatLeopold, a noted violin teacher, gave Ceccarelli violin lessons
because a week later he writes:
He comesto our house every to be a concert and
evening unless there happens big always
with him an aria and a motet. I the violin and Nannerl and plays
brings play accompanies
the solo passages written for violas or wind instruments. Then we a clavier concerto
play
or a violin trio, Ceccarelli the second violin; and indeed we sometimes get
perhaps playing
a good laughfor itwas inSalzburg thathe began to learntheviolin and he has onlybeen
it for six months. His time is up at the end of If he returns in the autumn or
playing April.
ifhe now stayson forgood theArchbishop is togive him 800 gulden a year forsixyears.
He has agreed to stay for this salary but only for two years, and provided the
Archbishop
will his as well. He is now for a If he returns to
pay travelling expenses waiting reply.
Salzburghewill be back on November ist.
He isgoing to leave all his ariaswith us, only
a few. He much not met the two of you and is sorry that
taking away regrets that he has
he did not make our acquaintance for apart from us he does
immediately after his arrival
not associate with
9. Anderson: Letters, p.266. anyone.11
10. ibid., p.342.

Ceccarelli did obtain the contract to return to Salzburg on 1November and
11. ibid.,
p.526. Leopold describes his friendship most enthusiastically: 'I have never come
across such a
good and sincere Italian, not tomention 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
formy talent!' He thenwaxes sarcastically about theCourt advertising for a
good female singerwhen they now have a castrato. He continues:

You know what sort of animal he is? He can a
sing high treble and thus take woman's part
to Let Ceccarelli man and sometimes woman
perfection. be sometimes [...] we could get
to come over from Vienna, or at least make him an
Metastasio offer, to write a few dozen
opera texts inwhich 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<^
met Ceccarelli. That year he revised themotet Exsultate, Jubilate,
finally
originally written forRauzzini six years previously inMilan, for Ceccarelli
to at the Church of the motet was a
sing Holy Trinity. The transposed up
whole tone toG Major to accommodate the organ in the church and the text
was altered in the firstaria and the recitative. There is then littlemention of
Ceccarelliduring the next 18months thatMozart was in Salzburg before he
leftforMunich inNovember 1780 to compose his opera Idomeneo.
In March 1781Archbishop 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 were to take part in a series of concerts.
they expected
Mozart was given a room in the
Archbishop's place of residence probably
to him under close observation, whereas the other musicians were
keep
accommodated elsewhere. It is clear thatMozart 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 8April: 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 seno deh
questo vieni' (K.374), for Ceccarelli. In
this concert aria the textwas by Giovanni de Gamerra, the librettist of
Mozart's Lucio Silla, and themusic 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 to an
Archbishop and he had been forced forego
invitation to another concert
given by his aristocratic patron the Countess
at which the
Thun-Hohenstein Emperor was present, so that an important
12. ibid.,
p.595.
contact was lost. The Archbishopthen gave orders for his musicians to
return to on inVienna. His
Salzburg. Mozart, however, stayed fury finally
erupted, resulting in his resignation from theArchbishop's service, and on
the 8 June he was famously kicked out of the house by the chamberlain
Count never to return to
Arco, Salzburg.
a
During November he received letterfromhis father saying thatCeccarelli
was
revisiting Vienna and would Wolfgang give him accommodation.
Mozart flatly refused:
In regardtoCeccarelli itisquite impossibleeven fora singlenight;forI have onlyone room

which is not is so crammed table and clavier and I
large and already with my wardrobe,
do not know where I could put another bed ? and as for in one bed that I shall
really sleeping
wife. Iwill lookabout foras cheap a lodgingas possible.13
onlydowithmy future
Ceccarelli arrived but Mozart was cool: 'No doubt Ceccarelli will want to
a concert with me. But he won't succeed for I don't care about
give going
shares with people. All that I can do, as I intend to give a concert inLent, is
to let him at it and then to at his own.'
sing play for him gratis
Mozart did not collaborate with Ceccarelliagain until 1790, when on
the 15October 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 inVienna. In the intervening years
to in
Ceccarelli had continued sing Salzburg, including the opera Andromeda
andPerseo by the court composer Michael Haydn in 1787, following which he
left to perform inNaples, 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 themoney that theArchbishop was to pay.
prepared
Vincenô dalPrato (ij56-1828)

In the summer of 1780Mozart was requested by the new Elector of Bavaria,
Karl Theodor, to compose an opera for the 1781Munich 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 firstoperatic masterpiece. The libretto was by Giambattista
Varesco, Archbishop Colloredo's chaplain in Salzburg who had previously

written the libretto of II repastore. 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 toMannheim in 1777. The role of Idamante was given to the castrato,
Vincenzo dal Prato, who was unknown to him.
13. ibid., p.778. Born in Imola, dal Prato began his singing career at the age of 16 inFano
in 1772. By 1779 he was invited to sing in Stuttgart at a concert in honour

of the Crown Prince of Russia, and itwas here that dal Prato
caught the
attention of the Elector of Bavaria, who recruited him forMunich.
Much is known about the creation of Idomeneo from Mozart's
frequent
as critic and go
correspondence with his father, in Salzburg, who acted
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 timewhen his voice could be expected to be
finished, insisted on changes to some of the arias provided by the librettist
and in themusic. 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 firstacquaintance. He
says 'To my molto amato castrato dal Prato I shall have to teach thewhole
opera. He has no notion how to sing a cadenza effectively, and his voice is
so uneven! He is a
only engaged for 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
at the concert ? most I
sang disgracefully. 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 'Raaff and dal Prato
says spoil the recitative by singing itwithout
any spirit or fire and so monotonously. They
are themost wretched actors
that ever walked on a stage.'
In spite of Mozart's
misgivings about his twomale singers, the rehearsals
were very well received
by the Elector, who pronounced themusic to be
magnificent. Referring to the great quartet Andro ramingo e solo' in act 3,
Mozart says 'We repeated it six times and now itgoes well. The stumbling
block was dal Prato; the fellow is utterly useless. His voice would not be so
bad ifhe did not produce it inhis throat and
larynx. But he has no intonation,
no method, no but like the come to be tested in the
feeling, sings boys who
hope of getting a place in the chapel choir.'15 It is noticeable that themusic
written for dal Prato did not contain the decoration thatMozart wrote for
the castrati in his earlier operas,
possibly because of the singer's limitations,
but thiswas actually in
keeping with the increased dramatic effect that the
composer strove for in this opera, with the result thatwith Idomeneo he
liftedopera 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 inVienna and this is the usually preferred form
formodern performances.
14. ibid., p.664. In spite of Mozart's fulminations
against his 'molto amato castrato', dal
15. ibid., p.701. Prato was well received theMunich court for his employment to
enough by
continue until 1805, and afterhis retirement he was sufficientlywell regarded
to be provided with a
pension by the Elector until his death in 1828.
Itwas not until 1791, in the last year of his life, thatMozart 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 was chosen
performance of the opera seria, La clemenia di Tito, 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 tomusic by many eminent
composers including Gluck. For the present version the librettist selected
was Caterino Mazzola, theDresden court poet, who adapted Metastasio's
it to two acts.
work, shortening and reducing it
There has been much discussion over the years as towhy Mozart should
have written for a now outdated genre, opera seria, when, at the end of the
18th century, itwas 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 foropera seria, unlike his predecessor,
were
Joseph, inVienna, whose interests predominantly in comic opera. It is
also likely thatMozart wished to accommodate the preferences of the new
a to contract for this
Emperor with view obtaining further employment. The
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 tenorAntonio Baglioni. Of the three, only Baglioni
was known toMozart, since he had
previously written for him the role of
Don Ottavio inDon 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 inopera seria inmany of thegreat 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 asprimo uomo togetherwith
Marchetti asprima donna in the opera L'Olimpiade by Giovanni Borghi.
It was fortunate for Mozart that the castrato, theprima donna and the
tenorwere very since the time allotted to compose La clemenia
experienced,
di Tito was very short,with limited opportunity for rehearsals. It appears
that the contract was accepted by him inmid-July 1791,with the premiere
to be on 6 September, the date of the coronation. Mozart's finemusic for his

castrato iswell 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 friendAnton Stadler, forwhom, only a fewweeks later,he wrote his
last instrumentalwork, the Clarinet Concerto (K.622).
In spite of Mozart's effortsLa clemenia di Tito was not well received
was taken
by the first-night audience. Their lead 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 seems that the Italianate Empress was
really made it already prejudiced
against a German composer for the coronation celebrations. However,
were more was
subsequent audiences appreciative. The last performance
on 30 which timeMozart had left forVienna to attend
September, by Prague
the premiere of Die Zauberflote on the same date and to great acclaim. On 7
October he wrote to his wife in Baden, where shewas taking a cure
I have had a letterwhich Stadler has sent me from Prague [...] And the strangest thing of all
is that on the very evening when my new opera was for the first time with such
' performed
success Tito' was in Prague for the last time with tremendous
given 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 1792was singing in theFlorence Carnival.

But his voice was by now past itspeak 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.
ith La
m
my y 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, to the full the features
demonstrating
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.
Laclemenia di Tito coincided with the steady decline in the dominance of
the castrato. Tastes inoperatic 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 therewas none to
replace him. After nearly
200 years the dominance of these exotic creatures on the
operatic stage was
an end,
coming to although in the Sistine chapel of the Popes, where the
castrato had
originated, they continued for another century.
16. ibid., p.967.

Mozart and The Castrati

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Mozart and The Castrati

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Mozart and the castrati

Author(s): JOHN S. JENKINS

During the i8th century Italian vocal music was dominated

opera seria, reaching itspeak in themiddle of the 18th century.

the musical times Winter 2oio 55

2. Charles Happening toknow thatthe little

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

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

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

THE MUSICAL TIMES Winter 2010 57

Writing to his sister fromMilan on 24 November 1771 he says

cigliatiinall.The courtonlygave him sevenhundredand a finesnuff-box(quite enough,

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

Giusto Ferdinando Tenducci (1736?90)

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

parents were very antagonistic and succeeded in getting the bridegroom

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

Tenducci which is to be on it is for horn and bassoon.

Humphrey Clinker (1771;

the musical times Winter 20io 59

Tenducci returned to London, and his last opera performance was

Venaniio Rau^ini (1746?1810)

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

Following Lucio Silla, Mozart, while still inMilan, composed forRauzzini

Tommaso Consoli (ij53-1810)

Seeau,Superintendent of Theatrical the Entertainments in Munich, to

compose an opera buffa entitled La finta giardiniera for theMunich festival.

the musical times Winter 2010 61

Mozartreturned home to Salzburg inMarch 1775 and awaiting him was

Weber, his future sister-in-law, to sing in concert atMannheim inFebruary

During 1776?77 Pietro Rosa's touring opera company came to Salzburg

In late 1777 Consoli leftMunich and returned to

Francesco Ceccarelli (ij52?1814)

Late in 1777 the

Perugia in 1770 and Venice in 1775. In spite ?f Leopold Mozart's initially

appearance in Salzburg Leopold informed his son inMannheim that the

10. ibid., p.342.

the musical times Winter 2010 63

good female singerwhen they now have a castrato. He continues:

(K.373), a sonata with violin accompaniment (K.379) for himself, and

In regardtoCeccarelli itisquite impossibleeven fora singlenight;forI have onlyone room

sang an aria, probably A questo

Vincen^o dalPrato (ij56-1828)

Varesco, Archbishop Colloredo's chaplain in Salzburg who had previously

the musical times Winter 2010 65

in 1772. By 1779 he was invited to sing in Stuttgart at a concert in honour

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

performed inopera seria inmany of thegreat Italian opera houses, including

the musical times Winter 2010 67

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

Bedini returned to Italy and in 1792was singing in theFlorence Carnival.

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