The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified? Page: 33
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He had quite a propensity for the female sex, and this is what ultimately caused his demise. His
affair with the Countess Elena Forni of Bologna became quite the public scandal. She was
widowed from a Modenese nobleman, and, like Tenducci's bride, her family was not terribly
pleased about this rather public affair. But instead of jailing her lover, they whisked her back to
Bologna and hid her away in the convent of S. Lorenzo. This, however, did not deter the
amorous Siface, who managed to continue the affair. While rehearsing a pasticcio called
"Perseo," he was able to charm his way into the convent and visit his beloved often, despite the
numerous warnings of his friends and fans. If the affair had been more discreet, perhaps the
scandal would not have escalated. But the castrato was apparently quite proud of his conquest,
and persisted in perpetuating the gossip by boasting his affair throughout Bologna. Countess
Forni's family, the Marsilii, decided that it was time to put an end to this illicit romance. While
returning to Bologna from a business trip in 1697, he took a road near Ferrara. There he was met
with assassins hired by the Marsilii family and murdered on the spot. Quite a successful and
beloved singer, his abrupt death was widely mourned. This story should suffice to distinguish
any thought that the castrati were all rendered celibate by their operations. In fact, some of these
unfortunate singers literally died from their overly amorous behavior (Heriot 1975)!
No matter what personal choices a castrato might make for himself, the only professional
choice was the opera. The Baroque period for Italy marked a singular preference for higher
voices, therefore castrati dominated the opera stage. As early as 1607 they began to appear,
taking the title role in Monteverdi's Orfeo. It is estimated that in the 18th century approximately
70% of all male opera singers were castrati. In the 17th century, that number was even higher.
Tenors and basses just were not nearly as desirable at the time as these strange sopranos and
altos, or sopranisti e contraltisti. Eric Street in "Castrati in the Italian Baroque" attributes their33
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Sowle, Jennifer. The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified?, thesis, August 2006; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5343/m1/36/: accessed May 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .