The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified? Page: 46
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In the days of Baroque opera, many singers relied heavily on their patrons. They were
sponsors of sort, and supported their favorites in many ways. Farinelli struck a rather close
friendship with one of his patrons, Thomas Osborne, or the Duke of Leeds from Britain. Many
of British were great fans of Italian opera, and took Grand Tours because the "most fashionable
music was foreign," referring primarily to Italian opera and some German orchestral music
(Black 1990). The subject of castrati became a rather sensitive political and cultural issue, and
the press denounced the aristocracy for their preference of Italian music, claiming that it was an
"abandonment of British culture." Adam Walker, prominent lecturer in experimental
philosophy, states that:
...of all the seminaries appropriated to the wise purpose of propagating folly, none ever
equaled the Italian Opera. Here, indeed, the god Fashion displays his mental triumph!
Reason is led into captivity by the ears! Virtue and public spirit take opiates from the
hands of Circe! - and effeminacy, lewdness, and perverted ideas gambol in the train!
(Black 1990)
Yet not everyone felt this way, and the critics could not stop the fascination with castrati by the
British noble families, and they flocked to Italy to see these acclaimed singers.
It was the singers and in particular the castrati, that commanded this attention and
adoration, rather than the operas themselves. Routes were altered so that the visiting British
could attend specific performances by their favorites. The Earl of Essex wrote to his agent
Thomas Bowen in 1733 that the opera of Bologna was "the finest opera that was ever heard, and
a vast deal of company, there was 32 English" (Black 1990). From Milan the Earl of Stanhope
wrote conversely to the Earl of Essex the same year that "The Opera is the chief entertainment of
all strangers here" (Black 1990).
The Duke of Leeds was one of these British that were smitten with the castrati. In the
duke's account book of his Grand Tour affirms the close friendship between this singer and46
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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/m1/49/?rotate=270: accessed May 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .