Castrato Singers as Composers: The Case of Luigi Marchesi's London Sets of Ariette (1788‐9)

Abstract

AbstractAs well as being one of the outstanding castrati of the eighteenth century, Luigi Marchesi was also an occasional composer, particularly during his London years (1788‐90). This article examines Marchesi's only published compositions – two sets of ariettas for voice and piano or harp – reconstructing their context and reception, and analysing their texts and music, in order not only to give a more complete picture of the singer but also to investigate both the approach of late eighteenth‐century opera singers to musical creation and the previously neglected subject of vocal chamber music on Italian texts in late eighteenth‐century London.