The Ocean of Sopranos. Career of a castrato Singer, Luigi Marchesi (1754-1829)

Luigi Marchesi (1754-1829), «l'Oceano dei soprani» (The Ocean of Sopranos) — as Benedetto Frizzi (1757-1844) called him after hearing his performances in Trieste, in 1801 — was one of the most famous and most popular singers in ancien régime Europe, an outstanding star who lit up the musical world of his times. Endowed with a voice that encompassed an exceptionally wide range, and with a celebrated taste for acrobatic singing and extravagant embellishments, Marchesi soon became an almost mythological character. His biography, moreover, was linked to some striking political and philanthropical episodes that increased his fame among contemporaries and posterity: among them, his disdainful refusal to sing for Napoleon shortly after the victorious entry of the French army into Milan, on 14 May 1796. This volume represents a stage along a journey of historical reconnaissance and systematic academic research related to the famous singer.