start of castrati exhibition

Dear FutureMe, HANDEL AND THE CASTRATI - A NEW EXHIBITION FOR 2006 A new exhibition on Handel’s part in the intriguing story of the operatic castrati opens at the Handel House Museum, Mayfair, London in March 2006, running until September 2006. Handel and the Castrati will tell the stories of the remarkable castrati singers who worked for the great composer, how they were chosen at a very early age, their intensive training, most celebrated performances and the adulation with which they were received. There will also be background information on ‘the operation’ performed on prospective castrati singers and the long-term physical effects caused by a combination of that procedure and a training schedule which saw boys singing for six hours a day, every day from the age of eight. Curated by Nicholas Clapton, counter-tenor and author of Alessandro Moreschi the last castrato, the exhibition will include original scores of pieces performed by the seven castrati who most frequently worked for Handel (Senesino, Nicolini, Bernacchi, Carestini, Caffarelli, Conti and Guadagni), paintings and prints, including cartoons lampooning the physical appearance of the castrati, and examples of the surgical instruments used to perform the operations. Visitors will also be able to hear a 1902 recording, the only one surviving, of the last of the castrati, Alessandro Moreschi (1858-1922). An exhibition catalogue, education events, lectures and film screenings will complement the exhibition throughout its run. Sarah Bardwell, Director of the Handel House Museum, said ‘The best castrati were superstars, admired by audiences, appreciated by composers, including Handel who used many of the finest of his time, and adored by female fans. Their voices had a tremendous emotional impact on the audiences of the day. In some ways, modern pop singers like Chris Martin of Coldplay or Tom Chaplin of Keane are the castrati of today: they too have legions of adoring fans, and can use the highest register of their voices to deliver songs that go straight to the heart. We’re excited to be compiling an exhibition that celebrates a singing phenomenon which is still mysterious to many people.’ In 17th and 18th century Italy, as many as 4,000 boys were castrated annually in the service of art, and, as Pope Clement VIII said, ‘to the honour of God’. On the stage they dominated Italian opera for almost two centuries, playing female roles with as much abandon as the heroes of myth and history. While ravaging hearts in all directions, they drove composers and managers to distraction, and audiences into hysterics. In churches (where women had to remain silent) their androgynous sound lorded over all. Many were great artists, some were great lovers, and scandal and gossip followed them everywhere. VISITOR INFORMATION Handel House Museum, 25 Brook Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 4HB Telephone: 020 7495 1685; Email: mail@handelhouse.org; Web: www.handelhouse.org Opening Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10am - 6pm Thursday 10am - 8pm; Sunday 12pm - 6pm Closed Mondays, including bank holidays Admission charges: £5.00 adults; £4.50 concessions; £2.00 children ENDS NOTES FOR EDITORS Issued by The Press Office on behalf of Handel House Museum. For more information, pictures and interviews please contact Michael Barrett or Kirsten Canning on 020 8295 2424, 07813-558772, 07946-298894 or kc@thepressoffice.uk.com Posted: 26 July 2005