Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Frontmatter More information Portrait of a Castrato This book explores the fascinating life of the most documented musician of the seventeenth century. Born in 1626 into a bourgeois family in Pistoia, Italy, Atto Melani was castrated to preserve his singing voice and soon rose to both artistic and social prominence. His extant letters not only depict the musical activities of several European centers, they reveal the real-life context of music and the musician: how a singer related to patrons and colleagues, what he thought about his profession, and the role music played in his life. Whether Atto was singing, spying, having sex, composing, or even rejecting his art, his life illustrates how music-making was always also a negotiation for power. Providing a rare glimpse of the social and political contexts of seventeenth-century music, Roger Freitas sheds light on the mechanisms that generated meaning for music, clarifying what music at this time actually was. Roger Freitas is Associate Professor in the Department of Musicology, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester. His writing has appeared in journals including the Journal of Musicology, Music and Letters, and Opera News. This is his first book. © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Frontmatter More information New perspectives in music history and criticism General editors: Jeffrey Kallberg, Anthony Newcomb and Ruth Solie This series explores the conceptual frameworks that shape or have shaped the ways in which we understand music and its history, and aims to elaborate structures of explanation, interpretation, commentary, and criticism which make music intelligible and which provide a basis for argument about judgements of value. The intellectual scope of the series is broad. Some investigations will treat, for example, historiographical topics, others will apply cross-disciplinary methods to the criticism of music, and there will also be studies which consider music in its relation to society, culture, and politics. Overall, the series hopes to create a greater presence for music in the ongoing discourse among the human sciences. Published titles Leslie C. Dunn and Nancy A. Jones (eds.), Embodied Voices: Representing Female Vocality in Western Culture Downing A. Thomas, Music and the Origins of Language: Theories from the French Enlightenment Thomas S. Grey, Wagner’s Musical Prose Daniel K.L. Chua, Absolute Music and the Construction of Meaning Adam Krims, Rap Music and the Poetics of Identity Annette Richards, The Free Fantasia and the Musical Picturesque Richard Will, The Characteristic Symphony in the Age of Haydn and Beethoven Christopher Morris, Reading Opera Between the Lines: Orchestral Interludes and Cultural Meaning from Wagner to Berg Emma Dillon, Medieval Music-Making and the ‘Roman de Fauvel’ David Yearsley, Bach and the Meanings of Counterpoint David Metzer, Quotation and Cultural Meaning in Twentieth-Century Music Alexander Rehding, Hugo Riemann and the Birth of Modern Musical Thought Dana Gooley, The Virtuoso Liszt © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Frontmatter More information Bonnie Gordon, Monteverdi’s Unruly Women: The Power of Song in Early Modern Italy Gary Tomlinson, The Singing of the New World: Indigenous Voice in the Era of European Contact Matthew Gelbart, The Invention of “Folk Music” and “Art Music”: Emerging Categories from Ossian to Wagner Olivia A. Bloechl, Native American Song at the Frontiers of Early Modern Music Giuseppe Gerbino, Music and the Myth of Arcadia in Renaissance Italy Roger Freitas, Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Frontmatter More information Portrait of a Castrato Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Frontmatter More information cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521885218 © Roger Freitas 2009 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2009 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Freitas, Roger. Portrait of a castrato : politics, patronage, and music in the life of Atto Melani / Roger Freitas. p. cm. – (New perspectives in music history and criticism) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-521-88521-8 1. Melani, Atto, 1626-1714. 2. Castrati – Biography. I. Title. II. Series. ML420.M3497F74 2009 782.1092–dc22 [B] 2009004949 ISBN 978-0-521-88521-8 hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Frontmatter More information For my wonderful parents, Ron and Mickey Freitas © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Frontmatter More information Contents List of figures page xi List of tables xii List of plates xiii Library sigla and abbreviations xv Note on the original texts of translations xvii Note on the editing of musical examples xviii Acknowledgements xix Introduction 1 1 Creating a castrato 15 Paterfamilias 16 The question of castration 26 2 The politics of patronage: 1638–1653 33 First steps 34 Paris 41 Back in Italy 58 3 In pursuit of prestige: 1653–1655 70 Demanding center stage 71 Leid und Ekstase 76 Frustration at home 88 Rome 1655 93 4 The sexuality of the castrato 101 The framework 107 Sex with men 112 Sex with women? 132 The implications 141 5 Disgrace and transformation: 1656–1671 149 Le chant du cygne 150 Man of action 155 Risks worth taking 168 Disaster 172 Salvation 184 A new reality 191 © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Frontmatter More information x Contents 6 Atto Melani and the cantata 201 The literary status of the cantata 205 The context of reception 214 Lyrical constructions of love 226 The cantatas of Atto Melani: Poetry 229 The cantatas of Atto Melani: Music 243 7 Completing the portrait: 1671–1714 286 Removal to France 287 Padrone della casa 290 Music again 301 Honors and advancement 307 A respected gentleman 310 Death and remembrance 314 Appendices A The letters of Atto Melani 328 B Letters addressed to or concerning Atto Melani 346 C Satires 352 “Sopra Atto Melani Musico” 352 “Al Signor Atto Melani” 357 D Excerpt from the Recueil des défenses of Nicolas Fouquet 358 E Biographical sketch from Tommaso Trenta’s Memorie 360 F The texts of Atto Melani’s cantatas, with analyses and translations 364 G The wills 379 The Italian will 379 The French will 382 H The cabinet in the “Salotto dell’Abbate Melani,” from the inventory of 1782 387 Works cited 390 Index 418 © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Frontmatter More information Figures 1.1 The Melani family tree page 21 6.1 The aria “Amo Filli” from E che cantar poss’io by Luigi Rossi 248 6.2 The aria “Ardo piango” from Scrivete, occhi dolenti by Giacomo Carissimi 250 6.3 The aria “Ardo piango” from Scrivete, occhi dolenti by Atto Melani 251 6.4a The opening of Fileno, idolo mio 253 6.4b The recitative “Ahi, che tardi Fileno?” from Fileno, idolo mio 253 6.4c The recitative “Sol’indarno il mio cor” from Fileno, idolo mio 253 6.4d The opening of the aria “Vieni mio sol, sì, sì” from Fileno, idolo mio 253 6.4e The opening of the aria “Dentro coppa di rose” from Fileno, idolo mio 254 6.5 The aria “Lumi rei” from Filli, per cui mi moro 256 ’ 4–6 6.6 Cases of Atto s common 2 3 material 260 6.7 Cases of Atto’s common diminished-fourth motive 261 6.8 The opening recitative of Atto’s A più sventure ancora 263 6.9 The four strophic melodies of “Se