Moreschi

The Angel of Rome
By Nicholas Clapton

In his lifetime Alessandro Moreschi (1858-1922) was known as the 'Angel of Rome'. He was the last surviving castrato singer of the Sistine Chapel choir, and the only one of the castrati whose voice survives in any solo recording. The ethereal, haunting quality of his voice hints at why this extraordinary sound was so highly prized for centuries in the opera houses of Europe.

The strange and lonely life of Alessandro Moreschi was lived in the shadows of great events and great institutions, his personality glimpsed only by inference and allusions. Written by an acclaimed musicologist, who as a counter-tenor has performed much of the repertoire written for castrati, this is a perceptive and informed study of the last survivor of a perennially intriguing part of Western cultural history.

‘. . . In an immaculately produced and beautifully illustrated short volume, Clapton sets the castrato in a historical context . . . Clapton is excellent on the physical and psychological effects of castration as experienced by Moreschi . . . a valuable historical record of a nearly forgotten art.’

Andrew Green, Classical Music

'Invaluable ... a fascinating account of the relations between the Vatican and Italy during the last half of the 19th century ...  Clapton’s story is told with wit, compassion and elegance.’

 Michael Tanner, BBC Music Magazine

A more extensive account of Moreschi's life and the history of the castrati is also available at Haus Publishing as a Hardback edition with CD.

Nicholas Clapton’s career as a counter-tenor has seen him particularly involved in performing the repertoire of the great castrati. He is a professor of Singing at the Royal Academy of Music in London and also teaches at the Conservatoire in Budapest.