Tweet31-08-2009 om 16:25 by Stafford Wadsworth

Monday August 24th was an interesting day for me; driving past Government House in Maastricht, I saw, for the first time in my life, a woman enshrouded in a Burkha. Not being sure whether this form of disguise was legal, I wondered whether the police were about to ‘swoop’ and arrest her – on the assumption, of course, that it was a woman; because, when a Burkha is worn, all familiar reference points seem to disappear.

Strangely enough, the same day saw me at the Conservatory of Music in Maastricht, listening to a lecture, by Jac van den Boogard, on, of all things, castration! You may wonder if this was due to some strange focus on Middle Eastern traditions, where there has been a history of covering up ladies and providing neutered young chaps to keep an eye on things. However, nothing could have been further from the truth, because the focus of the day was in fact, Italy, and the Italian operatic tradition.

The theme was the tradition of the Castrati: those castrated male singers who sang within the soprano tessitura. Fortunately, however, the tradition has been extended to include singers whose vocal propensities are more a question of their own versatility, than the product of surgical mediation.

The evening’s lecture, which covered castration and the operatic tradition in Italy in the Baroque period, was in fact completed and made a supreme aesthetic experience by a marvelously dramatic concert, in which the dynamic male soprano Marcel Arpots, a native of Maastricht and member of the Liège Opera,  gave a splendid concert with his countertenor partner, Rob Meijers. They were accompanied by a superbly composed Sielke Smeets on the piano.

Rob Meijers, the countertenor, and Marcel Arpots provided a literally thrilling Baroque concert, which made one understand why the voice of the Castrati has had such an enormous influence in its day, and the composure of Sielke Smeets at the grand piano added even more style to the occasion.

Interestingly, the concert was part of a course offered at the Maastricht Conservatory of Music within their adult education program, so the concert was accompanied by a lecture on the tradition of Baroque opera and the Castrati.

The arias were exquisite. ‘Sound the Trumpets’ came from Rob and Marcel, then Rob alone with ‘Music for a While’ and Marcel with ‘Sweeter than Roses’. This was followed by the duet ‘Wir eilen’ and Rob with ‘Va ‘l’errore mio’. Marcel followed this with ‘Se non ti more, and the duet ‘Angiol di pace’ was followed by Marcel’s rendition of ‘Ave Maria’.

A riveting ‘Stabat Mater’ in duet form was next and then Marcel with ‘son qual nave’ and Rob with ‘ all lampo dell’ arme’. As the evening moved to a conclusion, there was the duet ‘Barcarolle’, Rob followed with ‘di tante balpiti’ and the duet ‘voga Tonio’ ensued. The evening concluded with a rendering of Caccini’s ‘Ave Maria’ in the duet form.

During the Baroque period, which ran from 1600 to 1750, male sopranos and altos formed about 70% of all operatic singers. This historical episode was recently highlighted by a film made of the great Castrato Farinelli, who was the last truly great Castrato, although not the last one of all.

There was a Castrati tradition at the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and the last Castrato of whom a recording is available was Allesandro Moreschi, of whom recordings were made in 1902 and 1904. He retired in 1913 and died in 1922. The tradition is however maintained by the modern virtuosi; such as we have in Maastricht – with no parts missing.

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