The Arts - Rome - page 711

Music
Despite cut-backs in public funding, Rome's music scene is in rude health. International or-
chestras perform to sell-out audiences, jazz greats jam in steamy clubs and rappers rage in
underground venues.
Castration & Choral Music
In a city of churches, it's little wonder that choral music has deep roots. In the 16th and
17th centuries, Rome's great Renaissance popes summoned the top musicians of the day to
tutor the papal choir. Two of the most famous were Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c
1525−94), one of Italy's foremost Renaissance composers, and the Naples-born Domenico
Scarlatti (1685−1757). Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583−1643), admired by the young JS Bach,
was twice an organist at St Peter's Basilica.
The papal choirs, originally composed of priests, were closed to women and the high
parts were taken by castrati, boys who had been surgically castrated before puberty to pre-
serve their high voices. Although castration was punishable by excommunication, the
Sistine Chapel and other papal choirs contained castrati as early as 1588 and as late as the
early 20th century. The last known castrato, Alessandro Moreschi (1858−1922), known as
l'angelo di Roma (the angel of Rome), was castrated in 1865, just five years before the
practice was officially outlawed. He entered the Sistine Chapel choir in 1883 and 15 years
later became conductor. He retired in 1913, 10 years after Pius X had banned castrati from
the papal choirs. Boy sopranos were introduced in the 1950s.
In 1585 Sixtus V formally established the Accademia di Santa Cecilia as a support or-
ganisation for papal musicians. Originally it was involved in the publication of sacred mu-
sic, although it later developed a teaching function, and in 1839 it completely reinvented it-
self as an academy with wider cultural and academic goals. Today it is one of the world's
most highly respected conservatories, with its own orchestra and chorus.
Opera
Rome is often snubbed by serious opera buffs who prefer their Puccini in Milan, Venice or
Naples. However, performances at the city's main opera house, the Teatro dell'Opera, are
passionately followed. The Romans have long been keen opera-goers and in the 19th cen-
tury a number of important operas were premiered in Rome, including Rossini's Il Barbiere