Les Castrats Au Temps de Mozart (1998)

1. Adriano in Siria: 'Cara la dolce fiamma'
2. Ifigenia in Aulide: 'Quando mi chiama in campo'
3. Perseo: 'Mi scordo i torti miei... Dolci aurette'
4. Orfeo: 'Men tiranne voi sareste'
5. Solfeggio
6. Armida abbandonata: 'Caro mio ben'
7. L'eroe cinese: 'Ti leggo in volto'
8. Exsultate, Jubilate: Alleluia
9. Regina coeli: Ora pro nobis Deum
10. Ascanio in Alba: 'Al mio ben mi veggio avanti'
11. Lucio Silla: 'Dunque sperar poss'io... ll tenero momento'

Aris Christofellis – soprano
Ensemble Seicentonovecento
Flavio Colusso - conductor

Aris Christofellis, who recorded in the late 1980s and early 1990s, is one of the extraordinarily rare persons who, although he had a normal vocal tessitura for a man, was able to modulate his voice to reach the soprano range. More astoundingly, he could do so with precision and power. He was able to sing the most acrobatic, difficult Baroque arias.

Why is all this important? 80% of all operas were written begore 1800, and 70% of the roles were written for male altos and sopranos. To accomplish this, as many as 4,000-5,000 boys per year per altered to preserve their voices. The very best of these gained fame and fortune on the opera stage, singing in private palaces, and occasionally in great churches. Other devoted themselves to singing in churches or to lesser pursuits. Obviously, the world has done away with the practice of alteration; therefore, there are approximately only a half dozen natural, adult altos and sopranos in the world. The alto tessitura largely is covered today by countertenors. To sing higher is even more difficult. A few others have tried and have failed to sing well.

The only drawback with Aris' voice is that, in singing with an artificial method, his sound is rather unnatural, and enunciation is difficult. Still, he is one of the few persons who can give a relatively good approximation of the castrato singer.

Apparenly, not so many copies of his CDs were produced, and they quickly were bought up by his fans. To find one now is quite rare; the prices may reflect their rarity. If you are a student of music history or a fan of Baroque vocal works, do not wait very long if you see a CD of Aris' become available. Someone is bound to snap it up. ---Go For Baroque, amazon.com

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