Talk:Alessandro Moreschi

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Big edit[edit]

I've done a big edit on this page, expanding it a lot, and adding new photos and other details (I notice that M.'s birthplace only has a cross-reference if spelled as two words, so have reverted to that). Comments, please.--voxclamans 23:43, 22 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Castrato Controversy[edit]

The practice of castrating young men so they can sing in church with voices of women (not permitted to sing in church) becomes more controversial when you realize the Catholic Church ordered and benefited from the contraceptive practices. So pretending their was an illness responsible for these 12 to 20 thousand castration over a 300 year period has become commonplace.

While Wikipedia should not be in the business of correcting false history, some historical rewrites are so egregious they should not be given.

The Catholic Church Invented and perfected this form of contraception so they could exclude women from singing in Church. Fact. Scottprovost (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 09:17, 11 February 2012 (UTC).[reply]

Downloading recordings[edit]

How do I download his recordings? These must be in the public doomain by now. -- Toytoy 14:13, May 8, 2005 (UTC)

There is a CD available named "Moreschi - The Last Castrato" on Pearl Label ASIN Amazon code B000000WYS. Can also find it on eBay from time to time.

There's a recording on the BBC website, here. 86.136.253.230 03:02, 13 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Birthplace[edit]

Despite almost every reference online, it is, and was, Montecompatri (or Monte Compatri: both spellings are correct). See Italian wiki article for the comune of Montecompatri; and I checked it against a good map of Italy just to make sure. 90% of those online refs are parrotings of Wikicrap anyway. Bill 22:07, 12 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Ambiguity[edit]

It says in the article that Moreschi was a soprano of "extraordinary purity and agility". I could not agree more, but lower down it then says that some critics hold Moreschi(even in his prime) to have been a mediocre singer. It strikes me that we must either have one or the other, but both leaves the reader rather confused.Could someone please clean this up?And if you wish to buy Moreschi's recordings, they are available from HMV or Amazon, and are well worth a listen.

I think he was a rather good singer. How could he otherwise had made a living out of singing? But he sung in a style that people don't like much anymore: it have simply been out of fasion for a very long time. People may not even recognice his singing as that of a professional singer. The poor quality of the recording may also intefer.

Did he realy look that much yonger? Franz Habock might have beed confused by contradicting age signs. Like all castrati Alessandro had a voice similar to that of a pre-pubertal child. Being castraed around the age of seven he probably had no androgenic hair at all. Yet he might have looked like an middle-age man in all other ways. I that case Franz might have underestimated his age with about 15 years. Does anyone have a better photo of him with a statement of when it was taken? The one in the article seem to be a scan of a low quality newspaper photo. All the large dots itches me!

2006-01-29 Lena Synnerholm, Märsta, Sweden.

Sadly, even in the world you originally wrote this (2006), and undoubtedly in the world he sang (late 1800's), critics of every sort abound. Two people may listen to the same performance and produce opposing opinions about what they have heard; each one to be taken as immutable fact. I fear that now, as I write this in 2022, the problem has only become worse in that critical views seem to want to silence each other by any means necessary. -maxnort 108.52.119.247 (talk) 15:52, 30 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Removal of Moreschi_c1900.jpg[edit]

Please could someone explain the removal of this photograph (a long time after it was first posted as part of the article)? The following seems to provide guidelines for the use of such images:

Historical photographs

   === Fair use for ARTICLE NAME ===
   Though this image is subject to copyright, its use is covered by the U.S. fair use laws because:
   # It is a historically significant photo of a famous individual. (Add sources to backup this claim, like news articles mentioning this image (and not simply using it))
   # It is of much lower resolution than the original (copies made from it will be of very inferior quality).
   # The photo is only being used for informational purposes.
   # Its inclusion in the article adds significantly to the article because the photo and its historical significance are the object of discussion in the article.

This image is, I believe, non-copyright under US law, and is particularly apt in the terms of the first and last of the above points.--voxclamans (talk) 21:32, 5 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

"Weasel words"?[edit]

I have removed the "weasel" indication above the section on "Critical opinion". Does this seem reasonable to other readers/editors? It would seem difficult not to discuss differing critical responses to a subject without using what might be regarded as "opinionated" language.--voxclamans (talk) 22:07, 30 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Without a citation indicating whose opinion we're being given, I think the "weasel words" tag is warranted (e.g., "some say," "can certainly seem," "often sounds bizarre," "can be misinterpreted," etc.). For all I know, I'm just as qualified as the "critics" in the last section to insert remarks on the technical merits of Moreschi's recordings. 69.243.215.109 (talk) 02:04, 24 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Detailed citations have now been added, as well as sources for other quotations in this article.--voxclamans (talk) 06:22, 7 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I have now added a lot more references, chiefly from the only published biography of Moreschi, which Itrust bring this article up to Wiki standards as to being sufficiently well-sourced, verifiable, etc. voxclamans (talk) 21:04, 7 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

and the only castrato of the classic bel canto tradition to make solo sound recordings.[edit]

So says the text. Does this mean there are recordings of other castrato singers who are not in the classic bel canto tradition? If not then he was surely the only castrato to make records whether in the bel canto tradition or not. If there are recorded castrati can they be referenced? I dont know of any. The text needs editing here.

Seneca_2007 (talk)

Apparently the above commentator overlooked the importance of the key word "solo". According to the Castrato article there were six castrati in the Sistine Choir as of 1898. Presumably, at least one in addition to Moreschi was still there in 1902-1904 and took part in the choral recordings. I will restore the qualifier "solo" to the statement in the article. 66.81.221.134 (talk) 09:59, 3 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

P.S. The articles on Giovanni Cesari and Domenico Salvatori mention their participation in the choral recordings. 66.81.241.85 (talk) 00:54, 5 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Promotion[edit]

Wasn't Moreschi promoted to "professor" by one of the Popes?AT Kunene (talk) 12:34, 25 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Additional personal information[edit]

This article purports to give more details of his life https://www.ozy.com/true-and-stories/the-angel-of-rome-dazzled-europe-with-his-voice-but-at-what-cost/76576 Skysong263 (talk) 22:03, 25 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]