Luigi Marchesi

Luigi Marchesi (August 8, 1754 - December 14, 1829), was a famous castrato singer.

Luigi Ludovico Marchesi was born at Milan, Italy. He joined the Milan Cathedral choir in 1765, and made his operatic debut at the Teatro delle Dame (Rome), in a female role, in Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona in 1774. In 1782 he appeared at Turin in Bianchi's Il Trionfo della Pace, with tremendous success. After Marchesi's enormous triumphs throughout Italy and Germany, he ventured all the way to St. Petersburg, Russia (1785), but, terrified by the Russian climate, fled back to Vienna and finally (1788) London, where he created a tremendous sensation and was proclaimed to be the greatest singer of his time. Mount Edgcumbe described Marchesi's impression at London as following:

Marchesi was at this time (1788) a very well-looking young man, of good figure, and graceful deportment. His acting was spirited and expressive: his vocal powers were very great, his voice of extensive compass, but a little inclined to be thick. His execution was very considerable, and he was rather too fond of displaying it; nor was his cantibile singing equal to his bravura. In recitative, and scenes of energy and passion, he was incomparable, and had he been less lavish of ornaments, which were not always appropriate, and possessed a more pure and simple taste, his performance would have been faultless: it was always striking, animated and effective. He chose for his début Sarti`s beautiful opera of Giulio Sabino, in which all the songs of the principal character, and they are many and various, are of the very finest description....

He was received with ruptures applause.

In 1796 Marchesi refused to sing for Napoleon, when he entered the city of Milan. For this Marchesi was honoured as a national hero by the public, as reported by Vernon Lee:

The frivolous part of society chatted and danced, and adored.... the singer Marchesi whom Alfieri called upon to buckle on his helmet, and march out against the French, as the only remaining Italian who dared to resist the 'Corsian Gallis' invader, although only in the matter of song.

Marchesi also sang in Mayr's Ginevra di Scozia for the inauguration of the Teatro Nuovo in Trieste (1801). He continued to appear in public for a few more years, all the way till 1806, where he retired for good and moved to his villa at Inzago, where he died December 14, 1829. After his retirement Marchesi did not go into obscurity; once in a while, when in good health, he used to arrange a couple of private concerts - some of them were dedicated to charity, particularly for the poor orphanage children.

As an artist Marchesi was the greatest singer of his time, and he was also a composer. In London he published his own volume set of Ariette Italiane, and also a handful of solfeggi.

In person Marchesi might have been the handsomest castrato of all time; during his London engagement in 1790's, a certain Maria Cosway deserted husband and children and followed the singer around Europe for several years. Also, it is said he was adored by the whole female population of Rome. At the same time, however, Marchesi became famous for his turbulent temperament and notorious stipulations. He often insisted on making his entrance on the scene descending a hill on horseback, and wearing a helmet with multicoloured plumes at least a yard high, saying "Where am I?"; otherwise he engaged in rivalry competitions that once nearly cost him life - the fanatic supporters of the soprano Luisa Todi, his bitter rival, attempted to poison him in 1791.

Sources

The Groves encyclopedia of music and musicians.

Heriot, Angus: The Castrati in Opera, London 1956.