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Girolamo Crescentini




Crescentini was one of the last of the great ''castrati'' and sang in the chief cities of Europe . He was born in Urbania near Urbino in Italy and began singing opera in 1782 . A notable performance was in the role of Romeo in the debut performance of '' Romeo E Giulietta '' by Nicolo Antonio Zingarelli at '' La Scala '' in Milan in 1796 . In 1805 , when performing in Vienna , he was recognized by Napoléon Bonaparte and awarded the Order Of The Iron Crown of Lombardy . He moved to Paris the next year and became a teacher and performer for the imperial court.

Crescenti was called "the Italian Orpheus ".

After retiring from the opera in 1812 , he taught in Bologna and at the Royal Conservatory in Naples .


SOURCES

  • Barbier, Patrick. ''The World of the Castrati: The History of an Extraordinary Operatic Phenomenon.'' Trans. Margaret Crosland. Suffolk: Souvenir Press, 1996.

  • Richard Somerset-Ward. ''Angels and Monsters.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004.