Michael Jackson and Castrati
As mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli prepares for the release of her new album, a collection of 17th century opera arias written for castrati called "Sacrificium,” she recently spoke with the LA Times about suffering for art and drew comparisons to the King of Pop.
"After 300 years we’re still ready to sacrifice our bodies for beauty or what fashions dictates for us, and it got me thinking about the incredible talent and musician of Michael Jackson. He was an amazing, amazing musician and talent and genius really of music. He was really also a victim of this, in a way. Mutilating himself — what he did for his body, for the skin, for the nose.”
“Most of these young boys were coming from very, very poor families, which they already have 10 to 12 children,” Bartoli says, again making a parallel with Jackson, “one would sacrifice, in the name of music, but in fact it was big business because if this boy was able to make a career he was considered a pop star and he was earning lots of money and he was the one who could have saved his family out of poverty.”
You can read the full article here, and it is worth the read.
For those of you in NYC on November 16th, a listening party and screening will be held at (le) poisson rouge. A special cocktail, "The Castratini" will be served and we're not going to ask any questions...
"After 300 years we’re still ready to sacrifice our bodies for beauty or what fashions dictates for us, and it got me thinking about the incredible talent and musician of Michael Jackson. He was an amazing, amazing musician and talent and genius really of music. He was really also a victim of this, in a way. Mutilating himself — what he did for his body, for the skin, for the nose.”
“Most of these young boys were coming from very, very poor families, which they already have 10 to 12 children,” Bartoli says, again making a parallel with Jackson, “one would sacrifice, in the name of music, but in fact it was big business because if this boy was able to make a career he was considered a pop star and he was earning lots of money and he was the one who could have saved his family out of poverty.”
You can read the full article here, and it is worth the read.
For those of you in NYC on November 16th, a listening party and screening will be held at (le) poisson rouge. A special cocktail, "The Castratini" will be served and we're not going to ask any questions...
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