Research Questions
Amiconi's portrait of Farinelli (Pleasants, 70).
Today we can only imagine what it must have been like for a castrato. What did it feel like to be labeled and castrated from society as different? How did the castrato perform this difference? What kind of control did the castrati have over his marked body; what parts of himself could be hidden and what inevitably would surface and be taken in by the spectator? How did a voice define one’s gender and sexuality on stage as well as in public and private life?
Also, we can only imagine how spectators might have responded to such a body: How did one process the body of the castrato, and how did they assert their own gender and fears about queerness? How do we process what we see both on stage and before us in the performance of everyday life? Can we forget what is queer and see the castrati as purely a singer, or is the “hollow body” (Freitas, 199) always associated with the phallic voice (Freitas, 200)? How do spectators perform in relationship to another body’s difference? Can sexuality be separated from the gender of the castrati, “the mystery of the missing thing” (Bergeron, 174)?
In my journey I would like to examine the body that is marked and defined not only by lack but by a potent, overpowering and virile voice (Freitas, 200). The castrato and the spectator engage in a relationship that defies normative gender behavior and explores the marked battleground of sexuality.
Also, we can only imagine how spectators might have responded to such a body: How did one process the body of the castrato, and how did they assert their own gender and fears about queerness? How do we process what we see both on stage and before us in the performance of everyday life? Can we forget what is queer and see the castrati as purely a singer, or is the “hollow body” (Freitas, 199) always associated with the phallic voice (Freitas, 200)? How do spectators perform in relationship to another body’s difference? Can sexuality be separated from the gender of the castrati, “the mystery of the missing thing” (Bergeron, 174)?
In my journey I would like to examine the body that is marked and defined not only by lack but by a potent, overpowering and virile voice (Freitas, 200). The castrato and the spectator engage in a relationship that defies normative gender behavior and explores the marked battleground of sexuality.