by Anne Rice
AFTERWORD
CRY TO HEAVEN could not have been written without extensive research, and I am deeply indebted not only to many writers of the period, but to the authors of numerous scholarly and popular works on the opera, the castrati, the eighteenth century, art, music, Italy, and the cities of Naples, Rome, and Venice.
In addition much material was consulted on the physical characteristics of eunuchs, and I express my special thanks to Robert Owen, M.D., for helping me make my way through the morass of medical literature on the subject.
I would also like to thank Anne-Marie Bates, who very generously made available to me a tape recording of Alessandro Moreschi, the last castrato to sing in the Sistine Choir, and the only castrato ever to be recorded.
All the main characters in the book are fictional. And though every effort has been made to portray the castrati and the century accurately, some liberties have been taken with persons and time. Nicolino, Farinelli, and Caffarelli were real and famous castrati; however Caffarelli's appearances in the book are invented.
Guido's teaching methods are based upon Early History of Singing by W. J. Henderson, and I must bear the responsibility for simplification and any inaccuracy.
"Baroque Venice, Music of Gabrieli, Bassano, Monteverdi," recorded by the Decca Recording Company, 1972, with its album notes describing Jean Baptiste Duval's visit to San Marco in 1607, was the direct inspiration for Tonio's first musical experience there.
Alessandro Scarlatti's The Garden of Love (Catherine Gayer, soprano, as Adonis, and Brigitte Fassbaender, contralto, as Venus) on Deutsche Grammophon, 1964, was the inspiration for Tonio's duet with the Contessa in Naples, and this was the only portion of the book actually written to music.
Metastasio's Achille en Sciro, the libretto that Guido chose for Tonio's debut in Rome, is described in detail by Vernon Lee in her unique Studies in the 18th Century in Italy.
And there are many baroque operas on record today which were popular during this period.
However, for a real understanding of the music, I strongly urge the reader to seek those recordings in which female singers take the old castrato roles. The castrati were true sopranos and contraltos. And countertenors or male falsettists can give no true idea of the beauty of their voices.
A Ballantine Book
Published by The Random House Publishing Group
Copyright (c) 1982 by Anne O'Brien Rice All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
www.ballantinebooks.com
eISBN: 978-0-30749422-1
This edition published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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