May I please ask something ? I said earlier that I had some of
Herbert-Caesari's books; and, in
seeking them out, I remembered the references made to Riccardo Daviesi, who had
been HC's
voice teacher. Now, I recall in one of the books I cannot find..( thanks to
fire, flood, vandalism)
HC extolled Daviesi at some length; he had been a (?) castrato singer at the
Sistine; an
associate of Sir Morell Mackenzie, who was called in to examine the cancerous
growths in the
throat of the Emperor Frederick lll of Germany, etc.
I cannot find this reference; the Dizionario Universale dei Musicisti refers to
a Giovanni Daviesi,
who had been at the Sistine as well, by way of the Lateran and the Giuilia.
He, too, was of
English/Welsh birth; had a fine contralto voice, but his "voce argentina" was
lost after an
operation.
Riccardo (Richard) Daviesi had apparently been well-known at Lucca.
Could anyone on the List please help me trace the original reference? I think
it must have been
in "Tradition and Gigli", as I have found "The Alchemy of Voice" and "The
Science and
Sensations of Vocal Tone"
I am afraid I cannot reach a library as I am virtually housebound.
All acknowledgements will be duly made, of course; please e-mail me privately,
Gratefully.
Elsa
Church and operatic castrati,
Updated web site:
http://www.cix.co.uk/~velluti
July 2000
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