The Medici Castrato
The exciting countertenor voice of Italian Raffaele Pe which has, in the last few years, been captivating audiences at concert and opera performances given by the likes of John Eliot Gardiner, Claudio Cavina, Christophe Coin and Paul McCreesh is now provided with a CD release from Glossa with Pe’s solo recital, The Medici Castrato. Pe takes his lead from music written for Gualberto Magli, a castrato at the court of the Medicis in Florence in the first quarter of the 17th century who, through the encouragement of his teacher Giulio Caccini, became a master of the new vocal form of monody. Magli’s prowess led him to be sought after for the Mantuan première of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo – sizeable portions of which are sung here by Pe.
The exciting countertenor voice of Italian Raffaele Pe which has, in the last few years, been captivating audiences at concert and opera performances given by the likes of John Eliot Gardiner, Claudio Cavina, Christophe Coin and Paul McCreesh is now provided with a CD release from Glossa with Pe’s solo recital, The Medici Castrato. Pe takes his lead from music written for Gualberto Magli, a castrato at the court of the Medicis in Florence in the first quarter of the 17th century who, through the encouragement of his teacher Giulio Caccini, became a master of the new vocal form of monody. Magli’s prowess led him to be sought after for the Mantuan première of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo – sizeable portions of which are sung here by Pe.