GREAT PERFORMERS Cecilia Bartoli

The mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli and Il Giardino Armonico present 'Sacrificium - La scuola dei castrati'. As the title suggests, Bartoli's new discovery project revolves around the most famous castratos in the first half of the eighteenth century and the highly virtuosic and deeply emotional music that was written for those singers. At the core of this project stand the city of Naples and the school of NicolÚ Porpora (1786-1868). Some of the most famous castratos, such as Farinelli and Caffarelli, were among Porpora's students. (Most of the works in the programme have not been performed since the eighteenth century - including those by Porpora, Caldara, Giacomelli, R Broschi, Leo, Araia and Graun.)