Schwetzingen SWR Festival: Diary of a Castrato

Actress Corinna Harfouch reads from the memoirs of the Italian singer Filippo Balatri, with musical contributions from Hubert Wild (vocals) and Stefan Maass (lute). He was the body eunuch of Peter the Great, a singing gift for the prince of the West Mongolian Kalmyks, an entertainer in the noble houses of Europe, and ultimately a monk in a Bavarian convent. The Mongolian khan gifted him, captivated by his bell-like soprano voice, a gold fabric that later made the French Sun King Louis XIV turn pale with envy. The Italian castrato Filippo Balatri (1682–1756) led one of the most spectacular singing lives in music history. Nevertheless, we would know nothing of him today if he had not – incidentally, as the only one of his profession – left behind a nearly 5000-page handwritten manuscript. Balatri's memoirs inspired Christine Wunnicke to write her novel "The Nightingale of the Tsar." From this and from the singer's memoirs, the star actress Corinna Harfouch reads; alongside, baroque arias that Balatri performed or could have performed resonate. Now she sings, accompanied by Stefan Maass on the lute, while Hubert Wild performs as both a baritone and an altus, and occasionally dabbles in acting as well. An adventure novel in tones: incredible, but true.