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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