ResearchWorks: Rauzzini: The castrato who fathered a generation of English singers

  • 6pm
Black and white portrait of 18th-century castrato Venanzio Rauzzini
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Category:
Platform / Discussion | Research | ResearchWorks
Event type:
Free | Online
Admission:
Free
Location:
Online

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Speaker: Brianna E. Robertson-Kirkland (The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)

Venanzio Rauzzini (1746–1810) was a castrato singer and teacher who embodied an Italian singing tradition and yet The Monthly Mirror (1807) claimed he was the ‘father of a new style of English singing, and a new race of singers’. Styles of singing were a hotly debated subject in Georgian Britain with contemporary discourses typically placing the Italian and English singing styles in opposition. Many English singers were dissuaded from adopting too many Italian mannerisms particularly when singing repertoire from English ballad operas. That was until, many of Rauzzini’s students, including Elizabeth Billington (1765–1818) and John Braham (c.1774–1856) were praised for incorporating an Italianate approach, while also maintaining a character appropriate for English tastes.

Also crucial to Rauzzini’s success were the relationships he forged with his professional students, many of whom went on to have national and international careers. These students continuously supported Rauzzini by performing at his concerts, as well as recommending and promoting him as a teacher. As such, Rauzzini’s distinctiveness was not his teaching skill but an ability to formulate a loyal network of pupils and promoters. Both allowed him to emerge as one of the most prevalent singing masters in England.

Brianna E. Robertson-Kirkland is a Lecturer in Historically Musicology at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has a particular interest in the field of historically informed performance and eighteenth-century studies. She is the Music Research Associate for the AHRC-funded project 'The Edited Collection of Allan Ramsay' at the University of Glasgow and, alongside Murray Pittock, is co-editor of Ramsay’s Tea-Table Miscellany. She has been a Visiting Fellow at the University of Sydney (2017 & 2019) with her most recent visit culminating in several practice-based, collaborative performances between Scotland’s Concerto Caledonia and Melbourne’s Evergreen Ensemble. Her research has fed into the historically-led album Curious Caledonians. Her recently published monograph Venanzio Rauzzini and the Birth of a New Style in English Singing Scandalous Lessons was published with Routledge on 31 January 2022

What is ResearchWorks?

Guildhall School’s ResearchWorks is a programme of events centred around the School’s research activity, bringing together staff, students and guests of international standing. We run regular events throughout the term intended to share the innovative research findings of the School and its guests with students, staff and the public.