Luigi Marchesi (1754-1829), «The Ocean of Sopranos» — as Benedetto Frizzi called him — was one of the most famous and most popular singers of late-eighteenth-century Europe, an outstanding star who lit up the musical world from the ancien régime to the Napoleonic Age. Endowed with a voice that encompassed an exceptionally wide range, and with a celebrated taste for acrobatic singing and extravagant embellishments, Marchesi soon became an almost mythological character.

– Anne Desler, Introduction
– Nastasja Gandolfo, The role of Luigi Marchesi in Josef Mysliveček’s Ezio for the Munich court (1777)
– Annarita Colturato, Luigi Marchesi as Court Singer
– Giovanni Polin, «Always true to his own reputation in delighting and surprising»: notes about the career of Luigi Marchesi in the Venetian Republic
– Simone Laghi, Luigi Marchesi’s performances in London: Castrati and the ‘true taste’
– Nicholas Baragwanath, Castrato as Composer: Revisions for Marchesi’s London Debut as Giulio Sabino (1788)
– Roberto Scoccimarro, Luigi Marchesi as Achille: Adaptations of a rondo from Cherubini’s Ifigenia in Aulide in Turin, Milan and London
– Paolo Russo, An Opera for a ‘rhapsodic poet’: Il disertore by Tarchi and Marchesi
– Giacomo Sances, «Our great Gipsy friend must be proud of such a fine student»: Luigi Marchesi and his «sincere feeling» for Bellini
– Stefano Aresi, Elements towards the understanding of Luigi Marchesi vocal skills
– Livio Marcaletti, Luigi Marchesi’s Variazioni between Conventional Graces and Extraordinary Virtuosity, in the Light of Contemporary Vocal Treatises
– Luca Benedetti, Mayr, Marchesi and Pugnani in Venice: a source from the Biblioteca ‘Angelo Mai’, Bergamo
– Rosa Cafiero & Livio Aragona, From Lodoiska to Lovinski: Camilla Balsamini stepping into Marchesi’s shoes
– Facsimiles , Bibliography, Index

Come interpretare il canto solistico dell’epoca di Händel, Mozart o Rossini? Non solo con passi di coloratura virtuosistici per variare una melodia già esposta: un’esecuzione espressiva richiedeva il costante uso di accenti, glissandi e piccoli ornamenti detti Manieren, oggi perlopiù dimenticati. Il presente volume ne ripercorre la storia sulla base della didattica tedesca tra Seicento e Ottocento.

The art and practice of continuo accompaniment from figured and unfigured bass parts developed in the Italian states at the turn of the seventeenth century, spreading rapidly throughout Europe and England. For over two centuries continuo accompaniment was a central aspect of music performance. This book provides a comprehensive presentation of all aspects of vocal and instrumental music accompaniment accounting for place, space, time, and purpose of the music being accompanied.

Talya Berger is a member of the music faculty at Stanford University where she teaches music theory, analysis, and thorough bass accompaniment. Among her other publications are scholarly editions of Benedetto Marcello’s Cassandra (A-R Editions) and Varia Musica Sacra: Composizioni a 2-8 voci e organo dai codici di Palazzo Altemps (SEdM).