Castrato Casanova
This BathSong is about a soprano singer from the late 18th Century called Venanzio Rauzzini. He was famed for his beautiful, incredibly pure and very high voice – it was a general assumption that he'd been castrated as a child as he had such a beautiful pure voice – it was a quite common practice of the day.
He was bit of a ladies man, but the men didn't mind him ‘being around’ their ladies as he was deemed ‘safe’ so he seemed to get away with quite a bit of ‘fooling around’. He started getting hounded out of cities across Europe as a rumour began to circulate that he maybe hadn’t been castrated (and was actually just a great singer). He ended up in Bath, which at the time had a name as quite a hedonistic place (a bit like Ibiza in the 90s!) People didn’t bat as much of an eyelid here - he fitted in well! This BathSong is Venanzio singing to the husbands of some of his past or maybe future conquests!
Rauzzini stayed for the rest of his life in Bath and was acclaimed for his work and contributions to classical music in the City, inspiring many future works by well known composers.
Lyrics:
I have the power to make captains weep
Open my mouth and they rise to their feet
I can hit notes only angels can speak
But I’ve got a secret to share
You ask me how can I sing to the sky
All of the papers assume they know why
That I had been given ‘the snip’ as a child
Well I’ve got a secret to share
I’m all man and I’ll prove it to you
I’ve got my seeds to sow and your lady to do
But you won’t know while I’m singing my songs
And by the time that you notice, I’m gonna be long long gone… I’m gonna be long long gone
I have earned praise for the way that I sing
Prizes and wealth and acclaim it may bring
But female regard is by far the best thing
And a secret I’m hoping to keep
So just remember when I stand on this stage
I’ll picture your lady in her nice negligée
I won’t be a threat ‘cause you think I’ve been spayed
This secret I always will keep
I’m all man, I won’t prove it to you
But I’ve got seeds to sow and your lady to do
And you won’t know while I’m singing my songs
And by the time that you notice, I’m gonna be long long gone… I’m gonna be long long gone
He was bit of a ladies man, but the men didn't mind him ‘being around’ their ladies as he was deemed ‘safe’ so he seemed to get away with quite a bit of ‘fooling around’. He started getting hounded out of cities across Europe as a rumour began to circulate that he maybe hadn’t been castrated (and was actually just a great singer). He ended up in Bath, which at the time had a name as quite a hedonistic place (a bit like Ibiza in the 90s!) People didn’t bat as much of an eyelid here - he fitted in well! This BathSong is Venanzio singing to the husbands of some of his past or maybe future conquests!
Rauzzini stayed for the rest of his life in Bath and was acclaimed for his work and contributions to classical music in the City, inspiring many future works by well known composers.
Lyrics:
I have the power to make captains weep
Open my mouth and they rise to their feet
I can hit notes only angels can speak
But I’ve got a secret to share
You ask me how can I sing to the sky
All of the papers assume they know why
That I had been given ‘the snip’ as a child
Well I’ve got a secret to share
I’m all man and I’ll prove it to you
I’ve got my seeds to sow and your lady to do
But you won’t know while I’m singing my songs
And by the time that you notice, I’m gonna be long long gone… I’m gonna be long long gone
I have earned praise for the way that I sing
Prizes and wealth and acclaim it may bring
But female regard is by far the best thing
And a secret I’m hoping to keep
So just remember when I stand on this stage
I’ll picture your lady in her nice negligée
I won’t be a threat ‘cause you think I’ve been spayed
This secret I always will keep
I’m all man, I won’t prove it to you
But I’ve got seeds to sow and your lady to do
And you won’t know while I’m singing my songs
And by the time that you notice, I’m gonna be long long gone… I’m gonna be long long gone