by César Aira · Random House · tapa blanda · ISBN 9788439709954
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During a lively era of romanticism, Canto castrato leads us to follow the footsteps of a divo from 18th century opera, the Micchino. In 1738 countries in Europe had a boom of totalitarianism and frivolity. Louis XIV’s death left a void that, little by little would be filled by the ambiguous Rococo creatures. The era of highest splendor by empresses and chivalrous kings had arrived: Catalina, Maria Teresa, Frederick the Great, Louis the Beloved ... And over the highest powers lingered a sublime and disturbing song: that of the castrati. From Naples to St. Petersburg and through Vienna, Canto castrato is an artistic journey where we witness the triumph of Italian opera in the Nordic courts. But it is also a journey through the political climate of the times due to a tangle of interests and sophistry woven around and within the music. And above all, it is a love story: the Micchino repeats Orpheus’ steps to rescue Amanda from the hell of her unhappy marriage. Whether he achieves it or not would be the miracle of this seductive and passionate novel.
César Aira is an Argentine writer and translator, and an exponent of contemporary Argentine literature. He has published over a hundred short books of stories, novels and essays. He has lectured at the University of Buenos Aires, on Copi and Arthur Rimbaud, and at the University of Rosario on Constructivism and Stéphane Mallarmé, and has translated and edited books from France, England, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, and Venezuela.
