Musico
Encyclopedia
The Italian
term musico (plural musici) has a number of meanings:
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
term musico (plural musici) has a number of meanings:
- Originally, the term referred to any trained, as opposed to amateur, musicianMusicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. - In the 18th century, the term (generally regarded as derogatory) was used for the voice-type known today as castratoCastratoA castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...
. - In the 19th century, after the disappearance of castrati from opera, the term referred to a female singer, usually a mezzo-soprano, but sometimes a contralto, in a breeches roleBreeches roleA breeches role is a role in which an actress appears in male clothing .In opera it also refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer...
, often referred to as a primo musico. A diminutive form (musichetto) was also occasionally used.