Italy — 4,000 boys sacrificed each year in the name of music. With her new album “Sacrificium”, and a major international concert tour, Cecilia Bartoli uncovers the extraordinary world of the “castrati”, and sings the glorious music they inspired.

The “Sacrificium” project will tell the story of the castrati in all its complexity; its beauty, glamour, controversy and cruelty. The album focuses on the Neapolitan school, which produced superstar castrati including Farinelli and Caffarelli. “The age of the castrati” inspired some of the most virtuosic repertoire ever written for the human voice; elaborate coloratura showpieces and beautiful slow arias, written for the extraordinary vocal abilities of the leading castrati.

Following the international success of “Opera Proibita”, Cecilia Bartoli uncovers more lost jewels of Baroque music, with an album almost entirely composed of world premiere recordings. For the first time since their record-breaking “Vivaldi Album”, Cecilia Bartoli is reunited with leading Italian period instrument ensemble Il Giardino Armonico and their director Giovanni Antonini.