Cry to Heaven

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Cry to Heaven

Cry to Heaven is a standalone historical novel by Anne Rice

Anne Rice

Anne Rice is a best-selling United States author of gothic fiction and religious-themed books. She was married to poet and painter Stan Rice for 41 years until his death in 2002....
, first published in 1982. Taking place in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
during the eighteenth century, it follows the paths of two unlikely collaborators: a Venetian

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
noble and a maestro from Calabria

Calabria

Calabria , is a Regions of Italy in Southern Italy Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula. It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the Ionian Sea....
, both trying to succeed in the world of the opera

Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
.

o Maffeo, born a peasant

Peasant

A peasant is an agriculture worker who subsists by working a small plot of ground. The word is derived from 15th century French language pa?sant meaning one from the pays, or rural, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district ....
, is castrated at the age of six to preserve his soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
voice, and becomes a star of the opera by the time he's a teenager.

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Encyclopedia

Cry to Heaven is a standalone historical novel by Anne Rice

Anne Rice

Italy

Venice

Calabria

Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
.

Plot introduction

Guido Maffeo, born a peasant

Peasant

Soprano

Castrato

A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto human voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinology condition, never reaches sexual maturity....
, he loses his voice as he enters manhood. After a failed suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the intentional taking of one's own life. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"....
attempt, he becomes a music

Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
teacher

Teacher

In education, a teacher is a person who teaches. A teacher who teaches an individual student may also be described as a personal tutor.The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out by way of Occupation or Profession at a school or other place of formal education....
in the Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old....
conservatorio where he was raised. While he becomes an excellent teacher and composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
, he is denied the fame he originally had.

Tonio Treschi is (apparently) the last son of a noble family from the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Most Serene Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice . It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century AD until the year 1797....
, his father, Andrea, a member of the Serenissima

Serenissima

Serenissima may refer to:*La Serenissima, a name for the Republic of Venice, from the title Serenissimo literally meaning 'the most/very serene'...
's Council of Three

Council of Three

In the history of humanity there were several collective bodies named Council of Three. Most of them served either as a collegial head of state or other governing organisation....
. About ten years younger than Guido, he possesses a natural soprano voice, and enjoys singing

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
.

However, the Treschi family hides a great secret - Tonio is not the last heir of the house, but the youngest; his older brother, Carlo, was exiled for embarrassing the family. While Andrea Treschi attempts to cut Carlo out of the family, after his death, Carlo returns and plots to regain his original position. To this end, he decides on a cruel and ironic

Irony

Irony is a Literary technique or rhetorical device, in which there is an wiktionary:incongruous or wiktionary:discordance between what one says or does and what one means or what is generally understood....
method - because of his voice, he has Tonio castrated, and sends him off with Guido to study in Naples. Tonio is thus left in a hard position, divided between his love of music on one side, and his desire for revenge on the other.

Plot summary

As Tonio learns, Carlo is actually his father. However, although everyone in Venice is inclined to believe that Carlo was behind his castration, Tonio cannot accuse him of the crime because doing so would result in the "extinction" of the Treschi family. After some soul-searching, he decides to remain in Naples and study under Guido, holding off on revenge until after Carlo and his mother (also Carlo's lover and later wife) have children to ensure the family line.

Because of Tonio's almost unhuman soprano voice, Guido is roused from his depression, and takes him as a star student. Tonio progresses in his lessons extremely quickly. Guido also has Tonio perform some of his original compositions, which begin to impress audiences at the conservatorio.

Tonio, for his part, struggles to come to terms with his castrato status - in his own mind, he is "less than a man." At first, he finds it difficult to even associate with his fellow castrati. As time goes on, he has a love affair with another castrati boy, Domenico, and after Domenico leaves, with Guido himself. He comes to dominate the conservatorio - in addition to being a star student, he soon befriends all the boys his age and becomes something of a leader and confidant.

Also, Tonio continues his studies in fencing

Fencing

Fencing is a family of sports and activities that feature armed combat involving cutting, stabbing, or slapping Club ing weapons that are directly manipulated by hand, rather than shot, thrown or positioned....
and firearms, which, in Guido's words, make him into a "hero" to his fellow students, especially after he kills (in self-defense

Self-defense

Self-defense is the act of defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. While the term may define any form of personal defense, it is strongly associated with civilian hand-to-hand defense techniques....
) a student who vowed to kill him. Because he was raised to be a gentleman

Gentleman

The term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a man of good family, analogous to the Latin generosus . In this sense the word equates with the French gentilhomme , which latter term was in Great Britain long confined to the peerage....
, and because he was castrated relatively later in life, he continues to act like a man, unlike the more effeminate poses of castrati boys. Despite the fact he's a castrato, even local noblemen come to respect him both as a sparring partner and a friend.

However, Guido and others need to scheme to finally get Tonio out of the conservatorio and onto the stage. After his debut, Guido and Tonio travel to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
for his premiere opera, where he becomes the patron of a powerful cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior Ecclesiology official, usually a Bishop , of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope....
, Calvino, and befriends a powerful count

Count

A count is a nobleman in European countries; The word count comes from French language comte, itself from Latin comes?in its Accusative case comitem?meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor"....
from Florence

Florence

Florence is the Capital city of the Italy Regions of Italy of Tuscany and of the provinces of Italy Province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany and has a population of 364,779 ....
, di Stefano. Although he is almost booed off the stage for upstaging the operic star Bettichino, he proves a great success, and both he and Guido have a bright future in front of him. He even becomes lovers with an English

England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
noblewoman and widow, Christina, which seems to restore him to his former status.

However, Tonio is unable to break free of the desire for revenge against Carlo. After having two children by Carlo, Tonio's mother, Marianna, dies. Soon afterwards - and before his Fat Tuesday opera performance - hitmen sent by Carlo try to kill him. Against the wishes of all his friends, Tonio vows to return in time for an Easter

Easter

Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christianity liturgical year.Christians believe that Jesus was Resurrection of Jesus from the dead three days after his Crucifixion of Jesus, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday , two days after Good Friday....
opera, then disappears.

In Venice, Carlo has become a pathetic alcoholic wreck. Disguised as a woman (a trick he learned for the opera), Tonio succeeds in "seducing" his father and capturing him. Intoxicated, Carlo curses ever coming back to Venice, and even wanting to take Tonio's place, finding the city decadent and confining. Although he promises never to try and hurt Tonio again, he attempts to kill him the second he has the opportunity. In response, Tonio finally kills Carlo. He then returns to his friends, finally able to fully pursue his life.

Major themes

Although Cry to Heaven is not considered one of Anne Rice's pornographic novels, it stands out because of its constant, graphic, and romantic descriptions of homosexual sex, mainly between teenage castrati boys. Additionally, Tonio has affairs with "whole men" such as the Roman cardinal and the Florentine count.

Despite this, it is difficult to say that any of the characters are truly homosexual, even the non-castrati. As Guido explains, castrati are seen as neither male or female, and enjoy a type of "freedom" in their relations. Guido openly extols this freedom - although he clearly loves Tonio, he has an ongoing affair with a wealthy contessa, whom he also loves. Tonio's relations before his castration, and by the end of the novel, are predominantly heterosexual, despite his many affairs with other boys. Even effete castrati, such as Domenico (who is submissive to Tonio during their affair), have sex with both genders.

A darker reason for this may be Guido's warning that castrati, as they age, lose their sexual desire. Because of this, he encourages Tonio to act on his desires whenever they seize him, as the day may come when he no longer has such desires.

The bisexual nature of the characters is similar to that of the vampires in Rice's Vampire Chronicles

The Vampire Chronicles

The Vampire Chronicles is a series of novels by Anne Rice that revolves around the fictional character Lestat de Lioncourt, a France Nobilityman made into a vampire in the 18th century....
. Like Lestat, neither Guido nor Tonio discriminate based on gender.

Also, although there are no supernatural

Supernatural

The term supernatural or supranatural pertains to an order of existence beyond the scientifically visible universe. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are Spell and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others....
elements in Cry to Heaven, Tonio is often described in super-human terms. For example, his voice is considered "angelic," and his slender yet strong frame, at times, ghostly.

Literary significance & criticism

Cry to Heaven is one of Anne Rice's early novels and, along with The Feast of All Saints
The Feast of All Saints

The Feast of All Saints is a novel by Anne Rice....
, a highly-researched historical tale. The book's afterword reveals Rice's extensive research, ranging from medical and anatomic

Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology that is the consideration of the body plan. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy and plant anatomy ....
information into castration to her immersion in the world of 18th century opera.

The book is also considered one of Rice's best historic novels. In particular, the New York Times Book Review section, when reviewing Rice's historical novels, often refers back to Cry to Heaven as a comparison, much to the disadvantage of her more recent works.

ISBN 0-345-39693-6