In Italy during the 18th century, an average of 5,000 boys were castrated annually. Almost exclusively, they came from poor families. Their treble voices intact, castration promised those who survived a chance to earn fame and fortune by singing female roles in the opera. A few made it, but most didn’t and were swept aside.

Stiletto, a new musical with Music and Lyrics by three-time Grammy nominee, Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Matthew Wilder (Disney’s Mulan), Book by double Olivier Award nominee Tim Luscombe (Noël Coward’s Easy Virtue, Terrence Rattigan’s The Browning Version and Harlequinade), is set in Venice, Europe’s opera capital.

During the winter of 1730-31, Venice is a city bristling with opportunity where fortunes can be made but life is cheap. A city of lustre and intrigue with plenty of chances of success for Marco, who was castrated as a child to retain his perfect voice. Opera stars being the rock stars of their day, Marco is on course to be an 18th-century Jagger or Bowie, to snag a powerful patron and play leading roles.

In a busy square he meets Gioia, confident, strong willed…and supremely talented. But despite her musical gifts, being the daughter of an African slave, there’s no chance for her to fulfil her dreams. Marco recognises her talent and, sensing that they are both outsiders as well as sharing a love for music, they fall in love.

In an attempt to get her on stage, Marco introduces Gioia to society and his patron, the Contessa Azzurra, but at the end of the evening, a body lies dead and Gioia is hauled off to prison. To free her, Marco must overcome the demons of his past and the morally corrupt forces of the present.