I was introduced to this extraordinary play when I was asked to direct a reading at Luna Stage in Montclair two years ago. Fascinated by its subject matter and its rich, intertwining themes, above all I was moved by the plight of its central character, Alessandro Moreschi.   Sondheim tells us “Art Isn’t easy,” but his statement takes on new meaning in light of the trauma of the castrati, young boys altered through castration to mold them into what Moreschi  calls “a singing machine.”    Moreschi’s overriding aspiration is simply to realize his art, the only thing he knows, and the forces arrayed against him in this play are substantial:  church bureaucracy, stubborn conservatism, and raw political ambition.  Through Moreschi’s specific physical trauma and emotional difficulties, I feel a kind of kinship to other artists’ pain, seeing how other “damaged” souls struggle against establishment forces to realize hard-won artistic achievement.   And in such a struggle, it’s gratifying to see how Moreschi  finds his own personal voice as he discovers how to exert his new-found power in this society.