Whitney arrived straight from high school in the clothes she had worn that day. While waiting (her mother’s manager was running late), she asked if she could do her homework; Mitchell agreed, noting he had never had that happen before or since.

She had no makeup artist, hair stylist, or entourage. Mitchell, more accustomed to “highly glazed” celebrities like Donna Summer, was surprised by the simplicity. He described her as “an innocent, sweet, pleasant schoolgirl with very good manners.” The shoot was sometimes an “uphill situation” because she was not camera-ready or particularly savvy, though she responded well to direction. He did not see obvious stardom written on her face at the time: “The pictures I made of her were not her subsequent polished image. Mine were just simple images.” He believed these were among her first professional photographs, taken while she was still singing in a church choir and occasionally performing with her mother.

The black and white portraits show a fresh-faced, natural-looking young woman in casual or simple attire (including turtlenecks and everyday school clothes), often in straightforward or profile poses against plain studio backgrounds. They contrast sharply with the glamorous, highly styled images of her later career. The negatives remained in Mitchell’s files for about 30 years until he released them following her death in February 2012.

He was born Alessandro Nilo Angelo Moreschi on November 1, 1858 in the small town of Monte Compatri, near Frascati in the Papal States (now Lazio, Italy). He came from a modest Roman Catholic family; his parents were Luigi Lorenzo Moreschi and Rosa Maria Potelli. He was one of several children (accounts vary between the sixth, seventh, or eighth).

As a boy he sang in the local chapel of the Madonna del Castagno. His clear voice attracted attention. Around age 7–9, he was castrated. The official story often given was that the operation treated an inguinal hernia, a common medical excuse of the era, since castration was still sometimes viewed as a remedy for certain conditions. In reality, it was almost certainly done to preserve his high singing voice for a career in church music, following a centuries-old Italian tradition. Talent scouts for the papal choirs sought out promising boys; one key figure was Nazareno Rosati, a former Sistine Chapel singer.

By about 1870–1871, Rosati brought him to Rome. There he studied at the Scuola di San Salvatore in Lauro under Gaetano Capocci, the distinguished maestro di cappella of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

In 1873, at only 15, Moreschi was appointed First Soprano at St. John Lateran. He also performed in the salons of Roman high society. His breakthrough came in 1883 when he sang the florid coloratura role of the Seraph in Beethoven’s oratorio Christus am Ölberge (in Italian translation). The performance earned him the nickname “l’Angelo di Roma.” Shortly afterward he joined the Sistine Chapel Choir as First Soprano, a position he held for roughly thirty years.

He rose within the choir hierarchy, serving at times as secretary, director of the concertisti, and even temporary maestro. He also sang with other papal chapels (including the Cappella Giulia). Outside the Vatican he was a sought-after soloist. A high point came on August 9, 1900, when, at the request of the Italian royal family, he performed as soloist at the Pantheon under Pietro Mascagni for the funeral rites of the assassinated King Umberto I; he received a gold watch in thanks.

Physically, castrati typically remained beardless, with elongated limbs, a somewhat expanded ribcage, and a youthful appearance into middle age, traits Moreschi shared. Contemporary listeners described his voice as pure, ethereal, and “supernatural.”