19 MICHEL DALBERTO Is this really the only definition of virtuosity? The Dictionnaire Littré offers some confusing insights, to say the least. This is because the meaning of the word underwent a transformation between two centuries, from the end of classicism heading towards flamboyant romanticism. Thus, the Littré teaches us that virtuosos are both ‘skilled individuals and in any field whatsoever.’ Further on, it quotes an excerpt from Diderot's Le Neveu de Rameau (Rameau's Nephew) and ‘those Italians in Rome [in the 14th century] who changed the word "virtus" from the idea of strength to that of talent, which led them to employ the term a virtuoso.’ A few lines further down confusion arises when the writer is described as ‘a fine mind, having a way with words; a virtuoso’. And, to conclude, the Littré mentions ‘the pieces for a female singer in which one part would be devoted to the music, and another part to virtuosity.’
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