castrato
noun
a male singer, especially in the 18th century, castrated before puberty to prevent his soprano or contralto voice range from changing.
castrati
-
pluralof castrato.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The roles of Farnace, Sifare and Arbate were originally written for castrati; the music for this all-high-voice cast proved varied enough that one didn’t miss the bass notes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The book follows the story of two castrati who become successful opera singers in Venice and whose lives are intertwined.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025
But you left out my favorite: “He breaks into castrati shrieks and yelps like a throttled bird clamped to the P.A.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2023
She has excelled in Baroque roles that veered from the mainstream, releasing recordings devoted to 19th century soprano Maria Malibran, castrati and composers Antonio Salieri and Agostino Steffani.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2023
In Handel’s London, the vogue for adult soloist castrati was short-lived, and Italian-style opera itself soon came up against stiff competition in the shape of what we would today call jukebox musicals.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
