castrato

American  

[ka-strah-toh, kuh-, kah-strah-taw] / kæˈstrɑ toʊ, kə-, kɑˈstrɑ tɔ /

noun

plural

castrati

1. a male singer, especially in the 18th century, castrated before puberty to prevent his soprano or contralto voice range from changing.

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castrato British  

/ kæˈstrɑːtəʊ /

noun

1. (in 17th- and 18th-century opera) a male singer whose testicles were removed before puberty, allowing the retention of a soprano or alto voice

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Etymology

Origin of castrato

1755–65; < Italian < Latin castrāt ( us ); see castrate

Example Sentences

Broecker and his team created roughly 200 costumes for the episode, including a ruffled collar and breeches Grande wore to portray a traumatized castrato and a prosthetic bustline for her turn as Jennifer Coolidge.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2025

He then spent his early career specializing in castrato roles.

From New York Times • May 27, 2022

Farinelli’s teeth provide additional information about his daily life, unrelated to his status as a castrato.

From Forbes • Jun. 1, 2015

Or that the virtuosic soprano of the castrato was due to his artificially small and flexible larynx, combined with supersized lungs?

From Economist • Jul. 24, 2014

The r�le of Orfeo, I believe, was written originally for a castrato, and later, when the work was refurbished for production at what was then the Paris Op�ra, Gluck allotted the r�le to a tenor.

From Interpreters by Van Vechten, Carl