castrato

American  

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

noun

• castrati
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• castrati
  plural

Etymology

Origin of castrato

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

castrato castrati

Arianna takes a wife for the new emperor, which tracks musically since Handel wrote Anastasio for a castrato voice that well suits a women.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2022

In his senior year at Princeton University, he wrote a show about a fictional castrato, unlocking $35,000 from college funds.

From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2018

It was only 100 years ago that the last castrato retired, after 30 years of service in the choir.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 29, 2016

There are very few skeletons of individuals known to have been castrated, so anthropologist Maria Belcastro and colleagues sought to learn about Farinelli the person and the castrato.

From Forbes ● Jun. 1, 2015

I had recently heard the entrancing castrato singing at St. Peter's, and, on conquering my aversion, could not but admire it.

From Recollections of My Childhood and Youth by Georg Morris Cohen Brandes

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

It will be adapted from Anne Rice's 1982 novel, which is set in the 18th Century world of the "castrati" - male singing stars who were castrated to preserve their high voices.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025

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 Vivaldi’s day, when castrati ruled the roost, the entire cast would have been male.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2023

The biggest stars of the day, paid outrageous fees and treated like royalty, were castrati.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall