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

Inflected Forms

noun

• castrati
  plural

Etymology

Origin of castrato

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

Example Sentences

At one end is the treasury of parts written for castrato singers during the Baroque era; at the other, an explosion of contemporary music.

From New York Times • Sep. 21, 2018

If we had a castrato in a gown singing, we’d be gushing harder at this eclipse.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 25, 2017

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

A man dressed like a harlequin was picking a countryman's pocket, and having his own picked, while he was in the act, by some sharp-featured imp of a castrato.

From The Fool Errant Being the Memoirs of Francis-Anthony Strelley, Esq., Citizen of Lucca by Hewlett, Maurice Henry