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

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Etymology

Origin of castrato

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

castrato castrati

Moreschi was not considered a great castrato, and his sound was not at all feminine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

He then spent his early career specializing in castrato roles.

From New York Times ● May 27, 2022

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2017

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

In place of Senesino he obtained the castrato Bernacchi; his new first woman was Signora Strada del Po', who was a fine singer, but so unattractive in appearance that London nicknamed her "The Pig."

From Handel by Edward J. Dent

Only one of the castrati lived to record: Allesandro Moreschi, who sang with a plaintive, eerily haunting bleat, on discs made in the Sistine Chapel between 1902 and 1904.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 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

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

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