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 ); castrate

Example Sentences

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

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

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

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

They heard Farinelli, the most famous castrato of the century, but did not engage him; perhaps his demands were too high.

From Handel by Dent, Edward J.