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

The book follows the story of two castrati who become successful opera singers in Venice and whose lives are intertwined.

From BBC

In their heyday, Handel’s operas almost always involved castrati, singers who were castrated as boys to preserve their higher voices but still gained the full lung capacity and overall stamina of grown men.

From New York Times

But you left out my favorite: “He breaks into castrati shrieks and yelps like a throttled bird clamped to the P.A.”

From Los Angeles Times

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

From Los Angeles Times

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