castrato

English - English

Definition of castrato in English English dictionary

A male soprano or alto voice produced by castration of the treble singer before puberty, intended to conserve his voice; the singer

Originally composed for a castrato

Nowadays, either women or countertenors take the castrato roles.

Having, using or containing the voice of a castrato (noun)

Castrated; especially castrated prepubescently

A male who has been castrated, especially a male whose testicles have been removed before puberty in order to retain his boyish voice

Male soprano or alto voice produced as a result of castration before puberty. The castrato voice was introduced in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel in the 16th century, when women were still banned from church choirs as well as the stage. It reached its greatest prominence in 17th-and 18th-century opera. The illegal and inhumane practice of castration, largely practiced in Italy, could produce a treble voice of extraordinary power, attributable to the lung capacity and physical bulk of the adult male. The unique tone quality and the ability of intensively trained singers to execute virtuosic passagework made castrati the rage among opera audiences and contributed to the spread of Italian opera. Most male singers in 18th-century opera were castrati; the most famous bore the stage names Senesino (Francesco Bernardi; died 1750), Caffarelli (Gaetano Majorano; 1710-1783), and Farinelli. Castrati sang in the Sistine Chapel choir until 1903

A male who has been castrated, especially a male whose testicles have been removed before puberty in order to retain his soprano or alto voice

a male singer who was castrated before puberty and retains a soprano or alto voice

A male person castrated for the purpose of improving his voice for singing; an artificial, or male, soprano

{i} male soprano singer castrated before puberty as to keep a soprano or contralto voice

having, using, or containing the voice of a castrato (noun)

A male soprano or alto voice produced by castration of the singer before puberty

Hyphenation

cas·tra·to

Etymology

[ ka-'strä-(")tO, k&- ] (noun.) 1763. From Italian castrato > Latin castrō (“to castrate”), likely from caedō (“to cut”).