View source for Castrato

[[File:Moreschi giovane.jpg|thumb|Alessandro Moreschi (1858-1922) He was the only one to make [[Solo (music)|solo]] recordings. This photograph was taken about 1880.]]
{{Listen|filename=Alessandro_Moreschi.ogg|title=A castrato singing|description=[[Alessandro Moreschi]] performs part of Eugenio Terziani's ''Hostias et preces''}}
A '''castrato''' (plural ''castrati'') was a type of [[male]] [[singer]] with a very high voice. The effect was produced either through [[castration]], or because of some [[hormone|hormonal]] problems. The word ''castrato'' literally means castrated. Such singers were very sought after in the early days of the [[opera]]. Most of the main [[soprano]] roles in [[opera]]s by [[Handel]] and other [[composer]]s of that time were written for castrati. Nowadays they are almost always sung by female sopranos, since there are no castrati left.

The practice of castrating young boys who had good singing voices was quite common in [[Italy]] in the [[17th century]]. When castration is done before [[puberty]], the usual effects of puberty will not happen. These include the [[vocal folds|vocal cords]] enlarging and growing bigger, and the voice getting deeper as a consequence. 

Even though castration was illegal in many parts of Italy, it was often performed. Many families who were poor had their children castrated because it might give them a better future. 

Once a boy was castrated he would go to a special music school where children learned singing and musical instruments. The castrati pupils were given special treatment. They were fussed over and kept warm to stop them from getting colds. When they grew up they hoped to become famous opera singers. A few of them had very successful careers in opera. They were the great stars of their day, and audiences came to the opera to cheer on their favourite singers. Those who were not good enough to make a career in opera joined church [[choir]]s instead.

It is impossible now for us to know what these great castrato voices sounded like, but they must have had very powerful voices and many of the singers were very skilled in singing and adding [[musical ornamentation]] to the songs. In the [[18th century]] Italian opera became very popular in England. This was largely due to the German-born composer [[Georg Friderich Händel]] who moved to [[England]] in 1709 and wrote lots of Italian operas. Many singers who sang in [[London]] came from Italy, and many were castrati. The most famous one was called [[Farinelli]]. 

The popularity of castrato singers died out in the [[19th century]]. By the mid-19th century they were no opera castrati left, although a few castrati still sang in church choirs. The last one, a man called [[Alessandro Moreschi]], died in 1922 aged 64. There is a [[vinyl record|recording]] of his voice made in 1902 which can be heard online, but he may not have been a good singer and he was old when he made the recording, so we cannot judge whether the castrato voice was beautiful by that recording.

==Related pages==
* [[Breeches role]]

== Other websites ==
* [https://archive.org/details/AlessandroMoreschi Alessandro Moreschi at ''Internet Archive'']

[[Category:Vocal ranges]]