Castrati

A castrato (plural castrati) was a male singer who was castrated before puberty so that his voice would retain its high, childlike range into adulthood.

Women were forbidden to sing in church on the advice of St Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: “Let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak.” In Italy, on order to keep the churches supplied, talented Italian boys were sent to the country’s famous conservatories for musical training from an early age.

The desire for adult female voices led to the practice of castration in Italian music, as a way of preserving high male singing voices with the added physical power of male lungs and larynx. The practice was commonplace by 1574.

Some of the boy singers became so wrapped up in their art that they begged to be castrated, knowing the rewards that might be in store. But all too often the boys were completely ignorant of their fate.

The famous castrati, Farinelli (January 24, 1705 – September 16, 1782) made his debut in London in 1734. Christened Carlo Broschi, he took the surname of his benefactors, the brothers Farina, as his stage name.

Portrait of Farinelli by Corrado Giaquinto (c. 1755)

With a voice spanning three octaves and incredibly lungs Farinelli could hold a note for a minute without a break.

Farielli used to sing for King Philip V of Spain to sleep at night with the same four songs.

It has been calculated that some 4,000 boys were operated on in Italy in the 18th century — partly because women were banned from singing in churches.

Castrati gradually disappeared as musical tastes changed and the practice came under increasing moral and legal opposition. The last known castrato singer, Alessandro Moreschi, was recorded singing in the early 20th century; he died in 1922.