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castrato

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castrato

In music, a high male voice of unusual brilliance and power achieved by castration before puberty, regarded as the ideal timbre for heroic roles in opera by composers from Monteverdi to Wagner. Castrati were mainly, but not exclusively, active in 17th- and 18th-century Italy, where they sang soprano and alto parts in theatres and churches. Recordings preserve the voice of Alessandro Moreschi (1858-1922), the last male soprano of the Sistine Chapel.

Castration interrupts the normal growth of the vocal folds in the larynx at puberty, preventing the mature male voice from descending in pitch, while allowing vocal prowess to benefit from adult growth in all other respects.
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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
A castrato could play a woman in one opera, and the following week portray the Greek military hero Achilles.
Manhood and the neutered body in early modern Spain by Behrend-Martinez, Edward / Journal of Social History
I felt that it was especially important after the surprise success of The Hours not to write that book again, like some literary castrato who sings the same song to the delight of the court.
After hours: acclaimed author Michael Cunningham channeled his love ... by Bahr, David / The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine)
The immediate difference between Gallimard falling in love with a transvestite and Sarrasine's attraction to the castrato La Zambinella is obviated by the realization that in both cases anatomy hardly matters: Gallimard and Sarrasine love what they fantasize.
Projected bodies in David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly and Golden Gate by Shin, Andrew / MELUS
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