castrato - History of castratism, Modern castrati and similar voices, Popular references, Famous castrati

A male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to preserve his treble voice. The practice probably originated at the Vatican in the 16th-c to compensate for the absence of women's voices from the choirs. Castrati took many of the leading roles in Italian opera during the 17th-c and 18th-c, the most famous being Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli (1705–82). They ceased to be used in opera after c.1825, but were employed at the Sistine Chapel until the end of the 19th-c. The last castrato there, Alessandro Moreschi, died in 1922.

A castrato is a male soprano, mezzo-soprano, or alto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity. As the castrato's body grows (especially in lung capacity and muscular strength), and as his musical training and maturity increase, his voice develops a range, power and flexibility quite different from the singing voice of the adult female, but also markedly different from the higher vocal ranges of the uncastrated adult male (see soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, sopranist and contralto). The typical register of a castrato was above that of a "normal" soprano or alto voice, resulting in the creation of a temporary range in Italian music.

History of castratism

The practice of castration of singers began in the 16th century, with the use of castrati to sing the top line in Western European chapel choirs, because the Roman Catholic Church had traditionally banned females from singing in church. In the late 1550s, the Duke of Ferrara had castrati in his chapel choir, the Munich court chapel from 1574 and in 1599 the Papal (Sistine) Chapel choir was formally described as having castrati. However, some Baroque operas with parts for castrati are so complex and difficult that they cannot be performed today.

Probably the most famous castrato was the 18th century singer Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli. In the 17th century, Queen Christina of Sweden was so enamoured of the voices of the castrati that she temporarily halted a war between her country and Poland so that she could borrow the castrato Ferri from the Polish king for a two-week command performance. The last of the castrati to leave the Chapel choir after this decree was Alessandro Moreschi, who departed in 1913.

Modern castrati and similar voices

The only acknowledged castrato to make phonograph recordings was Alessandro Moreschi. Some critics feel Moreschi was a mediocre singer, and his recordings accordingly of interest only as a demonstration of a castrato's voice.

So-called "natural castrati" are born with hormonal disorders that reproduce the vocal effects of castration without the surgeon's knife. Both are gifted talents, providing the opportunity to appreciate voices that incarnate the past castrati.

Some uncastrated male singers are able to sing in the soprano register, apparently without the use of the falsetto voice; Sopranistas are able to perform most music which was written for castrati, and composers such as Rossini wrote parts specifically for sopranista.

Popular references

The European co-production film Farinelli deals with the life, career, frustration and brother (a director-composer) of the castrato known by that stage name, and includes performances by a unique reconstruction combining a male high contratenor and a low female soprano as if one castrato voice. Anne Rice's novel Cry to Heaven, although a romantic novel, is based upon solid research and notwithstanding the novelization, captures a strong sense of the training, and world, of castrati singers in 18th Century Venice and Naples. Kingsley Amis's novel The Alteration deals in part with Hubert Anvil, a ten-year-old singer in the choir of St. George's Basilica, Coverley, whose mentors decide his voice is too precious to lose and that he should become a castrato (hence the title).

Famous castrati

The most celebrated of the castrati singers were (in chronological order):

Baldassare Ferri (1610–1680) Antonio Maria Bernacchi (1685–1756) Francesco Bernardi Senesino (c.1685–c.1759) Carlo Broschi Farinelli (1705–1782) Gaetano Majorano Caffarelli (1710–1783) Giovanni Manzuoli (1720–1782) Gaetano Guadagni (1725–1792) Gasparo Pacchierotti (1740–1821) Luigi Marchesi (1754–1829) Girolamo Crescentini (1762–1848) Giovanni Velluti (1781–1861)