Castrati - Opera Sopranos

[Jenae LaTorque]

Castrati were male soprano singers who were castrated when they were young before their voices changed. This was practiced primarly in Italy up to about a century ago. They were the top attraction in opera in those days because while they were sopranos like women they had much more powerful voices. To learn more about them check it out on Google.

My question is has anyone heard any shemale who has been castrated who is a professional singer? And...........?

A very good book on this is Anne Rice's Cry to Heaven which I would love to see made into a movie.

[CuriousGirl]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M07Qga3LbcM

Maybe he'd have sounded better if recorded with modern equipment.

I think i read 1890 was the last of the well know ones and although with heavenly voices they were mostly shunned by the community

[Excaliborg]

always i come from trawling the nether regions of teh interwebs to an interesting topic some time after the last post. anyway. afterreading Cry to Heaven many moons ago i researched it off and on while the seasons changed.

recently i made a point of finding something sung by castrati and i must say i was disconcerted by what i heard. it was strange, eerie and other-worldly. it still haunts me to this day. but an interesting subject nonetheless.

[The Conquistador]

Creepy! But still, I think if all the American Idol contestants found out about this, there would be an influx of people at hospitals requesting castrations.

[Excaliborg]

Simon Cowell would shit a brick

[Jenae LaTorque]

Originally Posted by TheAngryPostman

Creepy! But still, I think if all the American Idol contestants found out about this, there would be an influx of people at hospitals requesting castrations.

The castrati were boys that had great voices before the onset of puberty.

The castration was performed to prevent the voice change that usually comes with the onset of puberty. Sometime this didn't work and the promise of a great voice didn't pan out. The best ones were the toast of the opera world and commanded astronomical salaries. Sure, they were shunned by some narrow-minded bigots but we always have some of those around.

You have to keep in mind that the Italy of that period was a very religious country and many people felt that the castrati were the closest humans could come to emulating a heavenly choir of angels.