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A castrato (Italian; pl.: castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto.
Eunuchs castrated before puberty were also valued and trained in several cultures for their exceptional voices, which retained a childlike and other-worldly flexibility and treble pitch (a high-pitched voice). Such eunuchs were known as castrati. As women were sometimes forbidden to sing in Church, their place was taken by castrati.
The eunuch flute, onion flute, or mirliton (/ ˈ m ɜːr l ɪ t ɒ n /; French: flûte eunuque, flûte à l'oignon or mirliton; German: Zwiebelflöte) is a membranophone used during the 16th and 17th centuries. It produces music akin to a comb and paper, and is still manufactured as a toy. [1] [2] The eunuch flute's sound resembles that of a kazoo.
Caffarelli's voice was that of a mezzo-soprano, with an extensive range and a high tessitura. Those who heard him sing ranked him only behind his direct competitor Farinelli as the finest singer of that time. Farinelli, however, ended his public career at just 32, while Caffarelli kept performing well into his fifties and over.
Critical opinion is divided about Moreschi's recordings, [18] some say they are of little interest other than the novelty of preserving the voice of a castrato, and that Moreschi was a mediocre singer, while others detect the remains of a talented singer unfortunately past his prime by the time of recording, as Moreschi was in his mid-forties ...
Farinelli (Italian pronunciation: [fariˈnɛlli]; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) [a] was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (pronounced [ˈkarlo ˈbrɔski]), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. [1]
In the British TV comedy Blackadder, (Series 1, episode 2, "Born to be King"), set In the 15th century, the character 'McAngus' mistakes Blackadder, Duke of Edinburgh, as a eunuch, due to his strange appearance and high-pitched voice; ("I am NOT a eunuch", Blackadder tells McAngus, who replies "Well, you sound like one to me!"). In the same ...
A regular trade in eunuchs developed with slaves being taken to locations in Spain or Africa to be castrated, as the practice of castration was forbidden for Muslims. Eunuchs were used as harem supervisors, as mediators or servile roles, but they could also rise to be trusted advisors or military commanders. [123]: 75