Guest Author - Michelle Taylor

The Castrati have long been a topic of guilty fascination for those interested in opera. They have almost taken on the aspect of mythical beings. This could be in part because the castrati have been depicted in many fictionalized accounts (such as Anne Rice’s “Cry to Heaven”), or more likely, because very few people in the world know what these men actually sounded like. A few recordings do exist of the last castrato Alessandro Moreschi (1858-1922), but given that these recordings are from the early 1900s, the quality is poor. Plus many critics argue as to how good a singer Moreschi actually was. Since we cannot compare him to any other Castrati, it is impossible to say.

The Castrati (or castrato for a single man) were young men who were castrated during their youth, before puberty, in order to preserve the pure high tones of their voices. On rare occasions, this also might happen due to hormone imbalances, illness, or physical accidents; although more often, these were used as excuses to perform the surgery. The practice was technically illegal, but parents were so eager for their sons to achieve the glory associated with this station, that they sought “legitimate” reasons for the surgery to be performed. Although there are a few cases of young boys requesting the surgery themselves, to retain their voices; the majority of these boys came from poverty stricken homes wishing for a brighter future for their child.

Castration had been used for ages as punishment, or to ensure the safety of women from their male guards. But it became noticeable in the music world around the mid 1500s, when the castrati began appearing in church music. When the opera became popular as a form of entertainment in the 1600s, the practice really took off. Women were not allowed to perform on stage, and young boys could not be counted on to perform for long – nor did they have the strength of voice that an adult did. The castrati solved these problems.

Not only did castration keep the vocal chords from changing, keeping the voice high and young sounding, but it also had other physiological effects as well. The lack of testosterone kept the joints from hardening in the normal way. So these men tended to be tall and long. It also meant that the rib joints were extremely flexible, and the ribs themselves longer, allowing the lungs to expand to even greater capacity. This gave the singer greater breath control and strength. The lengthened appearance of the performer was described as “god-like” when striding out on stage.

Castration was declared officially illegal by Italy in 1870. In 1878 the Roman Catholic Church further endorsed this by saying that no new castrati were to be hired by the church (however the ones already employed were not released). In 1913, Moreschi retired from the church, and that was the official end of the castrati.

The most famous castrati (or musici as the popular term was used then) was Farinelli the stage name used by Carlo Broschi (1705-1782). There are many stories about this icon, but one of the most telling is of a vocal “duel” with a trumpeter, where each would sing (or play) and the other would attempt to outshine. It is debatable whether this is a true story or urban myth. Regardless, the 18th century singing teacher, Mancini, wrote this of him,
“His voice was thought a marvel, because it was so perfect, so powerful, so sonorous and so rich in its extent, both in the high and low parts of the register, that its equal has never been heard in our times….The art of taking and keeping the breath so softly and easily that no one could perceive it began and died with him.

This is the art which died out with the castrati. Although, had the horrors never been visited upon the young boys to produce these musical marvels… would we even know that we were missing something that we cannot even hear today?