Castrati were young boys who were castrated (had their testicles removed) before they hit puberty, to ensure that their voices would not “break”. The result of the operation was that the boy would grow up being able to sing with the same voice as a boy soprano, but with the strength of a man. As the castrato’s body grew, his lack of testosterone meant that his epiphyses (bone-joints) did not harden in the normal manner. Thus the limbs of the castrati often grew unusually long, as did the bones of their ribs. This, combined with intensive training, gave them unrivalled lung-power and breath capacity. The boys were often fed opium to make them unaware of the operation. In the image to the left we see the instrument used to castrate the boys.
Once castrated, the young boys were sent to conservatories. At the “Conservatorio di Sant’ Onofrio” in Napoli, during the 1780s, the work schedule was as follows: In the morning, one hour of singing difficult passages, one hour of literature and one hour of solfeggi in front of mirrors. In the afternoon, one half hour of music theory, one half hour of counterpoint on improvisation and one hour of literature.
The history of Castrati
The first castrati were reported in Spain around 1550 and their presence in the Rome Sistine Chapel Choir was reported to have started around 1565. The Spanish falsettisti ruled the Sistine Chapel. The falsettisti’s voices were more agile and had a richer sound. It has been debated that some of the Spanish falsettisti were castrati. The change from falsettisti to castrati came about because the castrato’s voice sounded more natural.
The earliest castrati known were Jacomo Spagnoletti (probably a Spaniard) and Martino, both of whom were admitted to the Sistine Chapel Choir in 1588. Other two good castrati were mentioned in the archives of 1599, the Italians Pietro Folignani and Girolamo Rosini. By 1640, castrati were used throughout Italy despite much theological debate, the music need of the church always prevailing over anti-mutilation surgery. They were formally banned from the papal chapel by Pius X in 1903.
What do we know of Castrati?
Many things are known about castrati. For example, they were not allowed to marry in church and sing in Lutheran churches. In France , Italian singers and castrati were not welcomed because of their excessive ornamentation and decadent life style. In the 17th and 18th century Italy , castrati were considered to be natural sopranos, whereas falsettisti, which would still possess all tokens of masculinity, were considered to have artificial voices. They were so treasured that, in 1625, all sopranos in the choir of the Sistine Chapel were castrati. In Bach’s time, there was already heavy competition between the clerical courts of Venice and Rome, so that the local opera theatres were ordered to engage the best castrati. At the peak of time, there were 4000 boys between the age of 7 and 9 castrated per year.
What did they sound like?
Castrati loathed their parents and families for allowing the surgical intervention. Domenico Mustafa’s family told him that, when he was a child, his testicles were eaten by a pig and he always swore he would kill his father for lying.
Alessandro Moreschi was born into a large Roman Catholic family in the town of Monte Compatri, near Frascati. Baptised on the day of his birth, it is clear that his life was in danger. Perhaps he was born with an inguinal hernia, for which castration was still a “cure” in nineteenth-century Italy. Or he could have been castrated later, around 1865, which would have been more in line with the centuries-old practice of castrating vocally talented boys well before puberty. In any case, much later in life, he referred to his enjoying singing as a boy in the chapel of the Madonna del Castagno, just outside his native town.
Fortunately, Pope Leo XIII was a bit of a geek and he asked Thomas Edison to bring his new phonograph to the Cistene Chapel to record the choir. The choir master happened to be Alessandro Moreschi (image left), the last living true castrato. As a result of the meeting between Leo XIII and Edison’s aides, a series of recordings were made of Moreschi in 1908. While the quality is not the greatest, these recordings allow us to hear the true voice of a castrato.
Here is a video clip containing a recording of Moreschi singing the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria which should be familiar to most readers:
Filed under: Bizarre | 26 Comments
Pigs love nuts
don’t pay attention to the fifteen people who didn’t like your comment. I LOVED IT. best damn thing i have seen all day!
I came across Alessandro’s Moreschi’s “Ave Maria” a few years ago on archive.org. I remember listening to it at like 3 am and feeling chills (the creeped out kind) all over. There was just something about it that disturbed me…so I googled him and eventually discovered castrati…
I still listen to the recording, but it doesn’t creep me out as much as it did the first time… In fact, I think I appreciate it more!
P.S. Great site you have here!
Nancita: I have a few of his recordings and felt exactly the same way you did when I first listened to him. I love the fact that we are fortunate enough to have a recording of the real thing.
Yeah, I just listened to it and I agree. Creeped me out too. I think its mainly because it was a voice from over 100 years ago and such bad recording that freaked me out.
Considering that I love men with deep voices, this makes my ovaries cringe.
It’s super disturbing though as some women can’t even reach the notes that Moreschi does in that clip. I’d heard it somewhere before but it doesn’t fail to astound me now.
It’s also interesting how the restriction of testosterone to the body can effect it so much (i.e. limbs, ribs etc.).
Of course, I guess it’s indicative of the time that women weren’t even considered for choirs. Any men that criticise feminism should thank women’s equality for not getting their nuts cut off just so they can sing a few tunes.
ROFL LMAOOOOO!!!!!! hahahahahahHAHAHAHAhahahHAHHAHAHAHAHAA,, just couldnt stop laughing at his(?) voice..Omg,,never laughed so hard……and he(?) sings low notes aswell HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA
that’s really not cool. These people were CASTRATED. Their lives were ruined because their family wanted them to sing. Are you 12? Suffering is not funny, so please shut up you fucking idiot.
You’re deplorable. Would you laugh at a child forced into prostitution? Because this is the same thing…maybe even worse.
Were Eneuchs also castrated?
Mostly yes – but Eunuchs had a different role in society to that of the castrati.
Pretty sick, it made me cringe to hear him. I could not help visualizing some guy dressed up in Victorian drag
. They were like rockstars in their day though, woman loved them! They were often stalked by female fans for lovemaking as there was no pregnancy possible – and they went on until the woman was satisfied.
I would rather have my balls and live in obscurity though!
I don’t think you will find many men who would disagree with your sentiments
the worst part is, he doesn’t even sound that pleasant.
Yes, its feminine, smooth and covers vocal ranges I can only dream of, but.. It just doesn’t sound that good.
Poor guy.
probably due to the poor recording quality.
I believe he was fairly old at the time of the recording and had lost some of the quality of his voice.
jfrater: Congrats on the new site. great article. weird though isn’t it? that people would do that to other people just so they could sing super high! ugh. people are weird sometimes.
Interesting. Maybe the “Kojjas” in India can use this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_%28South_Asia%29 they really need it !!!!
Very good list, great follow up from listverse.
Could it be that Michael Jackson was a castrato? It’d explain his high voice, his apparant asexuality, and why he allegedly used sperm donars to father his kids.
The remark about michael jackson is disgusting. he was a real man who fathered his own children and tried to protect them from the filthy world of pop and celebrity culture.
Michael was a beacon to all of us not just young boys.
Remember Michael made Neverland for the entertainment of poor disadvantaged kids with trouble minds – he of all the brothers should be remembered forever for the sensitive and loving way he looked after youngsters.
The world is a much sadder and more dangerous place without Michael – so sad when a genius is snatched away from us lesser mortals.
ohhh shut up!!
I did some further research, and believe that Moreschi was not at all demonstrative of a top castrato. Whether poor training, voice or bad habits in his latter years, these recordings do not demonstrate the power and control of the most successful castrati.
Saying that, these recordings are still awe inspiring, being the only ones of a true castato. One can easily imagine a more youthful voice with confident breath control and power, based off of these recordings.
I also think that they are even more important if Edison, himself was there recording it. That is a powerful thought, indeed.
And for the record, I believe castrati could still have orgasms – just as men today who have vasectomies still are able to do so. And I’m sure some boys hated it, and some loved it. The lifestyle was very opulent and dazzling. They were like celebrities today – but like child celebrities today, they didn’t have a choice about it, and I’m sure some struggled more than others with the fame.
As for Michael Jackson, I doubt he was a castrato. He simply had trained his falsetto so well, it seemed as if it was his natural range, at times. That’s a credit to his discipline and dedication to his art, and yes, his Genius. (Whether he fathered his own children has not yet been disclosed.)
we really missed a great era of music. though am not in support of castrating young boys for the sake of art. it would have being a pleasure to have heard farinelli sing.
I remember seeing Michael Jackson on Ed Sullivan (I think) when he was maybe 11. He was asked what would happen when his voice changed, and all I remember of his answer is that it was evasive. My parents had to explain to me what it meant for a boy’s voice to change. I don’t imagine he was castrated physically, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his chemistry was interfered with to keep his voice child-like, which he had his whole life.