castrato
noun
- type of classical music male singing voice in upper registers
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /kæsˈtɹɑː.təʊ/
adj
Etymology: From Italian castrato, from Latin castrō (“to castrate”), likely from caedō (“to cut”).
- Castrated; especially castrated prepubescently.
- Having, using or containing the voice of a castrato (noun).
- Originally composed for a castrato.
“Nowadays, either women or countertenors take the castrato roles.”
noun
Etymology: From Italian castrato, from Latin castrō (“to castrate”), likely from caedō (“to cut”).
- A male who has been castrated, especially a male whose testicles have been removed before puberty in order to retain his boyish voice.
“A castrato stepped forward, a slender / young man with earnest grey eyes.”
- A male soprano or alto voice produced by castration of the treble singer before puberty, intended to conserve his voice; the singer.
“As contexts shift, so does generational taste. Just ask the castrati – the high-voiced boy singers displaced when Enlightenment liberalism restored female performers to the stage.”