In the Roman classical tradition of the 16th century, poor parents of young boys with beautiful singing voices, sacrificed them for cash as they were told that their boys would be contributing to music. These boys underwent a castration procedure that was both painful (no anesthetic; an assistant tot eh surgeon would press down on the carotid artery to help numb the pain) and dangerous (many would go on to live shortened lives and often would develop serious infections form the surgery and die). Known as “castrati,” the procedure was performed before the boys entered puberty, and involved cutting the vas deferens in the scrotum, which eventually caused the penis and testicles to shrivel up, thought the penis remained. The boys’ prepubescent voices also remained, never going lower as they reached puberty. The voices of the castrati remained high and sweet, and were thought of as “angelic.”
So, when do guys’ voices get deeper? By and large, the voices of boys grow deeper between the ages of 10 and 15. As a boy goes through puberty, his larynx widens, inside of which are the vocal cords, which grow longer and thicker, causing his voice to get deeper.
The sex hormones are responsible for the growth of the larynx and vocal cords and they grow in both boys and girls but the change is far more noticeable in boys.
The sinus cavities grow bigger at the same time along with the nose and the back of the throat. This creates more space inside the head and permits their voices to resonate more deeply.
At first, the deeper voice in boys is shaky, often fluctuating between his former higher voice and new deeper voice, while his body adjusts to speaking and resonating between both the chest and the increased space inside the head.
The larynx is an organ that is hollow and made of muscle, and the larynx houses the vocal cords. They grow at the onset of puberty and the young male’s voice becomes deeper by a couple of octaves.
In opera music, there are four basic pitches, and composers and the Catholic Church needed boys who could sing in the highest soprano range. If a singer’s voice changed, he could no longer sing the high notes of a religious or secular music composition.
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Why Were Castrati in Such Demand?
Although castrati were male in gender, they frequently resembled women and often dressed as females. This was due to the almost complete removal of testosterone. In truth, as they grew and matured without the aid of testosterone (their testicles were removed), they were considered a third gender.
The lack of testosterone altered their appearance, and singing abilities, in unusual (and bizarre) ways. The lack of this hormone prevented the bones of castratos to harden; as a result, their bones grew unusually long, making them extremely tall and with very large rib cages.
The larger rib cages gave them an almost limitless amount of breath capacity. Castrati stupefied audiences with their amazing lung capacities: they could hold a musical pitch for an exceedingly long period of time. In addition, they could reach much higher, upper register musical pitches that normal male voice couldn’t.
It’s not hard to see that castrati were extremely popular in 16th century Rome, due to this unique singing ability. Castratos were known for their ethereal voice quality, high pitched and angelic with deep resonance, compared to a regular soprano voice that sang out thinly and more nasal by comparison.
There are four main vocal rangers in chorus and solo singing: the higher registers start with soprano at the top, moving down to alto, then tenor and bass as the lowest register. Composers sought out castrati singers for their works.
Some of the more famous pieces include Exultate Jubilate by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Another well-known piece is Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Handel and Vivaldi also wrote music for castrati, who were requested and sent from Italy to courts throughout Europe.
Castrati endured years of vocal training after castration to prepare them to be “rented out” by the church to writers of opera and choral music.
Why didn’t girl singers assume the role of soprano and alto for the operatic music?
Female singers have been celebrated for their beautiful voices for 300 years in classical music. However, during the Italian music renaissance of the 16th century, the Catholic Church, then a political powerhouse, forbade females from singing any kind of music. This placed difficulty on the world of opera, as composers sought out singers in the soprano range.
Castrati were employed by the church to sing in the choir for weekly service and were hired out to perform in large-scale, secular, or non-religious operas.
Did Castrati fall in love and marry?
Castrati were not allowed to marry, but, unknown to their church employers, they did fall in love. There are even records of some castrati getting married.
Castrati were thought to be akin to “freaks,” yet were desired sexually by both men and women. Giacomo Casanova, an 18th century Italian writer, whose last name is now slang for “womanizer,” recounts in his autobiography, men engaging in sexual activity with castratos. He wrote famously that “Rome forces every man to become a pederast.”
Although sexual activity with young boys was illegal in Rome, it was common practice among the upper classes. Castrati were not believed to be within the scope of male or female gender, and this made them appealing, becoming objects of sexual desire to both men and women.
The sexual exploits of the castrati were well known in their time. Women, especially from England, would often invite a castrato to a party, and have him dress up as woman for the occasion. Later on in the evening, the ladies would engage with them sexually while their husbands looked on.
Some of the castrati would engage in sex work as a way of making ends meet. Their customers were both men and women. It is intriguing, and ironic, that castrati had particularly active sex lives.
Prone to temper tantrums and highly emotional, castrati had to deal with the fact that they were different, and it was often difficult. In addition, with almost no testosterone, they were confused about their sexual identities.
Not all castrati were successful singing in the church choir or in opera. These unfortunates were not allowed to become involved with church activities, or join the military. The only thing they could really do was sing, and if they couldn’t do that, they often became prostitutes to support themselves.
Not all of society appreciated the castrati. They were scorned, looked at as something not human. Many suffered from depression and committed suicide.
Castrati were born as normal human beings who were sacrificed for art, and it makes you one wonder how far we will go in pursuit of artistic perfection. It was never a young boy’s choice to have his testicles removed for the sake of singing.
The Last Castrato
Forced castration was ultimately banned in the 19th century. However, doctors in Italy continued the practice until about 1870, to perform in the Sistine Chapel.
It seemed audiences and the church couldn’t get enough of the ethereally beautiful voices of the more talented castrato singers. The practice in Italy lasted over 300 years.
In the late 1700s the Italian economy began to improve greatly and families were more reluctant to give one of their sons over to the church for castration. Sacrificing a son to the church was once seen as honorable, but as time went on, it became less and less appealing.
Along with the improving economy was a movement to bring women back into the church and as singers of liturgical and operatic music. Soon more and more women began singing, eliminating the need for castrated men to sing, though the vocal quality was still different.
The practice was officially outlawed by the pope in 1903. The last known castrato singer is Alessandro Moreschi. Moreschi was nicknamed the “Angel of Rome” and performed until his death in 1922. He is the only castrato singer who made solo recording of his voice. These recordings have recently been discovered and can easily be found online.