the.com/castrato
a boy's voice, frozen forever, in a man's chest built to power it.
means a male opera singer castrated before puberty to preserve a soprano or alto vocal range with adult lung power.
from emerged in 16th-century italy, where church bans on women singing in choirs created demand for boys whose voices never broke; families sold sons into surgery hoping for fame, most got neither.
peak productionitaly castrated an estimated 4,000 boys yearly by 1720
church hypocrisyvatican banned the surgery yet employed castrati singers
last knownalessandro moreschi recorded his voice in 1902, still survives
legal coverboys officially lost testicles to convenient farm accidents
for instance
farinelli — sang nightly for spain's king philip v for a decade, 1737-1746
alessandro moreschi — sistine chapel choir, only castrato ever recorded, 1902
senesino — handel's star soprano in london operas through the 1720s