Castrato- also caled Evirato, male sooprano or contralto voice of great range, flexibility , and power, produced as a result of castration before puberty. (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/98795/castrato)
Brief History of Castrato- Very popular during the baroque period of 1600- 1700 . Castrato are males who can sing the same as a woman's soprano. Young boys around ages 6-8 that where picked by musical masters where under gone of a "unpractical" surgery where cutting the blood supply to the testicles, would stop the production of anderogen hormones. This would stop the deepness in the boys voical chord and had infantile penises would be After the surgery was completed and if the boy survived the surgery, he would go through an intensive training of studying and learning music for at least 10 years.. The reason why this was a very popular and considered normal during this period is because women where forbidden to be on stage due to Catholic Church.(where castration originated from). These boys who grew up to be famous singers who lived very difficult and sad lives.
(http://www.essortment.com/castrati-history-21040.html)
Farinelli- one of the most popular Castrato singers is Farinelli (Carlo Broschi). One of the most famous Italian soprano castrato singers of the 18th century. He frequently sang woman's roles due to his talented voice. He appeared in all the great cities of Italy, London,Europe and Spain and performed for royalty.
No comments:
Post a Comment