'A tear in each note and a sigh in each breath': The Castrati
Castration has been used as a punishment, for religious purposes, and also for musical purposes. By the 18thC, men were castrated only as a punishment for sodomy (and not in England), or to keep their voices high and sweet (and only in Italy). Italian castrati were popular throughout Europe for the extraordinary quality of their voices, usually ranging from soprano to contralto but able to sing very high notes without the forced quality of falsetto.
Music was very highly valued and anticipated in the 18thC, and almost every person receiving a rounded education was taught to appreciate music on a level not as common today. Musical artists were superstars and their arrival in London was keenly anticipated. The most famous of all the artists were the castrati, who were usually Italian born. If their voices proved exceptionally sweet as young boys, they were given the option (I hope they were given the option) of retaining their voice at the expense of their testicles. The operation was deemed most successful after the age of eight, but before puberty, and was carefully timed so as to allow the boy to develop some male characteristics, but to beat the voice change. The centre for castration was apparently Naples, but this may little more than an old wives tale, and certainly Charles Burney, who roamed Naples in an attempt to find a surgeon who carried out the operation, was disappointed. It is estimated that during the 18thC, three to four thousand boys were castrated every year in Italy, for the purpose of pursuing a musical career.
If you are still attached to your scrotum, in every sense, feel free to skip this paragraph. Imagine a pair of lobster crackers, with blades instead of grips; that's pretty much was a castratori looked like. A quick incision would be made around the scrotum with a lancet to allow for some loose skin to close the wound, then the castratori would be applied to a no doubt drugged little boy and clamped down for a period of up to five minutes. When it was decided that the bleeding had stopped and there was no risk of haemorrhage, the castratori and the testicles were removed together, and the remaining skin stitched back together. There are no statistics on how many of the boys survived this operation, but I think the vast majority must have done, no matter how awful it sounds.
Growing up as a castrato couldn't have been much fun. They grew tall, with long ribs, arms and legs, making them an unusual, gangly barrel-shape. Even if their voice didn't break, there was no guarantee that it could be trained into a world-class opera 'voice' and most ended up singing in cathedral choirs. They were prone to weight gain, and had chubby, androgynous faces. Their hair was thick and fine, as early castration prevents male-pattern baldness (the thing that works, but no one wants the cure) and they rarely wore wigs. No facial hair, and little body hair spoiled the picture of smooth childhood grown to adult size. Much is made of the ladies of the 18thC going wild for castrati, but whilst they may have been charming and talented company, their penis remained child-sized and their sex drive was low.
The greatest castrati appeared in London in the 1720s and 30s, when Handel was at the peak of his influence. The comparatively few numbers of properly trained female singers meant that castrati were in demand for the female roles. I find the idea of a portly castrato playing a lead female part ridiculous. This does not make me right, and the cognoscenti of the opera world went wild for the likes of Senesino and Farinelli.
Senesino in particular was very popular in England as an artist, Farinelli more so as a heart-throb. Senesino originated from Siena but loved the life of an English gentleman and made friends with the top artisans and designers of the day, such as William Kent and Paul de Lamerie. He had waited until thirteen for castration, and was more facially and physically developed than many castrati, so often played the older parts. Farinelli once played the young lead to Senesino's despot and there is a famous incident recounted by Charles Burney where Senesino became overwhelmed by Farinelli's singing, forgot his part entirely and embraced his young prisoner. Velluti is thought to be the last of the great castrati to perform in London, in 1829, although Pergetti came after in 1844. Both struggled with poor critical reception in England, largely due to changes in attitude amongst the audience.
The later life of a successful castrato was a solitary in 18thC terms, where family and extended family all relied heavily upon each other: they had no children but a great deal of money, so were often surrounded by hangers-on and toadys. Prone to diva tendencies, they hadn't made life easy for their friends and many came to lonely ends. Very few people suffer for their art in the 21stC. They might equate brief poverty, or a squalid drug addiction as part of their artistic learning curve, but very few would be prepared to live with the consequences of such a life-changing surgery. Thankfully, by 1800, the craze for castrati had all but died out, although the last castrato Alessandro Moreschi, was not to die until 1922. His voice was recorded in 1902 and can be heard here. Castration for musical purposes was made illegal in 1870.
In recent years, an astonishing phenomenon in the form of Michael Maniaci has appeared on the opera scene. His larynx developed only very slightly during puberty, and he retains an extraordinary soprano voice as an adult male. He has been called 'the modern castrato'. You can witness part of one of his performances here. I find it astonishing and rather unsettling.
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