pl. castrati. A type of male soprano or alto who has been castrated in puberty, causing his voice to remain in its unbroken, boy’s range. This practice, thankfully, died out by the nineteenth century. Castrati were also known as Sopranists, Contraltists, Evirati, or Musici. The rôles written for these singers in opera have since been taken over by females, or by counter-tenors and male soprani.
