Body of a castrato exhumed -- may lead to discoveries
Carlo Broschi, the famed castrato and favourite of Handel, has been exhumed by historians and scientists studying the anatomical effects of castration. Castrated men have held a quasi mythical status throughout history from the eunuch priests of the Greek Magna Mater cult to the celebrated opera singers of 18th century Europe.
Outside of conventional society they have inspired reactions as extreme as disgust and veneration; the Catholic Church banned the proceedure on pain of excommunication, yet castrati are alleged to have been used in official choirs and the Sistine Chapel until as recently as 1903. Broschi, and the other castrati singers of his age were the trophy artists of the opera and were lauded by society, achieving fame and fortune and access to the most powerful courts of their time. Being castrated before reaching puberty prevented boys’ voices from breaking but allowed the rest of the body to develop into adult maturity and a clear, powerful singing voice could be developed, similar in pitch and range to that of a woman but with much greater strength, being supported by a set of fully developed male lungs.
Other side effects of castration were thought to be less pleasant. Castrati could grow to be abnormally tall or fat and could sprout breasts, though portraits of Broschi, known professionally as Farinelli, depict him as a handsome man of usual proportions. Farinelli was a leading light of the operatic world and is considered by many to be one of the finest singers of all time. By some accounts he is credited with the ability to produce 250 notes in a single breath and to sustain them for such a long time that those that heard him thought that it was impossible to be able to do so naturally and accused him of concealing an instrument about his person to maintain the sound whilst he took a breath. At just thirty two years of age, Farinelli retired from the stage in order to sing exclusively for the King Philip V of Spain who had been suffering from depression for several years and credited his recovery to the performer’s sweet voice.
Farinelli’s skeleton is the only known surviving example of a castrato, and though it is only considered to be in a fair condition it is hoped that it will prove enlightening under research.
Read entire article at History Today
Outside of conventional society they have inspired reactions as extreme as disgust and veneration; the Catholic Church banned the proceedure on pain of excommunication, yet castrati are alleged to have been used in official choirs and the Sistine Chapel until as recently as 1903. Broschi, and the other castrati singers of his age were the trophy artists of the opera and were lauded by society, achieving fame and fortune and access to the most powerful courts of their time. Being castrated before reaching puberty prevented boys’ voices from breaking but allowed the rest of the body to develop into adult maturity and a clear, powerful singing voice could be developed, similar in pitch and range to that of a woman but with much greater strength, being supported by a set of fully developed male lungs.
Other side effects of castration were thought to be less pleasant. Castrati could grow to be abnormally tall or fat and could sprout breasts, though portraits of Broschi, known professionally as Farinelli, depict him as a handsome man of usual proportions. Farinelli was a leading light of the operatic world and is considered by many to be one of the finest singers of all time. By some accounts he is credited with the ability to produce 250 notes in a single breath and to sustain them for such a long time that those that heard him thought that it was impossible to be able to do so naturally and accused him of concealing an instrument about his person to maintain the sound whilst he took a breath. At just thirty two years of age, Farinelli retired from the stage in order to sing exclusively for the King Philip V of Spain who had been suffering from depression for several years and credited his recovery to the performer’s sweet voice.
Farinelli’s skeleton is the only known surviving example of a castrato, and though it is only considered to be in a fair condition it is hoped that it will prove enlightening under research.