castrato

noun

1. A male who has been castrated, especially a male whose testicles have been removed before puberty in order to retain his boyish voice.

   “A castrato stepped forward, a slender / young man with earnest grey eyes.”

2. A male soprano or alto voice produced by castration of the treble singer before puberty, intended to conserve his voice; the singer.

   “As contexts shift, so does generational taste. Just ask the castrati – the high-voiced boy singers displaced when Enlightenment liberalism restored female performers to the stage.”

adj

1. (literally, not-comparable)Castrated; especially castrated prepubescently.
2. (not-comparable)Having, using or containing the voice of a castrato (noun).
3. (not-comparable)Originally composed for a castrato.

   “Nowadays, either women or countertenors take the castrato roles.”