Italian men castrated to preserve higher voices?

• A. Sopranos
• B. Castrati
• C. Contraltos
• D. Tenors

Answer: (B)

Castrati were male singers in Italy who were castrated before puberty to prevent their voices from dropping, preserving a high, soprano-like range while keeping adult vocal stamina. This practice thriving mainly in the Baroque era allowed these singers to perform leading roles that demanded exceptional agility and a high upper range, and composers often wrote prominent arias for them in opera and sacred music. The term directly captures this historical phenomenon, whereas the other terms describe voice types without the historical method of preserving pitch through castration. Sopranos and contraltos refer to high and low female (or unmodified boy) ranges, and tenors are natural high male voices who develop without such procedures. Hence, the correct label is castrati.