Famous Castrato s in the history & N.Castrato Voice ( Nessun Dorma )

[DanielAvilaAGT]

Is this an old recording?? 

[HegemonWiggi]

Hope you people understand the voice in this video isn't a traditional castrato as the castrati of the Italian/Opera era all died before 1922, and only recordings of one not so great castrato exists

[SuperStrik9]

I hate the sound of children's singing voices. No wonder I can't stand these castrato singers lol!

[servatoaisaggi]

EXCUSE ME, BUT IN THE CHURCH YOU COULDN'T BECOME A PRIEST IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE YOUR MALE ATTRIBUTES. ALLTHIS IS A DEGENERATION IN THE SAME LINE THAT MADE BOYS PLAY THE WOMEN'S ROLES IN ELIZABETHAN THEATRE. JUST THAT WOMEN SHOULDN'T ACT IN PUBLIC AS IT WAS CONSIDERED INDECENT. NUNS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SING IN CHURCH AT PUBLIC MASSES, FOR EXAMPLE. CASTRATING CHILDREN WAS A COMMON PRACTICE IN MANY COUNTRIES, TO PREVENT DANGERS FROM SERVANTS FOR FAMILY WOMEN'S VIRTUE. REPRESSION ...IS LIKE THIS

[GothicBride9512]

Farinelli has been one really handsome man :-(

[theinkbrain]

great upload and inspiring vid. thank you for a wonderful dreamy break from my ordinary reality.

[kazertik]

1700's best remembered as Castration Century

[PureZOOKS]

I am curious, does a castrato voice actually mean there castrated, or can they use falsetto?

[MrWuzzo]

@PureZOOKS Generally it means they were castrated before puberty. Some people have disorders where they never go through puberty, and those people are called natural castrati.

Falsetto doesn't count, at least from what I know.

[Shodex4]

@PureZOOKS Yeah, they were castrated before puberty. Fun, fun.

[crocodile1374]

Wow! Timur Okutman sure has a decent oice, almost lke a choirboy, only a great deal better! Hale to Timur!

[Dunkelgedicht]

is he actually a castrato??? he doesn't have... you know???

what a beautiful voice!

[MrWuzzo]

@Dunkelgedicht Timur Okutman is a natural castrato, meaning he has a disorder that caused him to never go through puberty (meaning his voice never 'broke').

[restlesspride666]

@MrWuzzo There are guys like me occasionally that go though puberty normally but have higher voices for some reason. Depends on their initial chord size as children and mutation rate :)

[Mangasakka]

@restlesspride666 There were some great looking guys among those Italian castrati. Some ugly ones too. But as both Mozart and Heandel wrote, Carlo Broschi was not only the most gifted , but by far the best looking of them all. And Mozart only saw him when he was elderly; Haendel met him when he was in his prime. Contrary to what the movie Farinelli tells, his brother Riccardo was not responsible nor did he ever exploit his younger brother to his own profit.

[restlesspride666]

@Mangasakka I didn't like the way they depicted the voice as well... But that's just me. Farinelli was a soprano, no? I have an alto range voice.. but with a pair of working hairy boys theres only so much a man can do. Farinelli had a tenor range as well from what I read.

[Mangasakka]

@restlesspride666 For a male child with a golden voice, puberty's always been the source of fear. Who knows what'll be lost, what'll come instead? Some singers just have to stop singing altogether... Broschi had an extremely large register, from the highest soprano to a rather low, strong alto-near tenor. His fame has come through History because he was so great. He probably would have been a great tenor, even without being castrated. But at 10, the age they decided, how was he to know that?

[restlesspride666]

@Mangasakka It would have been amazing to hear him.. too bad his time was centuries ago. A great tenor he could have been, I bet as well. I hope I become a great high tenor someday too..

[Mangasakka]

@restlesspride666: Well, practice and study, and you'll succeed. I hope I'll hear you one day. When you're ready, why not enter the Queen Elisabeth Concours in my country (Belgium)? Fortunately, kids of today needn't make the sacrifice Broschi had to, eventhough it's overrated, given the fact he grew to be a gorgeous man, loved by many women, got married and was very happy. Where the voice is concerned, the film Farinelli does do him justice, even if the story is'nt historically correct.

[restlesspride666]

@Mangasakka :) I'm not cut out for making money. My voice sucks to my ear.

[restlesspride666]

@Mangasakka The film is just a film I suppose, can't expect much. I wonder if an autobiography is around.

[Mangasakka]

@restlesspride666 :Yes, the film is not completely correct, it does both Haendel and Ricardo Broschi great injustice. Carlo Broschi is depicted correctly: as you can see on the paintings, he was gorgeous, and his voice was unbelievable. The story is to his honour, but it uses other historical characters the way Salieri was "used" incorrectly in the film "Amadeus". If I had space enough here, I could tell you a lot more about them all, but... "only 6 digits remaining"... :-(

[restlesspride666]

@Mangasakka Its alright I understand what you mean. I suppose he was gorgeous though but I lack the ability to see that quality in males though. :)

[Mangasakka]

@restlesspride666: Ah, there I have an advantage,I'm an artist. I can see beauty in women & men, children, animals, rocks & trees. You should try & get the difference between "beautiful" & "sexually attractive". Those 2 are far from synonymous... Often, men are reluctant to admit they're able to see the beauty in an other man, for fear of being taken for a gay. And gay men on the other hand, are sometimes the same way about girls. But that's not beauty, that's sex-appeal. See what I'mean?

[Mangasakka]

@restlesspride666: Ah, there I have an advantage,I'm an artist. I can see beauty in women & men, children, animals, rocks & trees. You should try & get the difference between "beautiful" & "sexually attractive". Those 2 are far from synonymous... Often, men are reluctant to admit they're able to see the beauty in an other man, for fear of being taken for a gay. And gay men on the other hand, are sometimes the same way about girls. But that's not beauty, that's sex-appeal. See what I mean?

[restlesspride666]

@Mangasakka Yeah.

[10ojos10]

La voz de un Castrato... una maravilla... pero, una suerte q ya haya caído en desuso. Triste, imperdonable, hacerle esto a un niño, en una edad en q no puede decidir ni resistir.

[crazeerenegade]

I don't know if I love or hate this voice.

I find it amazing, unique, scary, moving, impressive, indescribable, mystical, mystifying, shocking, fascinating, incomprehensible...

it arouses deep emotions...and that's what art is all about.

My final conclusion: "This voice is pure art"

[dalongbong]

@crazeerenegade eloquently said

[crazeerenegade]

@dalongbong Thank you. I was only being sincere.

[crazeerenegade]

The men - The tragedies

(Great video and interesting information)

The voice is beautiful. But I don't know, it sounds unnatural to me. And it makes me feel so sad

[panchobalanzas]

que pena que confundan la musica con rangos matematicos, no importa los notas ni la velocidad la musica es arte y una buena obra hace grandes a los grandes

[oakmag]

This is a lovely and caring video. Thanks so much for posting. Have just read Richard Harvell's "The Bells," a pertinent work of fiction you might enjoy. How different to hear Puccini sung this way! This is the voice of an angel. It's such a complex history and each you've shown us must have left their audiences enrapt.

[MrLiamox]

most of these guys are chubby- side effect?

thanks for the music!

[nicodagger]

Excellent information!!! Thank you! Molto grazie! Merci bien! Danke Sehr! Obrigado! Domo Arigato!!

[bellini7verdi]

a mi l averdad me parece catastrofico......de verdadera pena......

[Joey17ization]

Did anyone else notice that they were all Italian???

[bagpuss211]

Wow. What a beautiful voice & what an impressive range he has. Many thanks to whoever uploaded this video.

[metalpalace]

Oh those poor men with there... Surgeries

[crocodile1374]

I wholeheartedly agree with you! How truly awful: it's to be hoped that whatever pain they suffered wasn't totally life threatening?

[metalmongrel]

what's remarkable is how long all of these castratii lived for the time. I guess you live longer without testosterone!

[mrgolia77]

This voice is not so spectacular, but actually is very close to the original voices of castratos.

[jnamadeus]

Peeerfeect!!

[bagpuss211]

An absolute belterh & Timur Okutman has got a good voice and bel~canto too!

[bagpuss211]

What a beautiful voice: even though this young man is 2 yrs older than I am, he sounds a good deal younger: and I rather like him for it: even if he's either been castrated o otherwise, it shouldn't ake him any less of a human beihg: I say tha he is equal to hte best of us, and the rest! Thumbs up to Timur Okutman!

[bagpuss211]

Wow! Wow! Wow! What a gorgeous voice! Way too nice to ever be ignored: I absolutely love this rendition of "Nessun Dorma!" Makes Pavarotti sound almost lke a Basso Profundo! No offense intended? SHould anyone disagree, tha's their choice, but I strongly reccomend NO FOUL LANGUAE!

[bagpuss211]

Belter of a tune! Who's the singer? He/she has a most melodious voice, and I say, "Bring it on!" Every time I hear this tune, I actually find it uplifting!

[lavocedecastrato]

@bagpuss211 Singer is Timur Okutman. Thanks for your interest :) Blessings

[horntail8]

@lavocedecastrato is he Turkish?

[lavocedecastrato]

@horntail8

That's right he is Turkish

[horntail8]

@lavocedecastrato I didn't know there was a Turkish Castrato, thank you.

[seckkk]

@lavocedecastrato ppl on 16th century accpets or likes voices like this?

[hotgardener1]

I think you may find that the church made it illegal to castrate boys in the late 1600's but that rule did not cover them as they continued this practice well into the early 1800.

[zdog1490]

Who is that singing?

[waran4ik]

Timur Okutman

[bagpuss211]

Timur Okutman!

[bremen93]

wow so interestingly beautiful...but... also so unfortunate they had to be mutilated to obtain such high voices ... I suppose it was ok with the ones who really loved singing

[Yezmock]

Hay I know the singer but what is the song called

[musicsnobtobe]

Nessun Dorma.

[Mikelenuzz]

troppo ma troppo classico

[bagpuss211]

Nessun Dorma, in English, I think it'd translate to something like, "No Man Shall Sleep!

[restlesspride666]

@bagpuss211 More like "None Shall" and either "dream" or "sleep'' fit well.

[june9girl]

some of them have a bit a female or boyface, really weird, background song is BTW beautiful

[ChechenPride]

they were all castrates...indeed feel weird

[suemig1942]

Superbe!!!!!Amazing!!!!These words a few for the magnitude of this video and more info.

I'm an opera fan. So I welcome such videos.

Hugs

[inousch]

Thank you!

[nicodagger]

Molto Grazie per informazzione!!!! Molto, molto bene!!!

[superstartrademan]

castrati singing was a very sought after form and made the ones who did it very very rich and very famous. it wouldnt have been their personal choice it is thought but more from a family standpoint as the son would provide for everyone.

[Audiolink]

"In those times" you say?

Are you implying that the clergy in the 18th century were also castrated???

[choirboy526]

From what I learned, the Church taught that "cutting" a boy was a mortal sin.

[Gwen102938]

......My Gosh! That's amazing, but who'd do that to themselves or someone?!?!?

[jacobterriify]

i think i understand...thank u for taking the time to answer my question.

[Audiolink]

The Catholic church never "officially" allowed the castration of boys for the purpose of singing. The desicion to castrate a boy was taken by the child's guardian, usually for financial reasons. For example, in the case of the great Farinelli...

[Audiolink]

...it seems that his father died young and unexpectedly, leaving the family in financial uncertainty, promting them to have Farinelli castrated when he was 12. A late age, but not unusual- His equally famous contemporary, Senesino, was castrated at the age of 13.

However, this practice was technically illegal, thus some sort of medical excuse had to be found for the "operation".

[jacobterriify]

i read a comment smwhere that said these boys were castrated because the church wished it...is that true? the church decided that they were candidates for this operation & "career", & that was it?? really curious here...

[GregERobertson]

What it was is there is a scripture verse in one of Paul's letters that says that women should 'keep their peace' in church so they frowned on women singing. But the female voice was desired and it was discovered that castrated boys song with that girlish voice all their lives. . so the tradition developed

[bagpuss211]

Maybe, maybe not: who knows? Admittedly, this person who sings, sounds as though they were only young? Poor kid: how painful to have to be castrated and for what? Esthetics? No disrespcet I hope?

[Mangasakka]

@jacobterriify Church had nothing to do with it, it was a matter of music, wealth and fame. Boys with a great voice could make a great living in a choir, for church or otherwise, but both the parents and the boys themselves lived in terror of the moment of the breaking of the voice. In order to avoid the ruin of the carrier, a very ambitious and gifted child accepted to be castrated rather than losing his "instrument". It meant not only the loss of fame and music, but often poverty and misery.

[MissLexiMarlene]

dude.....

this is awesome...

[pastryboy3]

I wish I could sing that high!! I am a countertenor!! Well i think I am I sound okay!! Thanks for posting this up!!! I want to sing better and I want to go back to school!!

[AndresSopranista]

i also have a soprano chords, and a tenor voice, but they rather sound like an adolescent and im 26 =P

[AndresSopranista]

your voice is the ultimate castrato voice, it drives one to heaven, specially on the finally high note.... i will add you to myspace =)

[kayddle]

The ultimate sacrifice. Personal pleasure forgone for the entire world's enjoyment and awe. I virtually applaud all of you in your time for such great music.

[Jakobus367]

could anybody messure the last sustained note??? Sounds like a Soprano C but im not sure

[crapylet]

The last tone is an A, the tone before that is a B.

[BassGK]

really interesting adaptation.

[6211945]

Lavocedecastrato, this is a loved melodie that make the beautiful voices seem even more beautiful.

Regards and thank you.

[lavocedecastrato]

Hello Dear friend thanks for your comments which is made me happy. Best regards and blessings.

[6211945]

Beautiful; Thanks, lavocedecastrato.

Regards.

[leoperarm]

So we can assume that this is the way Farinelli or Senesino must have sounded? Anyway, gorgeous!

[a198919a]

excuse me,whose singing in back round(nessun dorma)...??

Wow such a enchanting voice sounds like a violin that sends me in cloud 9 :)

[lavocedecastrato]

Thanks for your interest, singer is Timur Okutman.

Blessings.

[lavocedecastrato]

Dear Cosnowmomma thanks for your comment.

Blessings.

[noorani101]

Since I found this video I've been playing it every day, it's lovely. I also found a guy on here called Vitas who has a high voice. He is sort of weirdly interesting and his song 'opera 2' , I've heard many times now.

Also, why is it people keep saying that Nessun Dorma should not be sung by a male soprano?

[lavocedecastrato]

Dear Noorani101 thanks for your interest and comment. Best wishes.

[hanzelheidi]

Timur Oktuman has the most beautiful voices of all the sopranos I've heard! I could listen to him all day!

[fourthplane]

Simply breathtaking voice. This is the best voice i have heard so far.

[SergioFloresa]

You're welcome, I loved the video. Greetings from Sweden.

[SergioFloresa]

Great document! Specially for us who like to do research on music. The names are good enough as a source. Thanks.

[lavocedecastrato]

Dear SergioFloresa I am happy to you like the video. Thanks for your comment. Blessings.

[SVENSKSOPRAN]

They sang with full voices not in falsetto and so the voices must have been rather "big" though the spinto/pushed technique of our times was probably not born yet

[SVENSKSOPRAN]

The size of the larynx and vocal folds remained small though the lungs were the size of a grown male. Not very different in constitution from the voice of la Nilsson perhaps, whose folds were shorter than the average dramatic soprano

[lavocedecastrato]

Dear SVENSKSOPRAN, thanks for your comment, blessings.

[ponnyegua]

It´s true, Farinelly´s movie does not really shows a real history, at least not as it´s written, but is a good try to show us castrati´s life. Even Alessandro Moreschi´s the last castrato, his voice is so far that those wonderful voices of XVIII century. He did´t receive the same voice training, but it´s really weird to heard him. Not a male voice, not a female voice...

[lavocedecastrato]

Dear ponnyegua, thanks for your comment. Best wishes.

[glequericac]

I was wondering who is the singer?

[lavocedecastrato]

Thanks for your interest, singer is Timur Okutman

[glequericac]

Thank you for sharing, I was looking to her an original castrato after my disappoint with Farinelli movie. It's something amazing, the voice and the range, I never imagine they sounded like that.

Thank you for sharing.

[lavocedecastrato]

I am happy to you like the video. You're welcome. Thanks.

[sfkcbf]

In your information section, one of the most important points of all is that the film "Farinelli," as wonderful as it was, did mislead many people as to what they thought a castrato voice sounded like. If the film makers had used Andreas Scholl along with Maria Cristina Kiehr or Gundula Janowitz, the sound would have bee much closer. Also, their clean, precise technique would have been much closer to correct Baroque vocal technique.

[lavocedecastrato]

Thanks for your comment. When I am talking about the Farinelli movie I didn't intend the technique. I mean the voice color. For be more closer to the castrato voice, film makers could use a natural castrato or a real boy soprano (kid) for high pitches. Derek Lee Ragin is the perfect choice for alto and mezzo castrato voices. And Ewa Malas Godlewska is perfect opera singer, coloratura soprano for me.

[lavocedecastrato]

Eventually she is a woman and therefore has a female voice. I said maybe they could use a real kid which is have the singing education.

[bondurango]

A real castrato retained the pitch of his early boyhood voice and because the castration prevented his voice from breaking during puberty, the voice got "harder" with age. Consequently, the unique sound that developed, unlike a female mezzo or a non-castrated male soprano, had a more "brass" quality to it like a trumpet. The myth surrounding the the Castrato voice, at that time, was that of some heavenly angel, e.g. Gabriel in the flesh. They were the rock stars of sacred music.

[cyeh2]

Your comment on what a castrato voice should sound like is so important, So many today's self-claimed "castrati" in fact singing with a high laryngeal position and with spreading vowels. The result of years of abuse is only similar voice to a DAMAGED aged (or worn out) female voice. I really wish those singers should read waht you said!

[lavocedecastrato]

if someone benefited this content what the happiness for me.

Thanks for your comment.

Best wishes.

[pastryboy3]

very kool I thought i was the only male that sang like this but im not classically trained never took music.

[pastryboy3]

wow I didnt think guys sang like this.. I thought I was the only one. I mean Im not trained in this I just sing in Church but I can sing tenor just alto and soprano. Im amazed thanks for adding this.

[lavocedecastrato]

Thanks for your comment.

Best wishes :)

[Jazzman303]

Do many of them commit suicide early? It would be hard not to...

[ilianaca]

Well I know we may think it's quite weird and insane to castrate a boy to keep his voice like this as they grow up ... but actually these castrato singers where considered sex symbols since they could have sex with anyone and not have kids.

Who would want to commit suicide with fame on their side?

[bondurango]

Castration lowers the male libido considerably, to say the least, & the majority of eunuchs were not homosexual even though they were often exploited that way. Having been castrated as boys, the hormonal changes caused by puberty were severely curtailed. In other words, they were developmentally disabled. In fact, most of them were asexual & retained a child-like character & disposition for most of their lives which added to their mythic aura of innocence. Yet, many were extremely ambitious.

[BayAreaBiker2001]

I was never castrated, but do share some of the castrati's characteristics, among them little interest in sex and childlike disposition.

[anaturalcastrati]

ilianaca, bondurango is very right. No testosterone, no puberty, no sexual development, underdeveloped penis, no sex drive, no sex. Luckily today those of us who lose our testicles, either removed or don't function, for whatever reason as children get medical intervention and go on to develop normally. Life long testosterone injections keep us healthy and balanced. Then we can have sex with anyone and no kids but we can still catch HIV and STDs so wisely still wear condoms!

[vegantrooper]

it must be said, for the sake of accuracy, that a castrato and a male countertenor are completely different.

a castrato is a man who was eunuched before puberty.

a countertenor is a man who has gone through puberty in a natural way, but who sings in an alto and soprano range (utilizing falsetto).

[lavocedecastrato]

Thanks for your comment. Countertenor word is using only for male alto and mezzo singers. You don't need to add "male" word to its begin.

Countertenor | Sopranista | Castrato and Natural castrato; all this concepts is differend from another one.

Read the video info, you'll find more.

Thanks...

[mradaChris]

Nice tribute! Very nice! So who is singing this?

[lavocedecastrato]

Thanks for your comment. Maybe you can quess who is he,

I will answer this question on newyear :)

Best wishes.

[mradaChris]

I thought for a second it was Celestial Yoo.

[lavocedecastrato]

Sorry but not he is :)

I wanna give some information about castrato voice for who watched this video and interested to castratos. Please read the video information. (Click the more info)

[mradaChris]

I think that a castrato voice would have been different than a child's. Reason being is that the body grows into adult hood. The lungs become bigger and also the vocal cords would too. Maybe they wouldn't have been as thick as a male's vocal cords after puberty, but I would think they would sound different. I am not saying that they would sound like a woman, because the resonators in the body would be different.

[lavocedecastrato]

Dear mradaChris,

Yes, you right :) Otherwise one castrato might have a larger voice register. Because while his bodys ageing, his treble voices stays fixed and his voice chords was widening to bass voices. Example from the history; Known is Farinelli had three and a half octave range. They also have the adult voice.

[jeorge345]

It's the new year now :)

Who's the singer? :D

[lavocedecastrato]

Thanks for your interest :)

Singer is Timur Okutman

[jeorge345]

:D

Thanks!

[toddydelahov]

Muito legal este vídeo, pois, ele mostra os castratos mais famosos do mundo!!! Faltou minha foto e datas ai, minha gente!!!!!!! Ré1 há fá5 não é brinquedo não!!!auhauhau.