Opera question: How are people able to perform castrato roles these days? Do they have special training?

Question

It's not so rare. I've seen such roles performed twice in the last year at the Metropolitan Opera, and there seems to be something similar in the works for this year.

Answer 1

The way they do it is by using falsetto. Castrati roles are played these days by counter tenors. David Daniels, being pretty much the leading counter tenor these days, is one of the best ever. It requires training but is also a natural part of the voice that most men can use, but to train rewures a lot of practice. The majority of counter tenors have a normal range of a baritone or bass. Very few people these day train to be a counter tenor.

Answer 2

So-called "natural castrati" are born with hormonal disorders that reproduce the vocal effects of castration without the surgeon's knife. Radu Marian and Jorge Cano stand out as extraordinary "natural castrati". Both are gifted talents, providing the opportunity to appreciate voices that incarnate the past castrati.

Some uncastrated male singers are able to sing in the soprano register, apparently without the use of the falsetto voice; they are known as endocrinological castrati[citation needed]. Some men can use falsetto to sing in the soprano range. Both are termed sopranistas. Very few such singers perform today, as this voice type is extremely rare. Sopranistas are able to perform most music which was written for castrati, and composers such as Rossini wrote parts specifically for sopranista

Answer 3

I like the Italian Opera very much-especially Verde. They just train-sans the snip. And aren't most castrato roles done by women now? The last Oscar I saw in Un Ballo En maschera was.

Answer 4

I hope so, because the alternative is too terrible to even contemplate! Ouch!

Answer 5

No, just special straining.

Answer 6

They can't, unless they had an "accident".

Answer 7

i hate opera