| Title: | Castrati |
| Original Title: | Castrati |
| Volume and Page: | Vol. 2 (1752), p. 756 |
| Author: | Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert (biography) |
| Translator: | Dena Goodman [University of Michigan] |
| Subject terms: |
Modern history
|
| Original Version (ARTFL): | Link |
| Rights/Permissions: |
This text is protected by copyright and may be linked to without seeking permission. Please see http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/did/terms.html for information on reproduction. |
| URL: | http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0004.095 |
| Citation (MLA): | d'Alembert, Jean-Baptiste le Rond. "Castrati." The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Dena Goodman. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2020. Web. [fill in today's date in the form 18 Apr. 2009 and remove square brackets]. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0004.095>. Trans. of "Castrati," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 2. Paris, 1752. |
| Citation (Chicago): | d'Alembert, Jean-Baptiste le Rond. "Castrati." The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Dena Goodman. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0004.095 (accessed [fill in today's date in the form April 18, 2009 and remove square brackets]). Originally published as "Castrati," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 2:756 (Paris, 1752). |
Castrati, this name, which is purely Italian, is given to those who are made eunuchs as children in order to give them a clearer and higher voice. In concerts the Castrati sing the same part as women, or higher. See Soprano, Singer. Regarding the physical cause for the Castrati ’s voice being thin and high, it does not seem any easier to explain than why he does not grow a beard. But the fact is certain and that is sufficient.