Eunuchs

First off, in case you are confused, the photograph above is of a male Eunich. A eunuch is a castrated man; Castration- is any action, surgical,chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries. In ancient China castration was both a traditional punishment and a means of gaining employment in the Imperial service.

Such eunuchs were known as castrati. Unfortunately the choice had to be made at an age when the boy would not yet be able to consciously choose whether to sacrifice his sexual potency, and there was no guarantee that the voice would remain of musical excellence after the operation. Castrati were young boys, who were castrated (had their testicles removed) before they hit puberty, to ensure that their voices would not “break”. The result of the operation was that the boy would grow up being able to sing with the same voice as a boy soprano, but with the strength of a man.