Was going thru DVD's earlier. Amadeus lead to thinking about this:
What a let down! and what a waste!
I've known, forever, about The Last Castrato, but had never heard.
It's the only recording of a Castrati, the last one, Alessandro Moreschi.

The Castrati were often described as having "the voice of angels"...Well, here's an angel (I wish I hadn't listened):

Anyway, there's always "Farinelli". I'll just pretend I never heard the other guy.

To be castrated and have the voice of an angel! OUCH!

http://imdb.com/title/tt0109771/trivia

MikeMatronik said:

Yes, but to be castrated and have the voice of an American Idol hopeful...one of the bad ones...that's more painful.
I'm glad that practice is banned, but did the last one (the recorded one)have to be so mediocre? Were they not screening boys, when Moreshi was picked? His was a sacrifice, in vain.

anon said:

Remember that he was 40/50 when that was recorded. He was past his prime.

sosgemini said:

I'd read that, also. The DVD supposedly has a behind the scenes on it.

Wiki: Although Dionisi provided the speaking voice, Farinelli's singing voice was provided by a soprano, Ewa Małas-Godlewska and a countertenor, Derek Lee Ragin, who were recorded separately then digitally merged to recreate the sound of a castrato.

Still, I wonder how close it comes to the real thing. That's one thing, we'll probably never experience.

modern equivalent:

MikeMatronik said:

I guess. But all these years...expecting to hear an angel. It was a disappointing moment. Maybe it's a good thing he wasn't one of the better. If he were like Farinelli, perhaps the practice would have been extended.

anon said:

It's true.

sosgemini said:

That's really nice. Had to save it.

There's this guy too (the last one):
They're calling him an endocrinological castrato, but he's not one, his voice simply never changed.

More from Wiki (about todays castratos): "...but it must be remembered that, having been born in the twentieth century, they and the few others like them have not undergone the type of rigorous training through adolescence endured by the castrati of the eighteenth century. Thus their technique is distinctly "modern", and they lack the tenorial chest register the castrati possessed. An exception is the jazz singer, Jimmy Scott, who uses only the low register, matching approximately the range used by female blues singers...".

So combining Jimmy Scott and Michael Maniaci is probably the closest thing to the Castrati.

I think I'm gonna be on a Jimmy Scott kick today: