What was the point of castrating young boys to sing opera when they could just as well have a woman sing the part ?

Question

What was the point of castrating young boys to sing opera when they could just as well have a woman sing the part ?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Women weren’t allowed to do it, and while boys were allowed they generally lost their range after puberty. Apparently people noticed other differences in castrati voices that kept it going after women were allowed to sing more parts, to the point that as it became less and less accepted, men started learning how to sing Countertenor to replicate it. It’s honestly pretty amazing how much more flexible the human voice is than people think!