Before there was the fat lady singing atop the stage, men dominated in all things related to the arts. In fact, women were not allowed to grace the stage and so where there might have been a women's part in a production or opera, they were all played by men or young boys. When it came to singing, castrati were the pride and joy in Europe. A castrati is a male who was castrated before he hit puberty and could then sing very high. As the process of castration proved to be unethical, countertenor's finally made their selves known. A countertenor is a male who can sing very high, often rivaling a contralto, mezzo-soprano or soprano. Countertenor's are very rare as this range of voice is completely natural.
Below is a link of Philippe Jaroussky singing "Vedro con mio diletto" by Vivaldi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX83BSR0mug
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