Crossword Genius

Singer in company, soprano ultimately? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

castrato

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'singer' is the definition.
(I know that castrato is a type of singer)

'company soprano ultimately?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'company' could be 'cast' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'cast' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for castrato that I've seen before include "one with no stones" , "Emasculated male singer with a soprano or alto voice" , "Male singer operated on before puberty to retain his soprano voice" , "Surgically-treated male soprano (hist.)" , "Former high male singer" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sunday Times.
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