Joaquim de Oliveira (1748/49–after 1806), born in Lisbon, was one of the few Portuguese castrati known to history. At the age of six, he was admitted to the Real Seminário de Música da Patriarcal, and later traveled to Naples, with the support of the crown, to further his musical studies alongside João de Sousa Carvalho, Jerónimo and Braz Francisco Lima, Camilo Cabral, and José de Almeida.
After returning to Lisbon at the end of 1774, he was engaged as a singer at the Patriarcal, and was later appointed Mestre de Capela.1 It is possible that the reference to his status as a castrato is inaccurate, since in 1771 he married Isabel Ifigénia de Aguiar, the sister of the renowned singer Luísa Todi.2
He was one of the few Portuguese singers of his time to have the opportunity to perform in operas staged at the royal theaters.3 In addition to his participation in religious ceremonies, there is also a record of his performances in private settings.4
