I think art is important and some sacrifices have to be made to achieve great works of it. But not my balls! Castrati singers have been all the rage in 17th to 18th century Italy - and thousands were castrated to reach that special high note. Ouch!
Here is an excellent BBC article on the subject which also includes a link to a small audio file of a Castrati singing. The only recording that exists!
More? Castrati @ Wikipedia