Tako Oda wrote:
> So to sum it all up, countertenors who have a true upper head voice
> probably *do* sound more like castrati than mezzos because: 1) they have
> a male vocal tract and 2) they have the lower tenor extension which many
> mezzos lack. This doesn't even begin to address the issue of dramatic
> believability, which probably is relatively unimportant, considering
> Handel himself did not seem to care much whether a given role was played
> by a man or woman.
Tako, thank you for the clearest and most understandable post on this topic
that I've ever
read in my 5 years on the Vocalist! And we've had plenty of discussion on that
topic, as
I'm sure everyone who's been here awhile knows!
However, as to the statement re dramatic believability being "relatively
unimportant"
because Handel didn't care whether a man or woman sang a particular role, I
have to
disagree.
This is because we are not living in Handel's time - we are living in the year
2000.
Audiences today are different from audiences 300 years ago. We expect
different things,
particularly in theatrical performance. Reality and believability were not
important to
audiences of those days - after all, look at the subject matter chosen -
mythological and
heroic figures. So Handel, being a practical theater man of his time, knew
that the
quality of singing for a given role was more important to his audiences than
how "real"
the drama would appear to them.
However, we're different. Dramatic believability is VERY high on the priority
list today
(this month's Opera News is almost entirely devoted to articles on opera stage
directors). For many people, believability is higher than how well the
singing is (e.g.,
emphasis on movie-star type looks, slenderness, etc.). I think having fantastic
countertenors like Daniels et al available is a huge part of the reason that
baroque opera
is being frequently performed in major opera houses, and audiences are enjoying
them.
They also give stage directors a lot more options dramatically, in terms of
what the
audience will accept. As I said in an earlier post, I couldn't imagine the
very steamy
Poppea/Nero (Mary Mills/David Daniels) love scene that I saw staged in Miami
even being
contemplated with a woman cast as Nero, no matter how wonderful an actress and
singer she
is.
Peggy
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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