Tak Oda wrote:
> On Mon, 11 Sep 2000, Lloyd W. Hanson wrote:
> > For one thing, I do not know what
> > Asawa and Daniels mean by their tenor voice.
> I'm almost certain Asawa and Daniels are talking about a truly different
> register (whether it is "supported falsetto" or not, I'm not sure).
> Daniels in particular was training to be a Rossini tenor, and surely can
> tell the difference between his tenor head voice and this other voice he
> has. He specifically distinguished himself from "extended tenors" such as
> Russell Oberlin (in a joint interview), by saying his countertenor is
> simply not related to his tenor, that it is "a different voice". Asawa has
> said pretty much the same thing as well.
I thought the list would be interested in the following article that appeared
in the
Washington Post a week ago about David Daniels, who recently appeared here in
an art song
recital. Singers might be particularly interested in his and his teacher's,
George
Shirley, comments about his vocal experience as a tenor vs a countertenor.
BTW, anyone
seriously interested in classical singing should never pass up an opportunity
to hear
David Daniels perform in person, whether in opera or in recital. I've had the
good
fortune to see him both in opera and in recital, and not only is he a wonder
singer
technically, he's an incredible artist.
Peggy
------
One Man's Pitched Battle By John Pitcher
Special to The Washington Post Saturday, September 9, 2000 ; C01
On the cover of his upcoming recording of Handel's "Rinaldo," David Daniels
cuts a heroic
figure. Clad in armor, he stands defiantly, clutching a very submissive and
feminine-looking Cecilia Bartoli in his arms. The sheer masculinity of it all
seems
remarkable only because the star sings like a woman.
"I know a lot of people can't get past this sound coming from a man," remarked
the
34-year-old singer, relaxing on a plush sofa this week at his home in Silver
Spring. "But
if people don't like it, they shouldn't buy tickets to my concerts. And
believe me, if
they don't want the tickets, there are plenty of people out there who do."
Tickets for just about any Daniels concert are hard to come by. Sold-out signs
decorated
the placards of last month's Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, where Daniels
appeared
with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. And tickets for his recital at
the Vocal
Arts Society's 10th Anniversary Concert tonight at the French Embassy in
Washington have
proved to be equally scarce.
Though his voice may sound unusual, at least to some American ears, it has a
distinguished
pedigree. Daniels is a countertenor. For hundreds of years, these male altos and
falsettists have roamed the upper regions of the treble clef, singing primarily
in the
service of English cathedrals. The style emerged from the walls of Westminster
Abbey and
St. Paul's Cathedral in the 1940s with English countertenor Alfred Deller's now
historic
recordings.
Traditionally, English countertenors sang with a light, vibratoless voice that
made them
sound like adult choirboys. It was a pure and colorless vocal quality that was
often
criticized for sounding "hooty." But it resonated well within the confines of
the church,
even if it was unlikely to blow out the back walls of a modern opera house.
Daniels, who was initially trained as a tenor, brings a completely different
approach to
the art. He sings with a full-throated vibrato. His powerful voice ranges from
a dusky low
A to an almost translucent top A below high C--two octaves. He tosses off the
most complex
coloratura passages with an easy elegance, and has a commanding stage presence.
A
competitive amateur basketball player, lifelong Redskins fan and a self-avowed
ESPN
junkie, Daniels has had a lifelong interest in sports. He possesses an athletic
build and
GQ good looks--complete with fashionable razor stubble--that imbues his
operatic roles
with considerable sex appeal. He is, in short, a full-fledged opera star.
"There are actually a lot of countertenors out there who sing just as
beautifully as David
does," says Ira Siff, artist director of New York's La Gran Scena Opera
Company. "But in
achieving this level of popularity, he has really opened the door for other
young
countertenors. In the end, I think that might be his greatest impact."
It is the kind of help that Daniels could have used during his somewhat painful
rise to
the top. Born in South Carolina to parents who were both opera singers, Daniels
began his
studies as a boy soprano, switching to tenor after his voice broke. His dream
was to
become another Franco Corelli, the 20th-century Italian virtuoso who was noted
for his
strong, dark tenor. But it was not to be.
"I couldn't sustain that voice," Daniels remembers. "I couldn't sing notes
above the staff
and my voice broke all the time. It was terrible."
Daniels was already experiencing more success with his falsetto voice. So while
studying
at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in the '80s, he volunteered to sing as a
countertenor in Handel's oratorio "Jephtha."
"I came in and sang the hell out of that piece, and in the end the only thing
my teachers
did was smirk and giggle," remembers Daniels, a brief look of resentment
settling on his
face. "As far as they were concerned, this was just a party voice. There were no
countertenors in the conservatories back then, it wasn't part of the American
tradition,
and I never received any encouragement."
Daniels went on to pursue graduate studies with tenor George Shirley at the
University of
Michigan. But his problems persisted.
"His tenor was good but it was not exceptional," Shirley recalled. "He seemed
miserable
all the time and he called in sick a lot, missed a lot of lessons."
"It might have been psychosomatic," says Daniels. "I couldn't stand going to
lessons."
So Daniels gave countertenor singing one more try. He handed Shirley a tape
that he
recorded at a New Year's Eve party, initially as a gag. He kept his identity
secret,
telling Shirley that it was just a friend who wanted an opinion.
"After a couple of minutes I asked him 'Is this you?' " Shirley remembers.
"Everything was
there, and all I could do at that point was encourage him. From that time on,
he never got
sick again, never missed a lesson, and he always came prepared, knowing exactly
what he
wanted to do."
In 1994 Daniels went on to make his debut performing Nero in Monteverdi's
"L'Incoronazione
di Poppea" at Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, N.Y., and he has been in
increasing
demand ever since. In 1997 he became the first countertenor ever to win the
Richard Tucker
Award, an honor shared by such other opera luminaries as Deborah Voigt and
Renee Fleming.
And he has developed a special affinity for heroic baroque roles.
"If I could tell him anything, it would be to forget singing the traditional
countertenor
repertory," says Russell Oberlin, a countertenor and founder of the New York
Pro Musica.
"If I were him, I would focus on the great castrati roles. He can actually sing
some of
them as a soprano."
The great 18th-century castrati--Farinelli, Senesino--were the most spectacular
singers of
their day. They were veritable singing machines who could take an F above high
C and then
extemporize an extended vocal cadenza on just one breath. Handel wrote some of
his most
heroic and challenging roles for these singers. The abominable practice of
castrating
young singers died out after the 19th century. And the old Handel roles, when
they were
performed at all, were almost always taken by women, usually mezzo-sopranos.
Now that the period-instrument movement has revived many of Handel's forgotten
operas,
there is a new demand for singers who can perform the old castrati roles.
Daniels fits the
bill.
"That's the great thing about having someone like David around," says Nicholas
McGegan,
conductor of the San Francisco's Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. "It's more
convincing for
an audience to see David performing Julius Caesar rather than some mezzo in
drag."
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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