Yoshikazu Mera and other countertenors

[Maciek]

Trying to find an answer to the soprano vs. countertenor dilemma I did a google search for the names of the Polish singers that are usually referred to as sopranos and found this interesting site:

The Male Soprano Page (according to this page there is a major difference in scale between countertenors and male sopranos)

And FYI, here are links to the pages of the two singers I searched for:
JACEK LASZCZKOWSKI
DARIUSZ PARADOWSKI

[knight66]

Frankly I am confused by this. The second of your singers can get up to a 'b'. I think some countertenors get there. I looked at the site and hoped the FAQs would hit the spot, but there are none and a number of the links seem to be waiting for someone to fill them.

But thanks, as usual your careful research yields results.

Mike

[Maciek]

Apparently some countertenors don't even know that they are sopranos.

[Maciek]

They do list one guy (EDSON CORDEIRO) who can actually reach G6! (his amazing range is: G - g''' (G2 - G6)) but most of the singers listed can "only" reach B5, and 3 of them only a B flat...
Actually, I browsed around that site a little more, and it seems they are cheating a little bit. Look at the description of KRASSIMIR ABRAMOV: "His voice ranges from the bariton up to a b'' (B5) in falsetto."

Or am I being too strict?

[knight66]

No....I think the site is rather eccentric. Squeeze most men in the right place and they will achieve a b'' (B5) in falsetto.

Mike

[Maciek]

OK, now I have TWO quotes for my signature...

[uffeviking]

--- and I had to pick myself up from the floor after reading Mike's remark. Still chuckling! 

[Anne]

Lis, Que, and Mike,

Thank you all for replying to my question about Rene Jacobs.  Unless someone recommends a specific performance of a given work, I'll avoid his counter tenor productions.  Much appreciated.

[Maciek]

There... A little editing gymnastics and I've managed to squeeze it in (see below). I'm proud.

[knight66]

Well, thank you kindly sir!

Mike

[knight66]

Here is a link to the other thread where on pages 5 and 6 we mainly discussed countertenors.

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,306.80.html

Mike

[mjwal]

The concept of "countertenor" itself is indeed a moot point. Deller was a cathedral choir male alto when Tippett discovered him & carried him off to sing Purcell, as can be heard on their recording of the 1695 St. Cecilia Ode. There's certainly nothing tenorial about his voice. I have seen people argue that therefore Deller was no true countertenor - but the term originates in the contratenor altus of 15th C polyphony & has nothing to do with such rigid essentialism. It is true that Russell Oberlin sounds more like a very high tenor. I saw him sing Oberon at Covent Garden in the mid-60s - the rôle was written for Deller but the latter gave it up on stage, possibly because his voice did not carry well in that acoustical space. As an interpreter of Dowland & Purcell he is unrivalled, IMO.

[Harry]

Deller but the latter gave it up on stage, possibly because his voice did not carry well in that acoustical space. As an interpreter of Dowland & Purcell he is unrivalled, IMO.

I will strongly dispute that IMO.

[zamyrabyrd]

Agree with you, Fassbaender is the best Orlofsky, no matter how many had tried this role!

The reason is Fassbaender has something most countertenors don't: A CHEST resonance.
This very fact puts most Opera past the Baroque off limits to such voices or approaches (except for relatively new works of the 20th Century) since everyone has a chest register but the above choose not to use it.
There are some rare tenors who manage to keep the lower register and soar higher than their peers, but the bulk of countertenors, oddly enough, are baritones who sing exclusively in the falsetto.
I can and do enjoy Jaroussky and others, not Mera, though.
These days I find myself appreciative for what I and others have, rather than what they don't have.

ZB

[Tancata]

About the merits of Mera versus the more standard countertenors like Scholl, Daniel Taylor, and so on: Mera has a remarkable range soaring way up - and he doesn't seem to get shouty or sound like it's too much of a stretch even in the very highest notes. He almost gets more comfortable the higher he goes, which certainly isn't true for most countertenors.

BUT! I find his voice to be rather drab and washed-out in terms of colour. Comparing the meaty alto arias of the Johannes-Passion (Suzuki) to Scholl's performance for Herreweghe, IMO there's a ruby-rich colouring and flavour in Scholl's voice which Mera doesn't have.

To my ears - and I know all this colour/flavour stuff is very subjective - Mera has an alienating, feline sound. Sometimes I can listen and appreciate the amazing flexibility of his voice, but mostly I'll choose Scholl, who is always brilliant at Bach. Daniels and people like Lawrence Zazzo are different again. They have more blustery, powerful operatic voices which are absolutely breathtaking when deployed in the right kind of music  .

To my ears, Jarrousky is much more engaging than Mera, but in the same basic category in terms of character of voice.

I guess I basically agree with knight on Mera, then.

[Maciek]

Mera has an alienating, feline sound.

Coming from someone with a cat in their avatar, that sounds like an extravagant compliment.

[Tancata]

Coming from someone with a cat in their avatar, that sounds like an extravagant compliment.

Heh - I respect and admire cats, but I'm not sure I love them. I've been hurt before 

[Maciek]

Don't give up, Tancata! That one cat for you is out there somewhere. A cat who will reciprocate. A cat who will care. Maybe Mera simply isn't, you know, that One yet...

[FideLeo]

Another male soprano (sopranist): Joerg Waschinski
official website

[Que]

Another male soprano (sopranist): Joerg Waschinski
official website

He sounds quite good.

Q