# Countertenors (your favorite?)



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

My favorite countertenor has to be David Daniels... too bad he hasn't gotten any solo discs out lately .

Any other favs here?


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

None whatsoever .:lol:
I like dark female voices but not that high male voices, gives me the creeps.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Pugg said:


> None whatsoever .:lol:
> I like dark female voices but not that high male voices, gives me the creeps.


I'm with you totally.
I don't want to hear a guy trying to sound like a girl.
It sounds creepy.


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

Bejun Mehta for the overall awesomeness and Philippe Jaroussky for lovely tone. Daniels is an astonishing sound but I'm not always so confident about his musicianship

Btw - I completely didn't know until fairly recently that Rene Jacobs started out as a countertenor!


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## Balthazar (Aug 30, 2014)

I second Philippe Jaroussky. It is a revelation to hear him sing old warhorses like "lascia ch'io pianga", effortlessly hitting all the high notes with a masculine power and timbre that the mezzos can't match. I also appreciate that he explores much-neglected repertoire and roots out little known gems. 

What I don't understand is how he could have begun his career training as a baritone...

I have enjoyed recordings of Bejun Mehta and Christophe Dumeaux as well.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Definitely Andreas Scholl; though I like Philippe Jaroussky too.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Pugg said:


> None whatsoever .:lol:
> I like dark female voices but not that high male voices, gives me the creeps.


seconded. most of the countertenors I've come across sound more like dying cats than people.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I don't like counter tenors. It just seems wrong, not morally, but just out of place. Also it is creepy to me. Don't even start a thread on male sopranos.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

Florestan said:


> I don't like counter tenors. It just seems wrong, not morally, but just out of place. Also it is creepy to me. Don't even start a thread on male sopranos.


I am only partly with you, as I do appreciate the talent of Bejun Mehta.


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

Florestan said:


> I don't like counter tenors. It just seems wrong, not morally, but just out of place. Also it is creepy to me. Don't even start a thread on male sopranos.


I quite like countertenors. Am I the only one?


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Also I forgot to mention that I really dig Andreas Scholl quite a bit. I really like his academic looking CD's quite a bit... some of it is better than Daniels for sure.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Morimur said:


> I am only partly with you, as I do appreciate the talent of Bejun Mehta.


I cannot deny that some counter tenors have great voices. I also confess to listening to counter tenors some since I am not aware of any recordings of Handel's Chandos Anthems that do not include counter tenors. Besides that is authentic for those performances if I recall correctly.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I think David Hansen and David Daniels have 2 of the most beautiful voices in the world tonday. David Hansen is one of the few opera stars out there who could have a career in p*rn;-)


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Itullian said:


> I'm with you totally.
> *I don't want to hear a guy trying to sound like a girl.*
> It sounds creepy.







*Itullian, check this one out!*
Hilarious:lol:!


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

Matt Bellamy


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Itullian said:


> I'm with you totally.
> I don't want to hear a guy trying to sound like a girl.
> It sounds creepy.


Stay away from Neil Sedaka. He paved the way!!


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

Pugg said:


> *Itullian, check this one out!*
> Hilarious:lol:!


The performance does leave a lot to be desired, but I don't quite see what is 'hilarious' about it. It's really not that bad for someone who has apparently had no teaching.


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

Iestyn Davies
Andreas Scholl
Bejun Mehta
Paul Esswood
Franco Fagioli
Alfred Deller
Max Emanuel Cencic


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

MoonlightSonata said:


> The performance does leave a lot to be desired, but I don't quite see what is 'hilarious' about it. It's really not that bad for someone who has apparently had no teaching.


A _boy _age 16 singing "*Queen* of the night" is a bit provoking for bully's .


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Valer Sabadus for sheer beauty of voice
Philippe Jaroussky for great artistry
Franco Fagioli for Baroque pyrotechnics
Max Emanuel Cencic for encouraging interesting stage projects (Vinci's Artaserse, Hasse's Siroe)
Andreas Scholl for making me fall in love with the countertenor voice
Dominique Visse for all those comic ladies
Christophe Dumaux for being the snakiest Tolomeo in the history of Giulio Cesare productions
Also: Iestyn Davies, Bejun Mehta, David Daniels, Martin Oro, Tim Mead, Robin Blaze, Xavier Sabata

I'll leave you with the pyrotechics in the best staging ever of a long da capo Baroque aria:


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I prefer the female voice to the male in general... but then again I also prefer the piano concerto to the string quartet... but this doesn't mean I dislike the string quartet.

We are undoubtedly living in a Renaissance for the Countertenor. Among those I quite admire I would include:

Philippe Jaroussky
Andreas Scholl
Bejun Mehta
Franco Fagioli
Max Emanuel Cencic
David Daniels
Michael Chance






I honestly don't feel Jaroussky is trying to sound like a woman... nor can I even begin to imagine how anyone with functional hearing could dismiss this as sounding more like a dying cat than a person.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> (


Pressing need to buy this disc has got even more pressing.


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## Phu Nguyen (Jan 3, 2015)

Iestyn Davies, Yoshikazu Mera, Alfred Deller to name a few.


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## Dorsetmike (Sep 26, 2018)

I sang counter tenor (not professionally) until I was about 40, too many cigarettes and lack of practice following a move finally took their toll, hence I have an interest in counter tenor performances.

My "top 3" would be Phillipe Jaroussky, David Daniels and Yoshikazu Mera, difficult to decide between them, to me their sound could almost be described as mature trebles. I think there may be a difference for some in the way the voice breaks, for myself (and my father) we naturally sang that way, and had to conciously "change gear" to sing in baritone register, I could barely manage to get an octave below middle C at that, but in "counter tenor mode" from G below middle C for 2 octaves was no problem and covered what I needed.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

David Daniels and Max Emanuel Cenčić - two of the most beautiful sounding countertenors to my ears
Lawrence Zazzo - a fine actor; possibly the best CT I've seen live on stage (Iestyn Davies comes close, though)
Franco Fagioli - for his intensity, and the sheer "wow factor" of his voice (e.g. 



)


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

René Jacobs here









or here


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