Other voices

I love this piece!

Stop making fun of the poor man. We all did terrible things in the eighties!

(I almost wet myself watching this...OMG, it's too funny)

Just added this lady to my list of personal favourites. And she is so good for my voice! (what you hear in your head is what comes out of your mouth-Philippe is kind of lethal where that is concerned. I go way way beyond the break in mix if I hear him too much...not good. She helps me get headvoice back on track. I can't go stratosferic like her in some of the furie arias, but I can follow her here.



Simone Kermes.

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And fantastic arias on that Lava CD.

I think she is the first woman whose voice gets to me in the same way that Philippes voice does.

caroline: strange, I absolutely love her timbre that seems to me exceptionally beautiful, but I just don´t like the was she sings. Where I don´t know whether it would be different if I hadn´t seen her; to me her body language is so often inappropriate to the aria she is singing, and I transfer that to what I hear, also.

My favourite female sopranos are Nuria Rial and Karine Gauvin. I find that both have an incredibly beautiful timbre and simply immaculate technique.

My favourite alto is Delphine Galou. Nobody seems to know her, but this for example:
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As long as my favourite countertenor says the role is too heavy for him, she will be my first choice for this role. She also makes a splendid Alessandro. Sorry, gentlemen!

I've found another countertenor to like - Tim Mead. I saw him for the first time last week as Ottone to Cencic's Nerone in "L'Incoronazione di Poppea". He's a lovely velvety alto - a really "English" voice but without the "Cathedral hoot". He's a good actor too as he really fleshed out the character of Ottone, often portrayed as a cipher. I've since found out that he sings Ottone quite often, so it must be a bit of a calling card for him. The fact that he is good-looking in a fresh-faced, rosy-cheeked sort of way is, of course, a bonus!

A.

Artemis,
may I mention David Hansen once again? There is a version of "Se in fiorito" in YT I really love. And he is a clown on stage also! Australian.

Duffy,

Yes, you may; I know the one you mean - it's the one with the dove! And very fetching he is too (DH, not the dove). I have actually seen David Hansen - but he was playing the thankless rôle of Athamas in a truly awful production of "Semele" and I wish I had paid more attention now!

A.

Well, the enormous number of countertenors I have heard notwithstanding, for me Philippe remains incomparable and in a class of his own.
My second favourite countertenor is Daniel Taylor. I find it such a pity that there are so few recordings with him, and that he does so little of the repertoire I like best!

I liked the version with Nathalie Dessay, but this voice...I adore!

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Claire Lefilliatre (sorry, don't know how to do the circonflexe on the keyboard)

Astarto wrote:

caroline: strange, I absolutely love her timbre that seems to me exceptionally beautiful, but I just don´t like the was she sings. Where I don´t know whether it would be different if I hadn´t seen her; to me her body language is so often inappropriate to the aria she is singing, and I transfer that to what I hear, also.

My favourite female sopranos are Nuria Rial and Karine Gauvin. I find that both have an incredibly beautiful timbre and simply immaculate technique.

My favourite alto is Delphine Galou. Nobody seems to know her, but this for example:
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As long as my favourite countertenor says the role is too heavy for him, she will be my first choice for this role. She also makes a splendid Alessandro. Sorry, gentlemen!

Delphine Galou was a wonderful Zelinda in the world-premier of Vivaldi's Teuzzone last june in Versailles:
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and here is the complete first act:
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As for Kermes this is just divine:
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My hair used to be this Kermes- (meaning Crimson, how appropriate!) red. I positively lit up when the sun was shining.

And my stratospherics are coming back too! So good for the voice, this woman!

So, who else? As an ardent admirer of lyrical voices, I find few tenors who sing the way I prefer - therefore the countertenors and especially Mr. J. have to take over the male part! But I absolutely love the vocal art of Topi Lehtipuu. Most handsome young gent, too, very tall.
Other tips for lyrical tenors? There is no second Wunderlich, unfortunately.

After listening to lyrical voices and countertenors for almost 25 years, good ones, bad ones and terrible ones, Philippe's voice is a breath of fresh air. I like Daniels and many others, Robin Blaze's warm voice, Matthew White, Assawa, Visse, Lesne and Scholl and lately Cencic, I also love Topi Lehtipuu's lovely tenor and Paul Elliot's pure tones. Among the women for me Lorraine Hunt was the most beautiful and expressive, and I do prefer the baroque voices so I am not mentioning the great ones like Callas, Caballe, etc. Bartoli I like some times as well as Genaux. But really the voice that transports me into the world of pure heavenly music is PJ's, and I find the depth of feeling and color I need to feel connected to the soul. And by the way, a great regret is that my own voice is small and my vocal cords do not cooperate as I would wish. So congrats to all who can SING!!!

Ah, tuffy, thank you! - finally someone here mentions my favourite mezzo soprano of all times! I also admire the uncredibly clear voice, immaculate technique, versatility of tone and enormous emotional espressivity of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson above all other female singers. I so often think how much she and PhJ would have appreciated each other´s work, if only she was still among us!
Can anyone hear this and not be moved?
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If I ever fear to forgot what we humans were meant to be, I find this recording always reminds me. (As many of Lorraine Hunt, and of PhJ.)
Of course Mrs. Hunt Lieberson also was a stunning, powerful and expressive Ariodante. And who for me the only person (well, woman) who was able to sing "Con l´ali di costanza" perfectly ...
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Lorraine Hunt as Sesto...I don't think even Philippe can top that one...

here the other day I watched Satyagraha from Met HD on youtube. I do like Philip Glass but hadn't heard any of his operas so wasn't sure if I would like it. Some parts are certainly extremely repetitive, which for me was very obvious in the choral parts, but Richard Croft as Ghandi was just O-M-G. He's one of my favourite tenors, I first heard of him in the Glyndebourne Theodora. Too bad he hardly sang at all during the second act but had to be on stage all the time nevertheless. But the opening and closing scenes that he did (The Kuru Field of Justice and New Castle March) were amazing.

It is funny but I always saw a lot of paralells between Philippe and Ms Hunt-Lieberson's voices and colors....Both started on string instruments and started singing late. THANK YOU ASTARTO for the video reminders!!!Con Ali di Costanza is a jewel! And although I am sure PJ has already heard it I am bringing him her Ariodante to enjoy in Salzburg.

Exactly, tuffy, I also find the voices of PhJ and Ms. Hunt Lieberson, beyond the obvious differences, quite similar. For me it is mostly the incredibly clarity of tone and simultaneously the richness of timbre, colour and emotion that both of these singers have. And of course the perfect technique and emotional truthfulness which combined allow one to listen with perfect abandon. There will be no wrong tone in any performance of these two singers, neither tonally nor emotionally. Everything will be true and sincere.

I grew up on Eugenio Fernandi, a very lyrical and high and clear Italian tenor, big in the fifties and sixties, sang a lot with Callas, who brought me to tears after all these years in exactly the same bars when I heard an old recording of him I knew when I was a child.

Ricardo Villazon has his highs. I was six years old again in an instant when I first heard him in the Lamenti CD. But only his highs, under the break he is completely different. So Fernandi will always remain unique.

I will give a tip: OPERA on —ARTE LIVE WEB—

It`s live but without Philippe Jaroussky.

This Friday, 13. July 2012 !

OPERA: DAVID ET JONATHAS, Marc-Antoine Charpentier
2012 > Festival Aix en Provence (France)

Musical direction: William Christie, Les Arts Florissants
Jonathas: Ana Quintans
(= Info from Jana: Ana Quintans sang in the Opera: L'incoronazione di Poppea with Philippe Jaroussky; + DVD)

See the following post... (the date moved...)

Enjoy!

Thanks for the tip, I love her voice!

Saskia,

Thanks for the info. I loved Ana Quintans as Drusilla and I'm sure she'll be good as Jonathas. Dominique Visse should make a pretty good witch, by the way ...

A.

Do you also want to visit a concert from Marie-Nicole Lemieux?

In April 2013, Marie-Nicole Lemieux will have some concerts in Europe, Switzerland:

Basel > "City casino" > Date: Wednesday, 10. April 2013
Geneva > "Victoria Hall" > Date: Thursday, 11. April 2013
Bern > "Cultural casino" > Date: Friday, 12. April 2013
Zurich > "Tonhalle" > Date: Saturday, 13. April 2013

Marie-Nicole Lemieux (alto) sings Verdi, Chausson, Tchaikovsky, Respighi
with Thomas Grossenbacher (violincello)
and the "Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Orchestra"
Director: Antonio Pappano

Links:
Official website and dates toward the end of this year (opera and concerts):
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In April 2013, dates in Switzerland:
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Enjoy !

Dear Jana, Artemis, SJuli, Pilarccdd and all,

I will give you the news...

> Now - La Finta Giardiniera (Mozart) is online: (Arte Live Web)
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> Now - Les noces de figaro (Hochzeit des Figaro / Mozart) is online:
(to see only the next days on Arte+7):
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(german): [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

>Now: David et Jonathas (Charpentier),
Musical direction: William Christie
Arte Live Web > online the next 105 days:
Link: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

( Information Festival Aix-en-Provence: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] )

Enjoy... Sunny regards.

Thanks, Saskia! Have a nice weekend

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An interview with M.-E.Cencic , where is also mentioned "Artaserse" !

Thanks for this interesting interview with Max. I don't know why but the very idea of Max working in an office has me falling about laughing ... not exactly bureaucrat material, is he?

Re Yuri Minenko - I think he actually came second at Cardiff and, in my opinion, and that of a lot of others too, should have won - It's my guess that the judges at an "institutionalised" competition like Cardiff just didn't have the guts to award it to a countertenor (for the first time) and chickened out and awarded it to a soprano instead (who was also excellent).

A.

Info:
Andreas Scholl will give a Händel recital in Halle/Saale in November. It will be the pre-concert for next year's festival.

Here's a fantastic voice for you!!

Valer Barna-Sabadus is his name.

Roumanian born, Germany based singer with a rather splendid countertenor/sopranist voice.

He's got this soft, flowing voice with lots of air to it. He just glides on his tones.

Check out his album of Hasse-arias "Reloaded" You wo'nt be disapointed!

He's sung a whole lot of roles at several opera-houses already.

Then there's his version of Pergolesi's
Stabat Mater
plus 2 albums with the Pera Ensemble where there is this really intriguing
mixture of baroque music and turkish music from the same period...

Just the next 4 days:

Only three songs from Andreas Scholl (countertenor)
together with Tamar Halperin (piano).

The second song is my favorit!
It`s an old, scottish folk song and very beautiful:

Name of the song: I WILL GIVE MY LOVE AN APPLE
Link: ArteLiveWeb:
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Saskia!!! I would have missed...

In case anyone's interested, there's a new recording of Handel's "Alessandro" out with Cencic in the title rôle (written for Senesino, btw). Cencic sounds fabulous, as does Karina Gauvin (Lisaura). Julia Lezhneva(Rossane) and Xavier Sabata (Tassile) also put in pretty impressive performances. George Petrou conducts Armonia Atenea (on period instruments).

The CD set has come out within a couple of weeks of another recording of "Alessandro" with Lawrence Zazzo in the title rôle (which I've not heard yet) - Typical! You wait around for ages for a new recording of "Alessandro" and two come at once (a bit like London 'buses, really) ...

A.

A short video about Valer Barna-Sabadus.

What a sweet voice! And yet another countertenor with a penchant for facial hair - which will have to go if he is going to be convincing as Semira in "Artaserse"

A.

^I've listened a lot to his album on Spotify lately. I like his operatic yet sweet tone, reminds me a little of Michael Maniaci. Easy on the eyes too

Here is also Megabise - Yuriy Minenko ( with some facial hair, as well )))
I like him singing some contemporary songs :



...and here an short interview with him ( in Ukrainian) where he said , he always wanted to be a physician ( surgeon ) , but his mother told him he must be a singer and so he studied first choir - conducting and then also singing . An very sad fact he mentioned - he has absolutely no job in his country and therefore works mainly abroad . He also said, the music is an international language and that singing is not a " work " for him, but his life and if he starts to sing, he forgets all the problems and troubles.

Well done Mrs. Minenko for putting her boy on the right path! I've liked Yuriy ever since I first saw him at the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 2009. He was the first countertenor ever to get to the final (although David DQ Lee had done very well a few years previously). He was hugely popular with the audience, many of whom (me included) thought he should have won. I last saw him at the live streaming of "Ruslan and Lyudmila" from the newly renovated Bolshoi (he was Ratmir) ... and, er ... a little facial hair is OK for Megabise!

A.

Artemis,

yes, Yuriy is the best Ratmir (who was still an " breeches- role") and I hope, he will get a lot of great roles in his future.


...and here we have a little glance on M.-E. Cencic as Mandane ! Quite an resolute sister!

Spoiler:

I saw that on facebook! very interesting...although it looks like something taken out of Rock'n'Roll Wolf.

karenpat,

as I already guessed, it will be an " Swan lake" .

WOW! Odette-Odile meets Cruella de Vil - I hope Max remembers to keep his designer stubble under control ...

A.

I love this topic; you know some great voices I didn't know of, but I do now! So that's great.

So, I grew up with J.S. Bach. I still love his music, his cantatas, but I know both the Matthäus Passion and the Johannes Passion by heart. This isn't ideal when you're 19 years old and you've got other stuff that's more important to remember than "Dein Will gescheh, Herr Gott, zugleich auf Erden wie im Himmelreich."
But all jokes aside, knowing songs by heart can be fun, but I wasn't able to see the beauty of the works anymore because of hearing them so much. So I restricted myself from Bach for a year or so, until I stumbled upon this beauty:



Damien Guillon wasn't completely new to me, because I'd seen his performance in the Matthäus Passion. This new cd, however, made me experience the beauty of Bach again. So thanks for that, mister Guillon.
Oh yeah, he's got quite a nice voice too, and his appearance isn't horrible either

hHarpsichordk,

Yes, if a countertenor is easy on the eye, it's always a bonus! Michael Chance also sang this very piece beautifully in his prime. I think there is still a You Tube video of him doing just that floating in the ether somewhere ...

A.

Artemis,

Wow, I cannot but thank you a lot for that suggestion. I found the said video, and I really like how he puts the emotion in the words. It makes the lyrics believable.

Thanks again,

hHk

I was reading the biography of Yuriy Minenko and the last line caught my attention:

Quote :

Other future plans are CD-release of L. Vinci's L'Artaserse, participation in recording of the “Countertenor Gala” concert and recording of the first solo CD.

(italics mine)

countertenor gala!!! does anyone know where & when? and who???

Karenpat,

The only Countertenor Gala that I've heard of took place in the Grand Trianon in Versailles in June this year. Cencic, Sabata and Terry Wey were involved. I've heard nothing about Yuri Minenko's participation though ...

And if Yuri is bringing out his first solo CD all I can say is YIPPEEEEEE!

A.

"Opernglas" 02/2013 ( in German) - an big interview with M.-E. Cencic!


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And Max has also started the New Year off with a fabulous new website - very user-friendly for those of us who are not technically gifted :

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A.

Just look at this delicious thing I found on You Tube!

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One of my favourite Mozart arias too ...

Mind you, I'm seriously thinking of sending Valer a year's supply of hair grips!

Just to compare, here's another favourite singer of mine singing the same aria:

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A.

More on Valer:
Did you know he has a brand new recording out?
It's called "To Touch To Kiss To Die"
and features english songs by Purcell, Matteis and Dowland.
And there's even a new recording of Hasse's opera seria "Didone Abbandonata"
with Barna-Sabadus singing one of the leading roles...
There's so much good music around these days!!