Word: countertenors
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Among the six soloists, Robert White (countertenor) and Charles Bressler (tenor) were particularly outstanding--both for technical accomplishment and tact. Especially when singing with the ensemble, they maintained a sense of humility, rising above the group, but never dominating...
...supernatural passages Britten concentrated on fantastical sounds: mysterious tinklings of the celesta, curious patterns of bells, vocal parts accompanied only by harps and percussion. To place the world of the fairies at a clear remove from the world of mortals, Britten wrote the part of Oberon for countertenor (Alfred Deller), a high-pitched, constricted voice never heard in modern opera, and Titania for high soprano (Jennifer Vyvyan). The music of the lovers, on the other hand, was mainly characterized by throbbing, Wagnerian chords while the music for the rustics was simple and zestful-as broadly comic as Shakespeare...
...Grimes made it clear that Maria's wits were as sharp as her own nose and chin. The other two superlative performances were the Dancing Zany of Geoffrey Holder, who designed the choreography and also sang; and the light-footed Singing Zany of Russell Oberlin, the world's finest countertenor. In other major roles, Fritz Weaver's Malvolio, Zachary Scott's Orsino, and George Mathews' Sir Toby were disappointing...
...first three of his many gifts. Dressed in a striking white costume with mismatched red and orange gloves and stockings, he does a thousand and one things with skill and vigor. The Singing Zany is played by Russell Oberlin, who cavorts about with lightness. Being the world's finest countertenor (natural male alto), he displays again and again a soaring voice of unbelievable purity and beauty...
William Byrd & His Age (Alfred Deller; Basel's Wenzinger Consort of Viols; Vanguard). Music from the golden age of English music (16th-17th centuries) sung in the round, slightly hooty but flexible alto of famed Countertenor Deller. Once the listener becomes adjusted to antique shifts of harmony, the music becomes extremely poignant. But countertenors-male voices that have been trained to sing in the falsetto range, but with more than falsetto power and resonance-are less easily adjusted to. for their tones sound sexless and unsettling...