As a rule, countertenors perform the roles of male heroes, originally written for castrati in the Baroque era (for example, Julius Caesar And Rinaldo in the operas of the same name by Handel) or somewhat later (early Mozart and even Rossini), male parts written for female voices, as well as folklore, in particular English. Composers of the 20th century, in particular Britten, began to write parts specifically for countertenors.
Examples of countertenors in modern popular music are Barry Gibb ("Bee Gees"), Mitch Grassi ("Pentatonix"), Vitas, Adam Levine ("Maroon 5"), Tyler Carter ("Issues").
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An excerpt characterizing the Countertenor
The Russians stood in tight ranks behind Semyonovsky and the kurgan, and their guns ceaselessly hummed and smoked along their line. There was no more fighting. There was a continuing murder, which could lead neither the Russians nor the French to anything. Napoleon stopped his horse and fell back into that thoughtfulness from which Berthier had led him; he could not stop the deed that was being done before him and around him and which was considered to be led by him and dependent on him, and for the first time this deed, due to failure, seemed to him unnecessary and terrible.One of the generals who approached Napoleon allowed himself to suggest that he bring the old guard into action. Ney and Berthier, who were standing beside Napoleon, exchanged glances and smiled contemptuously at the general's senseless proposal.
Napoleon lowered his head and was silent for a long time.
“A huit cent lieux de France je ne ferai pas demolir ma garde, [Three thousand two hundred miles from France I can’t let my guards be defeated.] – he said and, turning his horse, rode back to Shevardin.
Kutuzov was sitting with his gray head bowed and his heavy body lowered on a bench covered with a carpet, in the very place where Pierre had seen him in the morning. He did not make any orders, but only agreed or disagreed with what was offered to him.
“Yes, yes, do it,” he replied to various proposals. “Yes, yes, go, my dear, take a look,” he turned first to one, then to another of his associates; or: “No, don’t, we’d better wait,” he said. He listened to the reports brought to him, gave orders when it was required by his subordinates; but, listening to the reports, he did not seem to be interested in the meaning of the words of what was said to him, but something else in the expression of the persons who, in the tone of speech, informed him interested him. Through many years of military experience, he knew and understood with an old mind that it was impossible for one person to lead hundreds of thousands of people fighting death, and he knew that the fate of the battle is not decided by the orders of the commander in chief, not by the place on which the troops stand, not by the number of guns and killed people, and that elusive force called the spirit of the army, and he followed this force and led it, as far as it was in his power.
A countertenor is sometimes referred to as a male soprano.
Initially, in the European polyphonic XIV-XVI centuries. a countertenor was a side vocal part that complemented the treble. Starting from the middle of the 16th century, with the spread of four voices, the counterrenora was divided in two: one was performed below the tenor and was called contratenor-bassus, the second was performed higher and was called contratenor altus. Soon the term was no longer used in its original meaning, instead in Italy the contratenor-bassus was simply called bass, contratenor-altus - alto, in France the term haute-contre was fixed, and in Great Britain - countertenor.
It has long been a widespread myth that men who have a countertenor and are able to sing in a female tessitura suffer from some kind of anomaly, and that their vocal apparatus is arranged according to the female type. It's a delusion. In fact, the ability to sing in a high voice is achieved by developing the upper voice register.
Differences between countertenor and altino and falsetto
The tenor altino is often confused with the countertenor. Altino is a type of lyric tenor with a high tessitura, which differs from the countertenor primarily in that it is uniquely identified as a high male voice, while the countertenor sounds effeminate. The altino vocalist has a range up to the note mi of the second octave.Tenor altino is a rarity, the owners of such a voice sing with a full-sounding closure of the chords.
Finally, falsetto, or, as it is sometimes called, fistula, is not related to the classification of vocalists' timbres, but is the upper head register: the owner of any singing voice can sing falsetto. In essence, falsetto is achieved by specific sound production.
To sing in falsetto, it is necessary to put the vocal cords into a mode in which only the layers of Mucosa tissue closest to the gap will vibrate. The fistula is used in exceptional cases to give the sound a special color, however, some composers use it to create a certain image. So, the part of Figaro is performed in falsetto in the episode where he imitates the voice of Rosina.
by Notes of the Wild MistressModern "farinelli" are now prepared not on the operating table, but in conservatories, and are called quite differently - countertenors. A countertenor is a male voice equal in pitch to a female contralto, mezzo-soprano or soprano, but differing in sound from female voices due to differences in the structure of the male and female vocal apparatus.
Unlike castrati, the voice of the countertenor is of absolutely natural origin: after the age-related mutation of the vocal apparatus, such singers retain the ability to sing soprano or alto, and, in most cases, this has nothing to do with either hormonal problems or sexual orientation.
According to well-known historical facts, in Russia the existence of countertenors was not suspected until the end of the 80s of the twentieth century, and throughout the world the singing of men who naturally have such high voices was initially perceived as pseudo-imitation castrates. By the way, among opera singers, the countertenor is a rarity.
There are only three such people in Russia. One of them - Oleg Bezinskikh - has a truly unique voice: his range is more than three octaves (from baritone to soprano). In the West, for several years now, it has been called nothing more than a "Russian miracle."
Oleg Bezinskikh now lives in St. Petersburg, but gives concerts very rarely, but he enjoys great success abroad, performing at the best venues in the world. Two years ago he graduated from the Conservatory (class of Professor Viktor Yushmanov), becoming a graduate with a countertenor-sopranist diploma for the first time in its 137-year history.
When he sang the Holy Fool's aria from Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov at the St. Petersburg Opera, a huge scandal erupted. A whole controversy arose in the press on the topic - “Can such voices be used in opera?”
Handel wrote 21 operas for the countertenor, Mozart wrote several works for the Senesino castrato, and Schnittke, Bernstein, and Monteverdi wrote for the same voices. Previously, the score did not put "countertenor", but put "soprano". But the parties are men's!
In Moscow, there was recently a premiere of Monteverdi's opera, where the countertenor parts were replaced by women. Gluck's opera Orpheus and Eurydice is being staged at the Mariinsky Theatre, where the part of Orpheus is again performed by a woman.
Rostropovich himself offered the singer a role in the opera Alice in Wonderland by composer Alexander Knaifel, which was staged in Amsterdam.
At the Neva film studio, together with the Walt Disney company, a competition was held for dubbing a 13-episode cartoon about Mickey Mouse, and Bezinskikh was unanimously approved for the main role. The premiere of the cantata "Jerusalem" took place in St. Petersburg: the solo was specially written for Oleg by the St. Petersburg composer Peter Gekker.
This work was recorded with 14-year-old cello virtuoso Nikita Zubarev for a future CD, which will include the best compositions by Gekker, including a cycle on poems by Omar Khayyam, also specially written for the Bezinskys.
In Moscow, Dmitry Bortnyansky's opera "Alkid" was held with great success in the Tchaikovsky Hall. Conducted by Anton Sharoev, great-grandson of the great Rubinstein - the founder of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In addition, Oleg plans to work closely with the Moscow Chamber Philharmonic, headed by Elena Obraztsova.
What other performers with a unique voice concentrate and amaze grateful listeners with their talent? Here are some more names:
Countertenor Nikolai Gladskikh is preparing to audition for London's Covent Garden Theatre, studying at the Russian Academy of Theater Arts (GITIS) with Roman Viktyuk and has such a unique voice timbre that he is compared to the great Farinelli. Experts predict a great future for Nikolai Gladskikh
British countertenor Michael Chance has an incredibly finely crafted voice with a very special timbre.
Countertenor Paul Esswood is rightfully considered one of the most significant performers of our time.
The name of the German Jochen Kowalski stands apart. For many years he has been the title of the most stellar countertenor, whose CDs are distributed in circulation unprecedented in classical music.
Modern "farinelli" are now prepared not on the operating table, but in conservatories, and are called quite differently - countertenors. A countertenor is a male voice equal in pitch to a female contralto, mezzo-soprano or soprano, but differing in sound from female voices due to differences in the structure of the male and female vocal apparatus.
Unlike castrati, the countertenor's voice is of absolutely natural origin: after the age-related mutation of the vocal apparatus, such singers retain the ability to sing soprano or alto, and, in most cases, this has nothing to do with either hormonal problems or sexual orientation.
Popular about countertenors
At first glance, this is the easiest way to explain what a countertenor is to a person who has never heard such a voice. However, it should be noted that, firstly, this statement is essentially incorrect: the voice of a man, no matter how high it may be, will always be in fact a male voice and will always sound different from a female one due to differences in the structure of the female and male voice apparatus; secondly, such a formulation incorrectly orients listeners - traditionally considering a high singing voice to be the prerogative of women, they often draw conclusions about the effeminateness or some kind of physical inferiority of countertenor vocalists. Based on these considerations, the use of the wording "a man singing with a female voice" should be abandoned.
Countertenor = castrato?
Many, having heard the singing of the countertenor for the first time, take the singer for a castrato, believing that only a castrato can sing so high. It's a delusion. The falsetto register of voice, due to the use of which an adult and physiologically complete man can produce high sounds, is present in all men without exception, and the ability to sing in this register in the vast majority of cases is the result of the development of innate vocal abilities of singers.
Many fans of countertenors are convinced that such voices are unique and extremely rare, to which skeptics often object something like this: “yes, it’s just falsetto - every man has it, every man can sing like that, and there’s nothing special and unique about it ". Undoubtedly, every man has a falsetto voice register. However, the following should be taken into account:
Not every man, in principle, has the ability to sing;
Far from every vocalist, the falsetto register has the qualities that allow it to be adapted to perform a certain repertoire in a certain manner (recall that in the modern sense, a countertenor is a professional academic vocalist);
Not every vocalist has a desire to sing mainly in the falsetto register, to develop it, to learn to sing in falsetto professionally.
Alfred Deller, in one of his interviews, voiced the following observation: singers who would like to learn how to sing in a countertenor often do not have the ability to do this, and those who have these abilities do not want to develop them, because they consider this style of singing to be effeminate. In addition, today countertenors are professionally in demand to a much lesser extent than the owners of more "traditional" male voices. In particular, in the domestic musical culture there were no phenomena similar to the Italian tradition of castrate singing or the traditions of falsetto singing in England and Germany (Handel wrote 21 operas for countertenor, Mozart - several works for Senesino castrato, both Schnittke and Bernstein wrote for the same voices. , and Monteverdi. Previously, they did not put “countertenor” on the score, but put “soprano.” But the parts are male!), As a result, in the works of Russian composers there are no parts for male altos and sopranos, and there are also no methods for teaching such singers, equally as well as interest in such voices and in the music that was written for them, in a professional musical environment. This is the main reason for the notorious rarity and uniqueness of modern countertenors.
The repertoire of countertenors is most often based on the music of the Baroque era, the time of the rapid rise of European vocal performing arts.
Some of the names are: Javier Medina, Michael Maniaci, Jorge Cano, Aris Christofellis, Radu Marian, Jörg Waschinski, Ghio Nannini.
One of the best is Paul Esswood (Paul Esswood).
British countertenor Michael Chance has an incredibly finely crafted voice with a very special timbre.
The name of the German Jochen Kowalski stands apart. For many years he has been the title of the most stellar countertenor, whose CDs are distributed in circulation unprecedented in classical music.
According to well-known historical facts, in Russia the existence of countertenors was not suspected until the end of the 80s of the twentieth century, and throughout the world the singing of men who naturally have such high voices was initially perceived as a pseudo-imitation of castrati. By the way, among opera singers, the countertenor is a rarity. In Russia, there are just over 20 vocalists with such superpowers. What all contemporary countertenors have in common is their growing popularity. Increasingly, they become the decoration of concerts, including concerts of pop stars.
Russian famous countertenors: Evgeny Argyshev, Oleg Bezinskikh, Yuri Borisov, Nikolai Gladskikh, Alexander Gorbatenko, Evgeny Zhuravkin, Konstantin Zbanychuk, Yaroslav Zdorov, Igor Ishchak, Vyacheslav Kagan-Paley, Grigory Konson, Artyom Krutko, Eric Kurmangaliev, Yuri Minenko, Evgeny Munko , Igor Retnev, Oleg Ryabets, Oleg Usov, Bagdasar Khachikyan, Vasily Khoroshev, Nikolay Shilintsev, Rustam Yavaev.
A little about some of them
Eric Salimovich Kurmangaliev(Kaz. Erik Salimuly Kurmangaliyev, December 31, 1959, the city of Kulsary, Guryev region, Kazakhstan - November 13, 2007, Moscow, Russia) - opera singer (countertenor) and actor, owner of a unique timbre. According to some reports, the first countertenor in the USSR. In 2005, in Riga, he participated in a gala concert of five countertenors, on the basis of which the documentary film “Farinelli. Show must go on" with the participation of Eric Kurmangaliev.
Oleg Kasper has unique vocal abilities (4 octaves) - from baritone male notes to countertenor (female soprano).
Oleg Ryabets. The Diena edition called the vocalist "one of the five such voices in the world, the period of mutation of which has safely passed ..." Ryabets performed in the opera halls of Lyon and Hamburg, Riga and Paris, in the royal houses of England, in the prestigious halls of Japan. He starred in the documentary Farinelli. Show must go on!" Oleg Ryabets has a rare countertenor in terms of timbre and pitch. A recording of his voice is stored in the British National Sound Archive next to a unique recording of the last castrato of the 20th century A. Moreski. At the celebration of the 75th birthday of the Prince of Edinburgh, His Royal Highness Prince Philip awarded the singer the title "Mr Soprano".
Oleg Bezinsky. He has a truly unique voice: his range is more than three octaves (from baritone to soprano). In the West, for several years now, it has been called nothing more than a "Russian miracle." He graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory (class of Professor Viktor Yushmanov), for the first time in its 148-year history (opened in 1862), becoming a graduate with a diploma of "countertenor-sopranist". When he sang the Holy Fool's aria from Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov at the St. Petersburg Opera, a huge scandal erupted. There was a whole controversy in the press on the topic - "Is it possible to use such voices in the opera?".
Nikolai Gladskikh has such a unique timbre of voice that he is compared with the great Farinelli. Connoisseurs predict a great future for Nikolai Gladskikh.