世界著名的countertenor - David Daniels

上個星期有一場有關Handel音樂和歌曲的音樂會，後來才知道，我是很喜歡亨德爾的音樂，特別是當知道David Daniels 是當今世界上不可多得的countertenor( 男中高音？）， 更覺得應該去， 就像世界著名的男低音Thomas Quasthoff 更說的人聲是最具色彩的音樂， 也是天生的， 很多歌唱家他們也有失聲的時候，如果喜歡他們的演唱，一定要趁他們狀況好的時候去看他們的演出，聽他們的演唱，很多時候舞台是沒有麥克風的，這樣聽恨原汁原味，

Daniels was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the son of two singing teachers. He began to sing as a boy soprano, moving to tenor as his voice matured. His father, Perry Daniels, was one of the pre-eminent members of the performing faculty during each summer at Brevard Music Center, linked to the School of Music at Converse College in Spartanburg. He studied music at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Dissatisfied with his achievements as a tenor, Daniels switched to singing countertenor during graduate studies at the University of Michigan.

Professional debut

Daniels made his professional singing debut in 1992. In 1997, he won the Richard Tucker Award. In 1999, he made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera as Sesto in Giulio Cesare. His repertoire has grown to include other major Handel's roles, including Julius Caesar: Arsace in the comedy Partenope (at the Lyric Opera of Chicago), the title role in Tamerlano and Arsamene in Xerxes. At the Bavarian State Opera in Munich he played the title roles in Rinaldo and Orlando as well as David in Saul. Furthermore he interpreted Ottone in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea. In Vivaldi's opera Bajazet, he sang the role of Tamerlano.

Daniels has also branched out from the baroque roles usually associated with counter-tenors to include Oberon in Benjamin Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream at the Metropolitan Opera and as Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

( from wiki)

 

To say that he is the most acclaimed countertenor of the day, perhaps the best ever, is to understate his achievement. He is simply a great singer.” — The New York Times

David Daniels is known for his superlative artistry, magnetic stage presence and a voice of singular warmth and surpassing beauty, which have helped him redefine his voice category for the modern public. The American countertenor has appeared with the world’s major opera companies and on its main concert and recital stages. He made history as the first countertenor to give a solo recital in the main auditorium of Carnegie Hall. The Chicago Tribune has called Daniels “today's gold standard among countertenors.” Gramophone magazine acknowledged his contribution to recorded excellence as well as his expansion of the repertoire for his voice type by naming him one of the “Top Ten Trailblazers” in classical music today.

Two highly anticipated European recital tours highlight David Daniels’s 2009-10 season taking him to Frankfurt, Tampere, Finland, Paris, Belgrade, Berlin, London’s Wigmore Hall , and the Prinzregententheater in Munich. He returns to Houston Grand Opera as Arsamene in Nicholas Hytner’s renowned production of Handel’s Serse opposite Susan Graham and makes his debut with Atlanta Opera in the title role of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice conducted by long-time collaborator Harry Bicket. Concert engagements include a special tour of Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the celebrated Canadian orchestra Les Violons du Roy conducted by Bernard Labadie in Montreal, Quebec City, New York City at Carnegie Hall, and Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall. Mr. Daniels collaborates again with Maestrio. Labadie again later in the season in Bach’s St. John Passion for his Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut.

(http://www.danielssings.com/)