It's been a fine month for countertenors in Edinburgh, what with Tim Mead singing at the start of the Fringe, then Iestyn Davis, Robin Blaze and Carlos Mena at the Greyfriars Kirk series.
Next we hear a different breed of countertenor: American David Daniels, pictured, who sings with the English Consort and Harry Bicket at the Usher Hall tonight.
Over a quick coffee yesterday morning, Daniels had only good things to say about his younger European colleagues. "Actually Iestyn ain't a baby, though his face might look it-" Even at 10am Daniels is already on sassy form. "Or Tim – he covered me at Glyndebourne in 2006, so he's no spring chicken either-
"But the basic sound of an American countertenor as opposed to an English countertenor is really different. Look at the evolution of the countertenor in the UK: you go from Alfred Deller's pure, white tone to James Bowman, whose voice was similar yet enormous in size. Then Michael Chance kept the purity of the English style but brought a little more operatic quality. Iestyn even more so, but his sound is still part of the lineage all the way back to Deller."
In contrast, Daniels describes his own voice as "fuller, maybe. In American countertenor terms, a couple of generations before me was Jeffrey Gall, who was more like a mezzo-soprano voice than from a King's College choir boy. Then Derek Lee Ragin. He was the first countertenor I really fell in love with. I heard this sound with vibrato and a full, beautiful top and I thought 'hey, this is possible'. Until then I hadn't realised that a career singing with the voice I had was possible."
And what a career he's having. Daniels first trained as a tenor – "and a very average one at that. I was frustrated because I felt all the musical stuff but couldn't get it out because I was in knots technically." He wisely made the switch and debuted as Oberon in Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream at LA Opera. Twenty years later he is the most sought-after operatic countertenor in the world.
Tonight he sings Scarlatti, Vivaldi and Handel. "Scarlatti is weird," he says. "This cantata [Perche tacete, regolati concenti] is weird. It's got peculiar harmonies and the vocal line doesn't go where you expect it to. But actually I think that Scarlatti, quirky as he is, writes better for the voice than Vivaldi. Vivaldi treats the voice like a musical instrument. Scarlatti is more, well, vocal."
As for the English Consort, Daniels describes them as "all my buddies". He's been singing with Bicket for coming on 15 years, and has toured and recorded with the Consort regularly. "When I got to the rehearsal at the weekend and they all said 'hi' when I walked through the door- It makes it much easier. It's not always like that, trust me."
What's he looking forward to in the coming year? Daniels singles out a new opera by American composer Theodore Morrison which he premieres at Santa Fe Opera next summer. It's based on the life of Oscar Wilde – "a story that is as relevant today as it was at the turn of the century, two centuries ago. That's scary. Homophobia is scary. This is an important story to tell."
But his biggest achievement to date, he says, is "trumping the guy who plays fifth cello of the Cleveland Orchestra. We were at high school together in a little town in South Carolina, and he sat second cello to me! Now that's something, eh?"
David Daniels sings at the Usher Hall tonight.
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