It's no secret that in the current realities of show business, the talent and vocal abilities of artists often fade into the background, giving way to an outrageous image. Today we look with bitterness at the stars of a bygone era, realizing that, unfortunately, they no longer make them. Or can history still repeat itself?
The voice is a kind of audible kiss of the soul, making its way into the material world. It does not matter what timbre the voice has, the main thing is its sincerity. It is thanks to the singer's vocals and charisma that fans fall in love with them again and again.
We have compiled our own list of the most prominent and powerful male voices of our time, having heard which, you will never confuse this performer with anyone else.
Theo Hutchcraft
Our first vocal hero is Theo Hutchcraft, who, by the way, is celebrating his 33rd birthday today. The young man is known to most of us as the vocalist of the British band Hurts. Having declared themselves for the first time in 2009 with a low-budget video for the song Wonderful Life, the guys immediately took over the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. To this day, they remain one of the most recognizable British bands in the world, not least because of Theo's vocals.
Freddie Mercury
Freddie and Montserrat Caballe / Photo: @officialqueenmusic
We could just write this name without explanation and that would be enough. Musician, composer, outstanding vocalist - all this is about the main driving force of the Queen group. As the legendary Paul McCartney once said:
“All the band members are talented musicians, but the first thing you hear in their music is the voice. Queen is Mercury."
Let's not argue with the legendary Beatle, just listen to this music again.
Dave Gahan
Dave Gahan's incredibly sensual voice also deserves a mention on our list. Having hit the Olympus of fame in the early 80s, this guy still has not lost his youthful enthusiasm and lethal charisma. We are sure that everyone who has ever been to Depeche Mode concerts will agree with us.
We listen to the musician's first solo work from his debut album Paper Monsters - Dirty Sticky Floors.
George Michael
A favorite of fortune, he preferred to give rather than take. It would hardly be possible to find a performer in the musical world whose voice moved the hearts so much. Alas, 2016 was fatal for George, and following such stars as David Bowie and Prince, he left this world. But the music remains. At the moment, this is the only consolation for millions of fans.
Dimash Kudaibergen
The youngest hero of our list, has already managed to become a star not only in his native Kazakhstan, but also far beyond its borders. The vocal range of the artist is striking in its strength and melody, and, of course, we could not fail to note the amazing modesty and diligence of the Kazakh nightingale. Indeed, when we talk about Dimash, we understand that this is the rare case when the external is 100% consistent with the internal.
Phil Collins
Made famous as a member of Genesis, Collins is also widely recognized as a stunning solo artist with a distinctive, recognizable voice. Among his awards are 8 Grammys, 2 Golden Globes, 6 Brit Awards, an Oscar, a Disney Legend Award, 6 awards from the British Academy of Composers and Authors, including an International Achievement Award. He also received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010. In a word, legend!
Men singing in female voices have always aroused the unhealthy interest of the public. In the 17th and 18th centuries, many unfortunate Italian boys were tried to keep their high voices. Then there was a ban on women's singing in temples, and it was so desirable to hear beautiful voices...
According to some reports, at that time, about 4,000 children and adolescents annually underwent an operation to incise the spermatic cord, and thanks to this simple action, the ligaments did not thicken, the voice ceased to “break”. Castrates, by the way, were required not only for temples - Italian singers were not allowed to appear on stage until the end of the 18th century. Almost all barocco opera composers wrote a part for the castrato in their works.
Castration is fashionable
The competition in the professional environment was huge, but the result lived up to expectations: success was accompanied by men with an angelic voice, not only in the professional, but also in the personal field. Women loved to have a relationship with castrati, it was considered fashionable, and among other things, ladies received a kind of bonus - it was impossible to get pregnant from a castrato. By the way, some still mistakenly believe that castration automatically turned a man into an impotent man, but this is not so: they were just not capable of reproductive activity. The most famous castrato of all time was Farinelli. He made his debut in Rome in 1722. His gentle and soft voice delighted the listeners.
In 1870, the joys of Catholic parishioners, on the one hand, and loving women, on the other, ended: the practice of castration was considered barbaric and the operation was banned. The popularity of castrati also faded away: in the 19th century it was already difficult to find them on the opera stage. The last castrated sopranist, Alessandro Moreschi, who was a chorister in the Sistine Chapel, died in 1922.
Confused with a woman
It was possible not to deprive so many Italian youth of the Enlightenment of their offspring, because already at that time there were male sopranos, says Oleg Ryabets. “And these singers, they are also called countertenors, from the point of view of physiology were and are absolutely normal people.”
Until now, neither scientists nor the vocalists themselves can come to a consensus regarding the nature of the countertenor. Some people think that this is just a strong falsetto 1 , others - that this is a full-fledged voice with a good range.
When asked what happened to his voice, Oleg Ryabets answers as follows: “As you hear, I am not talking to you in a female voice, that is, it is obvious that the mutation did occur. It's about sound quality. I understand well what I have. Indeed, the voice is unlike anyone else. Do not think that I am cultivating my otherness, just preserving nature. And I studied at the conservatory as a female soprano, and fortunately, they met me halfway.”
In the Kiev Conservatory, Oleg was really met halfway, but being a countertenor in our country, especially in Soviet times, was not easy: “And questions, and bewilderment, and laughter, and confused with a woman. It was psychologically difficult, but we gave ourselves to the music with all our being.” By "we", Oleg Ryabets means himself and Eric Kurmangaliev 2 . Both of them are the brightest representatives of the countertenors of their generation.
Mad Ilyich
It is a mistake to assume that countertenors play female roles and run around the stage in a dress. It happens, of course, and this, but infrequently. A few years ago, Oleg Ryabets struck musical America by performing the role of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in Soldier's opera Naked Revolution. “Indeed, I performed the part of Lenin,” says Oleg. - This opera was written especially for me. There is a so-called Kitchen Theater in New York. They were celebrating their 25th birthday and staged this crazy plot with Ilyich. The amazing, talented music of Soldier captivated me, and I worked with passion on this project. It was only strange to make up like Lenin and put on all these strange clothes. But I had to get used to a role that was not typical for me.
The repertoire for male sopranos is actually not so small. German, Italian music, Mozart's early operas - you can sing everything. But in Russia there is little interest in this phenomenon. “Probably, this is due to some kind of uncertainty, partly even with cultural moments,” the singer says. “You see, in Russia a man singing with a female voice seems strange...”
In the West, the situation is different; there is both interest and professional training. “In Italy, however, they don’t really like countertenors. Probably for the sharp sound... Most modern Western countertenors are well-made "computer" voices. They are all too perfect and do not excite me. I was fascinated by Kurmangaliev: spontaneity in his voice, performance, unique timbre. There is no such thing and no one else has. Voice is timbre, it is sound. If not, then why all these technical capabilities. Let the woman sing better. And it will do it much better."
At parting, Oleg Ryabets embarrassedly says: “Maybe they still exist, these castrati. Someone told me that in Italy even now there is ... They still do it ... "
Oleg Ryabets was born in 1967 in Kyiv. He sang in the choir "Zvonochek", then in the boys' choir at the Kiev Men's Chapel named after L. Revutsky. He studied at the Kiev State Conservatory with Professor K. Radchenko, at the State Classical Academy. Maimonides with Professor V. Chachava, trained with Professor Z. Dolukhanova. 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".
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1 Falsetto - a very high sound, usually a male voice, a kind of timbre.
2 Eric (Salim-Meryuert) Kurmangaliev (1959-2007) - an outstanding countertenor. Participant of the most prestigious international festivals. Among the admirers of his talent were Svyatoslav Richter and Pierre Cardin.
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 circulations 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.
