October is Baroque Month here at Bachtrack. Recent years have seen the unstoppable rise of the countertenor – they're everywhere! We thought it was about time we caught up with some of today's leading countertenors to find out more.
Countertenor Tim Mead is praised for his elegant and warm tone with faultless projection and stylish interpretations. His virtuosic performances have drawn much international attention, and he is recognised as one of the finest across the generations of countertenors.
How do you explain the explosion in popularity of countertenors?
The modern countertenor voice has been part of the musical landscape for many decades, but there is still something about it that strikes audiences as new or unusual. One of the reasons this continues to be the case is that the definition of the voice type is developing and expanding all the time. I still regularly meet people who think all countertenors sound a certain way and are surprised and fascinated to discover the vast array of voice types that exist within this once quite narrow vocal category. With this huge variety of different voices there definitely seems to be something for everybody! Whilst the rediscovery of Baroque works shows no sign of slowing down, the various countertenor voice types currently on display also seem to be a source of inspiration for contemporary composers. From Britten’s Oberon to Benjamin’s Boy, contemporary composers seem to turn to the countertenor voice to paint some of their most special characters. In these regards the countertenor voice is constantly showing audiences something new.
Which is your favourite opera role and why?
I think a ‘favourite role’ has a lot to do with the context in which you encounter it. The experience of singing a role is dependant on so many factors: the production, the director, the conductor, your colleagues, your current vocal condition or simply how you feel the morning you get up to sing it. But it’s probably also true that when a role really fits everything else seems to take care of itself. The role I’ve enjoyed performing most over the last few years is the Boy in George Benjamin’s Written on Skin (which Bachtrack recently reviewed in New York). It’s one of those roles where everything you need to tell the story has been given to you in the score. George’s ability to set and pace the text is really extraordinary. Of course, George’s music has moments of incredible beauty and dramatic fire that would be great to sing on their own, but it’s the way this material fits into the dramatic structure of the complete work that really appeals to me. The role of the Boy seamlessly blends inviting vocalism with dramatic expression and it’s simply a joy to perform, especially within Katie Mitchell’s wonderfully detailed production. Vocally and dramatically it feels like a perfect fit and that is a rare and beautiful combination for any singer!
Another role that I’m particularly drawn to at the moment is Didymus in Handel’s Theodora . Whilst strictly an oratorio, it’s a work that lends itself to staging and a more operatic treatment. Handel has long been at the core of my repertoire and I think he was never more inspired than when writing this late work. It really brings into sharp focus Handel’s ability to paint the humanity of his characters and results in some of his most ravishing music. It’s not a piece that has had the benefit of too many stagings since the Peter Sellars production for Glyndebourne in the 1990s, but I’d love to see it receive the sort of serious theatrical treatment that a director like Katie Mitchell brings... maybe one day!
When did you discover your countertenor voice?
Like many English countertenors I was surrounded by countertenor voices from an early age thanks to the English choral tradition. I can’t say that I ever had any burning desire to be a countertenor and that I have ended up here is more of a happy accident than anything else! I stopped singing treble in my local cathedral choir in Chelmsford relatively late, I think I was about 14. About 6 months into my ‘retirement’ the choir had an unexpected choral scholar vacancy and my old choir master, Graham Elliott, wondered if I’d like to give it a try. So I turned up for the Sunday services and gave it a shot, having never really experimented with my voice in this register since my voice changed. I can’t say the immediate results were that impressive. The voice lacked any real power or definition. But it instinctively seemed to retain some of the warmth and naturalness of my treble voice. In any case, it was enough to persuade my choir master to give me the job on a permanent basis and I spent the next 3 years growing into my new voice, just in time to audition for a choral scholarship at King’s, Cambridge where I took my first voice lessons.