I don't see any reason why a man should sound like a woman. What parts call for this ? Why should a man be dressed like a man and sound like a soprano ? Are there any parts for transvestites in opera ? I don't recall that in any story line. Maybe when Octavian is dressed like a girl in Rosenlavalier he could use a falsetto voice. What other plots that call for this ? Why would a woman be attracted to a soprano sounding man ? Are they doing parts today where a countertenor gets dressed like a woman and plays a womans' part ? If they do do this, is this done for titilation ? If not, what is the purpose ? David Daniels, to me, sounds like a third rate female voice. Why not have a first rate female voice sing his parts in drag ? What am I missing here ? There is no comparison with the castrato singers of olden times. The falsettist is not carrying on a tradition. A castrato voice didn't sound like a falsettist or countertenor or whatever you call them. Maybe if somebody with a lovely voice would like to volunteer for castration before they reach puberty and cultivates their voice from that point on, we will have the sound that Handel and others had in mind when they wrote their great epics, but until then, the falsettist does not fill the bill, in my opinion.
|