Brooklyn countertenor rises in Dallas
mainThe New York countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen has won the $10,000 first prize at the 30th Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. He also took the audience prize.
Second was Canadian Tenor Josh Lovell. Third came Mexican Tenor Mario Rojas.
Cohen, 23, was one of the winners of last year’s Met auditions. He’s going places.
I can never understand why the so called counter tenor voice is included in singing competitions. There is no genuine opera repertoire for it apart from the odd inclusion in some modern works. It should never be compared with the castrato voice as it is not authentic enough to be judged as to what the great baroque composers would have expected.
Have you not heard the young man sing? Absolutely beautiful! And that kind of voice is needed for baroque opera. A modern countertenor is closer than a mezzo would be, no?