Countertenors ( male altos ) once were something of a rarity in the opera world. But in many ways nowadays, they're all the rage.
With the ongoing revival of Baroque music, countertenors have increasingly proven that they can take on roles originally written for star castrati in the 17th and 18th centuries so modern-day opera companies don't always have to turn to casting mezzo-sopranos in male drag. And there are several new operas debuting that prominently feature roles specifically written for the countertenor voice.
For proof, just look to award-winning singer and actor Anthony Roth Costanzo. The gay countertenor is performing in six world premieres this season.
Two of Costanzo's most high-profile assignments include the current run of the tragedy Bel Canto by composer Jimmy LÃ"pez and librettist Nilo Cruz for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the comedy Great Scott by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Terrence McNally that debuted this past October for Dallas Opera. Costanzo will reprise his Great Scott role of stage manager Roane Heckle for San Diego Opera in May.
"I'm working with 13 different composers on different projects for future seasons," said Costanzo, excited about the vitality of new music. "As countertenors, we're sort of relegated to before 1750 and after 1950 and we miss the 200 years of the repertoire that most opera companies do. It's exciting for us to expand that repertoire on this end of that divide and have a new set of things to sink our teeth into."
In Bel Canto, Costanzo portrays the teenage terrorist Cesar. It's a character that Costanzo first encountered when he read Ann Patchett's best-selling 2001 novel Bel Canto that was inspired by the drawn-out hostage crisis of 1996 and '97 when mostly young members of The MRTA ( Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement ) took over a Japanese Embassy residence in Lima, Peru. Even on the page, Costanzo thought that Cesar should be a countertenor if the work was ever transformed into an opera.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for a countertenor because as a teenage boy, it seems to sort of fit in a way that feels uniquely otherworldly, especially the way that Jimmy [Lopez] has written it," said Costanzo, highlighting his big Act II aria where Cesar reflects on his troubled past and how he found solace in the natural sounds of the jungle.
"Cesar's character is so timid that he couldn't assert himself very much at the beginning of this, but he really comes out of his shell by the end," Costanzo said. "And watching that and knowing that makes his downfall that much more emotional."
Onstage in Bel Canto, Costanzo is costumed largely in a drab T-shirt and military fatigues. But offstage, Costanzo has built up a reputation for intermingling with stars of the fashion world. Designer Austin Scarlett of Project Runway fame is a friend, and they captured some media buzz when they appeared together at the 2013 opening night of the Metropolitan Opera in matching flowing capes created by Scarlett.
"Growing up mostly in New York and making it my prerogative to be culturally diverse and have a whole different set of inspirations, I found my way into the world of fashion and art and film and all different kinds of things," said Costanzo, who was recently named a curator for the new Brooklyn performance art venue National Sawdust and by Vanity Fair as one of "7 Emerging Artists You Should Know About." "I generally think that people in fashion, or art, or in film—even if they know nothing about opera—are primed because of their fixation on the aesthetic to really love it."
And Costanzo stressed that all of his work in new operatic repertoire has strong roots in the Baroque era.
"Handel and the baroque works are really not only my bread and butter but my home base—both vocally and technically," Costanzo said. "They really give me grounding and a point of departure and they give me an emotional depth which I use in almost everything I do—even in Bel Canto."
Costanzo is also very proud to follow in the footsteps of out star David Daniels, whom he credits with helping with the resurgence of baroque opera music and popularizing the countertenor voice part.
"[David Daniels] defined a new age of countertenors, one in which major opera houses could have them because they were singing with a full-blooded sound," Costanzo said. "He's been so kind to me and we've become colleagues in multiple productions we've done together."
Although Costanzo emphasized that not all countertenors are gay, he said he realizes there may be a misconception about that among the general public.
"I don't find singing as a countertenor to be effeminizing, which is really interesting because of course I am singing 'like a girl,'" Costanzo said. "But it's a very powerful sound, and in a way it's louder than what I could do with my chest voice or with my male register."
Bel Canto continues at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, 20 N. Wacker Dr., through Sunday, Jan. 17. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 5 and 13 with 2 p.m. matinees Jan. 8 and 17. The performances on Jan. 5 and 8 will be recoded for future broadcast on Great Performances on PBS. Tickets range from $20 to $349. Call 312-827-5600 or visit www.lyricopera.org/ .
