David Daniels - Venti turbini - Rinaldo (Handel)

[oceanodefuego1]

¡Qué horrible! Posee unos sonidos tan estridentes y tan débiles. La coloratura es espantosa. La maestra Podles y la maestra Horne en verdad la cantan con mayor potencia; esto sólo le va a una contralto o una mezzosoprano.

[doggygenesis]

AWSOM FALSETTO IN THE BEGINNING!!! :D

[maxtanz]

"stonato come una campana"

[Nicrossmen]

@maxtanz ma dai!!! non è vero...

[zanderlink57]

WONDERFUL

[HerrWarja]

Isn't Rinaldo suppost to be a knight and here his dressed like a ganster from the 30's. Well anyway, the music is there! :-)

[luigipavabartolotti]

la voce è fantastica ma le agilità sono un obrobrio w podles e restano nell'ambito di controtenori w jaroussky

[sk8nruff]

440...poor guy lolz! what's with the shoe?

[kiltedboy1950]

I have this DVD and I hate it. It's just plain ugly. Daniels just doesn't cut it here and he is never ever good to look at.

[goldenthroat86]

I went to school with David and you could not meet a nicer guy. Yes, he has a normal speaking voice! A bit low for a Tenor actually...which he was at the time. His Tenor voice was nothing to write home about, but I had great respect for his intelligence and musicality. Occasionally, I would drag him into a practice room (Or at parties!) and he would sing SOPRANO arias. He would sing Verdi, Puccini, etc. He had a HUGE high C and sound the sopranos were jealous of! Look at him now!

[patukott]

Oh yeah - now he has definitely become somebody to write home about:):):)

[GoblinInventor]

apparently from what I hear high baritones make good countertenors... I envy those who can do it, kind of want to train that voice, but... worried that I'll blow out my voice, and I like my baritone...

[leoperarm]

beautiful voice and technique! but the whole experience was totally ruined by that staging! what the hell is going on in the director's mind! I wish I've never seen this :-((

[patukott]

Man, why you just don`t close your eyes;) ?

[leoperarm]

why did the director had to open his mind so much? Disgusting...

[patukott]

I agree totally...

[CARBONCINO125]

th staging looks great on th video ----why be SOOOOOO uptite abt it ?

[leoperarm]

it is pretty disgusting, a total lack of respect. May the stage designer compose his own opera with the staging that pleases him/her.

[CARBONCINO125]

lack of respect ? just because everyone does not run around in 18th cent wigs -and costume ------ what is this ---MASTERPIECE THEATRE ?

[leoperarm]

if this opera was mad to stand in 18th century wigs, why would you do this ridiculous 'modern' staging that simply makes the work seem vulgar, ordinary and stupid? believe me, I'm young and I don't like this at all.

------what is this------ RUBBISH!

[shambala1988]

I totally agree with you I think that every opera should be staged according to the time it was made at. For example everyone you should look up movie Farinelli and see how amazingly beautiful stage is there :)

[onegnometorule]

Excellent. With philisters like leoparm, the Met in NY will never starve. Go there and enjoy people in biiiiig beautiful costumes (at least after they will have fired the current stage director because like people booh his laudible attempt to take dust off the cultural embarassment that it is).

[eradesso]

and you don't think his singing is disrespectful? :)

I find that much scarier than the staging to be honest.

It's a horribly fatigued voice, it has no colour and richness. This guy's gone completely downhill but the worst has yet to come with Or la tromba.

Why don't light countertenors leave this aria to heavy contraltos?! Podles, Horne, Mijanovic, Prina..those are the Rinaldos!

[leoperarm]

I like his voice... even if some women sing it better.

Instead of heavy contraltos, I thinks it's more castrato-like to have a mezzo (Genaux for example) or a light countertenor.

[eradesso]

While I may respect your taste for a smaller, lighter voice in the role it's not necessarily related to what Handel wanted. He's famous for adapting parts according to whichever singer was available unlike some Bel Canto composers or Mozart that tailored roles around a specific singer's voice.

[eradesso]

Also, the whole castrato speculations always tend to be pointless since we have no proof of all the claimed miraculous qualities of their voices, but granted those speculations were true, castrati are said to have a good middle and low as well as high, which definitely isn't the case of most counterternors.

I also respect you may like Daniels but in this Rinaldo performance it's objectively disgraceful, technically speaking.

[DaOperaBuff]

@eradesso It's not all speculation. There is much written about them, their vocal qualities, and their vocal abilities - from good sources (often, themselves, since some castrati wrote treatises). Castrati had even voices (top to bottom), often large ranges (vocal development in limbo, basically), unmatched breath support, perfect pitch/innotation, and exceptional flexibility. They are the root of Bel Canto. Not having an even voice back then meant you were done as a singer.

[eradesso]

Yes you said it, "written". There is no real recorded evidence and surely if I were to write a treaty about myself I'd hardly underline my shortcomings, wouldn't you?

When you say "castrati had even voices" etc, just how do you know it? were you there to hear Farinelli? Nope. So you should say "they are said to have had" not "they had"

Besides, the castration process has no impact whatsoever on intonation and breath support.

[Elcore]

@eradesso Don't you mean 'the castration process *was said to have had* no impact'?

[alagon]

Bravo, majsteru!

[iAlejandro81]

Andreas Scholl ... search for him on YouTube... an amazing Countertenor.

[Hoopskidoodle]

Wow, a countertenor voice coming from a middle age man is disturbing.

[matticello1979]

Ich war an dem Tag in der Vorstellung und ich kann nur sagen, dass es einer der schönsten Opernabende meines Lebens war. Orchester und fast alle Sänger waren einsame spitze. Zusammen mit der congenialen Regie von Alden kam es zu einem wirklichen Höhepunkt in der Münchener (und nicht nur) Opernwelt....

[Guenniistes]

gratuliere, also ich habe mir die DVD gekauft, aber Bühnebild und Anzüge der brill. Darsteller einfach nur schaurig.

[GoblinInventor]

Anyone know how to characterize the difference in David Daniels voice vs Philippe Jarousskys voice? They're both quite interesting, and I've been looking into the comparison recently...

[PeterPan060]

GoblinInventor - google "Listening to Singers" (including the quotation marks) and take the first link. I have a copy of the book it's from ("Your Voice: An Inside View" by Scott McCoy (no, not the politician!)) so I can vouch for its legitimacy.  Hope that helps. :)

[eradesso]

I would actually class Jaroussky as a sopranista (male soprano) rather than a counter-tenor.

His voice doesn't go as low as that as a counter-tenor.

[GoreyFantod]

Search for "countertenor" on Wikipedia - they have a pretty thorough explanation.

[ArchangelStinger]

question!!! is richard marx or russel from airsupply tenor or counter tenor? can u please give me example of more countertenor in the pop genre and not in the opera to make it more easier to understand...pls!!!thanks!!

[Snugglevixen]

Try Jeff Buckley.

[naga22041980]

wonderful voice, wonderful technique.

sounds so easy to sing when he does it - but aria is so difficult indeed (i`m coloratura soprano - so i know)

[tlbarber]

as a countertenor, I can tell you that 'falsetto' is a misnomer. it means literally, 'false voice'. A woman speaks in her chest register and trains her head voice as her primary singing instrument, mixing into her chest at the bottom. Is she false? This is what a countertenor does. We must have a certain facility and then train...

[NatashaNabokov]

The staging is intersting, I kind of want to know how it ties in w/ the opera. The sets are rather cool looking....

[whatdoaido]

thank you for posting this!

[TheLazyAuthor]

yeah, wikipedia linked me here, so I assume he is using his head voice, but WHAT THE HELL!! I'm bari/tenor and sing like an octave below that...I may just give up singing altogether now, knowing I will never be that good.

[mxdblessing]

there are two types of countertenor: the more common one is those like david daniels, who sing in their "head", or "falsetto", register. the vocal cords come together much differently than in chest voice singing. though they are quite rare, there are some men who naturally have a singing voice that is this high (look for russell oberlin vids). the difference is that daniels CHOSE to be a countertenor; oberlin did not. he simply was one. the timbre between the two is very different asaresult

[rlee1976]

I'm so sick of all the quibbling over falsetto or modal voice. Daniels says himself he studied as a tenor in college and it wasn't until about 1994 (a couple of years before his countertenor opera debut at Glimmerglass) that he started venturing into the countertenor range seriously (as a career pursuit). It is head voice that is supported by diaphragmatic breathing and mixed in the lower register (down towards middle C) into chest voice (modal).

[tomkellycartoons]

to rlee1976....THANK you!

[gamgee87]

That is SO AWESOME!

[Shebrenilehu]

Anothe stupid question: is he using falsetto or it's his... erm... normal singing voice?

[ratkillerthe]

To hear an example of a countertenor using a modal (normal) voice technique in the alto/mezzo-soprano range (David Daniels in the title role of Georg Friedrich Handel's Rinaldo, WIKIPEDIA

[plantluver9]

his falsetto, thats what countertenors are all about

[DPONet]

if you can't tell the difference, then who the hell cares ? ^^

[adult159]

mmm counter tenor.

[KufrAkbar]

Another beautiful David Daniels performance.

Some of these baroque alto roles were written for castrati, who had more lung power than any female, although nowadays female altos can handle them. We have a choice now: A man with a woman's range, or a woman in a man's clothes . :)

[flashu]

That's so scary but he's awesome. I've never heard anything like that coming from a man...

[jeffbrak]

Beautiful singing, but the staging is a slap in the face to Handel.

[citibank82]

great !

[citibank82]

diese Regiearbeit hat das bayrische Puplikum mehr als gespalten. Allerdings ist das Countertrio einzigartig. Vorallem D. Daniels! Dessen Venti Turbini Maßstäbe setzt !

[tigerboy1966]

Another stupid question I suppose, but what is his speaking voice like?

[Samuelc10]

Actually, he has a normal speaking voice, because he originally started off as a tenor, but found out he had a high falsetto range to sing in. I remember this from an interview I watched him give on tv.

[thejonno]

his larynx didn't develop normally during puberty, thus he an sing extremely high for a male.

[tigerboy1966]

I'm not an opera fan, but this is astonishing stuff. The voice is so high and yet it doesn't sound in the least bit feminine- very strange! How is this kind of voice produced????

[FrankieGrasshoppa]

the voice type is called a counter-tenor, name pretty much explains it all

[tastibasti]

i think andreas scholl and philippe jaroussky would done it better ;O)

[patukott]

Now that's a question of taste:) Amen

[erictellez]

I think that at least jaroussky use the falsetto, and daniels not, he is a real countertenor

[erictellez]

Actually I just verify that and Im wrong, sorry my mistake. Yes just question of taste.

[handelfan610]

i like the staging...i just don't understand it. i think i need to by rinaldo...because all the excerpts i've heard from it...i've liked. i'm a handel fan anyhow.

[coaxqueen]

Awesome! he have a beautiful singing in the melodic line and an amazing voice clear alto tone

btw I`m not agreed, Dominique Visse is a real countertenor, I think Lesne or Scholl are falsetists though

[orlando098]

what's a "real countertenor|"every one I have heard sounds to me like they are singing using a resinforced falsetto sound,apart from Radu Marian, who is said to be an endrochrinological castrato. No man with a normal speaking voice can sing countertenor range without using a falsetto mechanism, but there's nothing wrong with that, maybe we should not call it "falsetto"-- that sounds pejorative - and rather "light head voice"or soemthing?

[Thrax1982]

Listen to Arturo Escorza singing the alto aria 'Pallido in sole' in full voice (and then compare it with his falsetto version). He's a very high tenor.

Also the tenor altino Rodrigo del Pozo can sing alto repertoire in full voice (Buxtehude's 'Jubilate Domino' for example - not on Youtube)

[Heartlessiceboy]

Many people confuse real countertenors with falsettistas ,even that the existence of real countertenors is proved by medical science since 1884 with the invention of the laringoscopy procedure by Manuel Vicente García(Maria Malibran`s brother)

but there r clear diferences...i mean do hear the same sounds from David Daniels or Philippe Jaroussky that from Alfred Deller or Dominque Vissé?

[Heartlessiceboy]

Falsettista force his vocal chords to get a high sound that tends to be scratchy,without vibrato(or fake vibrato maked with the vocal chords) and without harmonics,is falsettista's voice is small and hardly fill an small theater,a real countertenor is a male with a voice that aparently broke in puberty but theres no calcification on the chords(countertenor chords r bigger that regular singers)

[Heartlessiceboy]

and still can sing in a mezzo or even soprano(in some cases) and is head voice not falsetto u just can't sing this on an opera theater with falsetto u will not last the entire show

[patukott]

What the HELL is going on here ??? DD is as glorious as ever, but... OK - I wouldn't call myself a conservative (EXCEPT in opera matters:)), but this is way too extreme. These decorations !!! And, MauMau, for goodness's sakes, YOU are certainly not the one to be sorry here:)

[lucjacquet]

This is one of Munich's typical shit productions... A disaster I agree - just close your eyes and listen !!

[patukott]

Ouais - je crois que ca sera une attitude raisonnable 'a adopter:)

[manemane52]

navrée , il n'y a personne pour provoquer les émotions et le bonheur que Jaroussky

[lucjacquet]

Beurk !! Jaroussky a une voix très haute - presque soprano en fait, et il fait parfois des choses très belles, mais côté technique et performance vocale, RIEN A VOIR.... Bon, d'accord, je suis fan de David Daniels, je ne prétends pas à la neutralité !

[manemane52]

quel bonheur de ne pas être tombée sur un terroriste du" bon goût musical" ,ce qui me permet d'entendre votre avis , au lieu de me mettre en colère.merci à vous

[Grdiniz]

hiuohaiuahioUHAIOAIUHOAIUHEOIU­AHOIHOIAUHE

[lucluc1000]

I love David Daniels!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Zerbinetta2000]

Andemic,che vuol dire che deve studiar meglio il solfeggio? Il solfeggio questo artista lo conosce BENISSIMO,tuttavia può capitare che in una esecuzione dal vivo "sfuggano" alcune Note-sfuggivano anche alla Callas,alla Horne ,alla Sutherland...ma nessuno ha MAI pensato di suggerir Loro di studiar Solfeggio-e concludo:se a un Uto UGHI sfugge una Nota in un Concerto , Lei gli suggerirebbe di studiar Solfeggio? Se sì , allora il Problema è Suo , o Sapiente Signora!

[cositasmiasparami]

Me encanta esta ópera y he tenido la suerte de ver esta representación, seguramente la más divertida que he vivido. Iré a verla de nuevo.

[contessabrilliante]

You're right about "this ridiculous staging",

but you've got to admit one thing. It's hilarious. My first reaction when I saw it, I bust out laughing. I wonder if any one else had the same reaction.

[andemic619]

E' bravissimo ma forse dovrebbe studiare meglio il solfeggio, visto che non si accorge che molte volte accelera i tempi rispetto all'orchestra, le semicrome sono troppo sfuggenti. Molto meglio le sue performances rossiniane.

[Counterten0r]

Also, Falsetto isn't just singing in a high range as a male, falsetto is a distinguishable vocal position - you can enter this position in your lower ranges too, which (as I've heard) as produce interesting tonal effects.

[malloy611]

David is struggling here as do most counter tenors. Volume is a problem few of these performers can come to terms with. Bowman..Jacobs rare exceptions. The modern Counter tenor is probably more of a natrural baritone singing in falsetto..rather than a natural tenor or Alto singing purely a higher register.

[tuktukpsh]

He was a tenor.

[Counterten0r]

No I'm sorry but Daniels is not using falsetto in this piece. Though alot of Counter-tenor's have a Baritone/tenor/bass speaking voice, they train themself to use the counter-tenor vocal chords - this is what a counter-tenor is. You're confusing a counter-tenor with a hautre contre/castrato.

[Thrax1982]

Haute contre has nothing to do with castrato.

A haute contre is a very high tenor who can sing well into alto range using his normal voice.

[Gudrun74]

Indeed Thrax1982. Good to read a competent comment from time to time.

... with his NORMAL voice, no falsetto and above all the singer not being castrated!

[gammypage]

you only have one pair of vocal chords lol

[Garry24]

I like Jaroussky. Other countertenors are boring.

[eustazio]

i suggest you try bejun mehta before giving such a hasty conclusion. Dominique visse also is far from boring. Who are you thinking about ?

[gehaktmolen]

Jaroussky sounds sooo UGLY. I prefer Scholl <3

[lucluc1000]

David Daniels Bravissimo!!! I love you!!! ;-)

[ccanaless]

Di speranza un bel raggio

Ritorna a consolar l'alma smarrita;

Sì adorata mia vita!

Corro veloce a discoprir gl'inganni;

Amor, sol per pietà, dammi i tuoi vanni!

Venti, turbini, prestate

Le vostre ali a questo piè!

Cieli, numi, il braccio armate

Contro chi pena mi diè!

[Operaddict]

I love D.D.'s singing...but I think it seems to work best in powedered wigs, gobs of lace and velvet waistcoats, tights and all that other "Baroque" stuff. These costumes and this staging makes a male soprano's efforts seem a little over the top.

[FlautasyCanto]

¡¡¡Excelente!!! AMO a David Daniels, tiene una voz hermosa y cálida y una actuación extraordinaria... Gracias por compartir este video.. estoy de acuerdo con la persona que dice que no entiende cuál es el empeño de comparar los videos como si fuese una competencia...

¡¡Excellent!! I LOVE David Daniels, he has the most beautiful and warm voice and a great performance.. Thank you for share this and sorry for my bad english..

[bobsquadteam]

HLELO DAVID

[SCVoice]

If this excerpt is a disappointment, I'm not sure what it would take to satisfy. After several other arias in the same act, including the long, taxing "Cara sposa," this sprint follows quickly. The singer was then required to run up a flight of stairs (behind the wall) before the da capo. Pick your favorite countertenor: They might ALL be winded under those circumstances. Even if this were Daniels at his worst, I would hope to be that good. The performance was a triumph for him. I was there.

[ejerunes]

David Daniels... an amazing (if controlled) voice! Que Bello Voce... Many fans may puzzle at the fascination with the male counter-tenor voice.. but Handel (and Keiser, and Vivaldi, and Scarlatti) sound better (my opinion) with male counter-tenor voices... search for videos from Phillipe Jaroussky and Andreas Scholl for other versions. Recordings by Derek Lee Ragin are great as well, but few videos..

[ericfc93]

god damn david has let me down :-(

[dbutlin]

This is a voice made for an opera house instead of a cathedral choir! Real bel canto technique coupled with very fine, natural acting! He is incredible!

[MauMau1961]

Sorry guys, but I still don't understand why people have to elect "the best" in each video we post at Youtube. If someone post a Lara Fabian's video, Celine Dion's fans comment that Celine is better than Lara. This is so "little", so narrow minded. But in opera, I would expect less proselitism. Why could we just apreciate this performace for the good side and let the "competition" to pop singers fans?

[bobsquadteam]

Are u david daniels?

[palcika1]

why can't I thumb up this? You're so right.

[artdanks]

On the other hand, I found a much more interesting and clean performance of this aria by Konstantin Zbanichuk at, also on You Tube. (Although I don't care for the instrumental ensemble.)

[artdanks]

I normally love David Daniel's singing, but in my opinion his voice sounds a bit thick here, and not as clean as usual. It would be interesting to hear Philippe Jaroussky on this aria.

[CaballeroCatalan]

This is a great aria, but I don't like this countertenor voice here, it sounds... well, fake. I really think that this would only sound decent with a castrato, which unfortunately no longer exists.

[norcalrobbie2]

Umm... I'd think it actually pretty fortunate that real castrati DON'T exist anymore...

[Dauria007]

Simply horrible... %()

[32Styx]

David Daniels is more a 'mezzo' than a true countertenor, but he is nonetheless magnificent!!!

[Roscieto]

Venti, turnini, preastate le vostre ali a questo pie.

[javier2161]

I love voice of this singer. It´s really amazing! Cheers from Spain.

[princesuperstar]

His colorature is not very precise

[jeffquach]

ROFL

[urgrad03]

I have to admit that it still takes me a minute of giggling before I can then appreciate this type of Baroque music for what it is... I always feel like a goofy kid when I first her this voice come out of a man:o).

[sfkcbf]

Finding quality, appropriate-sounding male voices for Baroque opera is hard enough; but when directors feel compelled to impose rediculous staging upon the audience (apparently the rule today rather than the acception), the audience is cheated.

[sfkcbf]

Daniels has contributed much to the revival of Baroque high-male-voice roles (thank you, David); however, his timbre and warble are the antithesis on the composers' intended sound. Scholl, Esswood, Jaroussky are far better. Also, I wish we had more true male sopranos like Radu Marian, Randall Wong, Michael Maniaci.

[pirocagrande]

' his timbre is an antithesis on the composer's intended sound' ???? I did not understand that..can you be more clear??? Thank you

[antippas]

Scholl? Esswood? Yuck! Delicate churchy sounding voices that are useless in opera. Daniels is the best, also Jochen Kowalski. Enough masculine heft to carry these parts.  You want precision, listen to a harpsichord. Kowalsi did the best Orfeo ever (Gluck, not Monteverdi).

[xgianpatrick]

Scholl's voice useless in opera? What a stupid thing to write. These are all fine singers with different qualities, though Scholl offers precision coupled with a humanity that is uniquely provocative. It's not so simple as masculine vs. delicate...how limiting. Scholl himself said "We are human first...male or female second."

[antippas]

No, I'm afraid you are completely wrong. I just listed to Scholl's Vivi Tiranno to be sure, and he sound slike he is singing from inside a wet burlap bag. If I were in the cheap seats I would demand my money back on the grounds that his voice didn't reach the last 11 rows. Sounds like a Canterbury choirboy, and his idea of acting is to cross his arms. Daniels is an opera singer who happens to be a countertenor. School is a countertenor who sometimes ends up cast in an opera.

[xgianpatrick]

Actually, I find my position unassailable from a logical standpoint, but there's no point arguing further. Go ahead...demand your money back and return to your small world of big voice and obvious gesture. One size does not fit all.

[meyerbeerBC]

I love this production! I've seen it on stage and it was wonderful!

[janvkuick]

Seeing a performance on stage always is a great experience. It's like a victim falls in love with its kidnapper. I could bear even Wagner if i was in bonds.

[lesboreades]

Collonut! Força Daniels!!!

[janvkuick]

This is the worst version of venti turbini prestate I ever heard. Ok - nobody sings like Farinelli but Daniels should have heard Carolyn Watkinson's version or perhaps he could learn from Drew Minter or Andreas Scholl how a countertenor sings.

[PsychoLemur42]

Venti Turbini is NOT his best aria, by any means. If you listen to some of his other recordings, he is much better. I would suggest his CD of Handel oratorio arias.

[fairyboy05]

is not so dificult i think and daniel i thougth that i t was a montage. is like his voice is not from that body. but now i like him abit more not more that andreas scholl. his voice is so masculene as a contratenor.he do not make me think on a lady when he sings!

[llum82]

I have onlye one question I'm looking for this aria Venti Trubini someone of you have this aria , Can you give me the scores ? where I can get it becuase I need it ... Pleas answer me

Daniel is really nice

[Gudrun74]

Go to the German wikipedia , type in "Rinaldo", select the Handel opera, right on the bottom there's the weblink to the scores.

[carosassone]

One of the greatest opera singers in the world in a production that is beyond ridiculous. I have this on dvd, and there are many scenes far worse than this one. Despite that, David Daniels shines! David Walker gives an awesome perfomance in this production as well. Too bad such great talent had to perform in this garbage production.

[nzaok]

It was a terrible production - I too have the DVD and its painful to watch, who on earth can applaud such a preposperous scenario. The stars were however, stars! Voices and arias to die with!!! I play the DVD without watching - just for the music.

[Roscieto]

How 'fast' is this aria anayway? I can sing the version from Farinelli but this guy makes it seem like it's to fast and hard for him

[gorikuri]

Thanks for sharing this with us. Yeah, very strange stage decor indeed.

[Roscieto]

What's WITH the staging anyway?

[MauMau1961]

To mention one thing: what Rinaldo is doing with a woman's shoe in his hand??

[patukott]

I guess it`s supposed to mean he longs for her - or perhaps the director`s brilliant idea how to match the words "prestate le vostre ali a questo PIE":P ?

[oberonne]

I find the staging quite ridiculous indeed, fitting quite well the absurd libretto. I've been looking for a "Rinaldo" in which some action was performed in the stage istead of those endless arias da capo in which singers don't move a hair. From which theatre is this performance? Nevertheless bruilliant singing!

[MauMau1961]

Prinzregententheater, Munich

[selmareid]

I find the staging suitably bizarre for the plot, actually. If you don't mind, could you post Deborah York's arias (Combatti da forte and Lascia ch'io pianga)? The stage action for both of them is priceless!

[MauMau1961]

I need to capture thees arias first, but I will do.

[Roscieto]

Just how hard is it to sing Venti Turbini anyway?