Russell Oberlin 1 of 4

[nbrobts]

Thank you for this. I remember attending a performance of The Play of Daniel in Cleveland,OH in the '50s which was one of the first really memorable happenings in my life. As the last note faded away, the audience just sat there, dumbstruck, for several seconds before erupting in applause. I was also a fan of the Pro Musica and heard a lecture which he presented. I'm glad to learn that he is still extant.

[ryan33bttm]

Vocalists of Oberlin's caliber simply do not exist any longer. IF a voice of his exact timbre were to spring up now, the classical arena would most likely bypass it for the simple reason that it faces certain limitations with respect to castrato repertoire. Though an incredible singer, Oberlin himself admited in a 2004 interview that his particular voice wouldn't withstand a steady diet of high-flying castrato opera, hence his reason for only performing demanding pieces occasionally.

[molealto]

He's actually closest in spirit to a French haute-contre, or the "low countertenor" voice written for by Purcell; as amatorynumber notes, there is falsetto in Oberlin's voice but only at the very top. There are other tenors around who have a similar technique today - Covey-Crump, Fouchecourt, Padmore, Agnew, Anders Dahlin, Werner Marschall.

Renaissance falsettists tended to be a good deal higher, and use almost pure falsetto technique - e.g. Spanish tiples or Bartolommeo Barbarino.

[gigie555]

Oberlin is an unusual countertenor compared to modern falsettos like Scholl, Chance etc. A full sounding male alto voice without the hooting sound we associate with countertenors. His speaking voice sounds just like his singing voice. I discovered this fellow performing with Glenn Gould in Bach`s cantata BWV54. Probably the closest you will ever get a to a true castrati.

[amatorynumber]

@gigie555 I am afraid you are wrong, he is the closest you get probably to a renaissance falsettist, who used mixed technique like he did (don't be fooled, Oberlin used 'some' falsetto in his upper resgister). A countertenor probably sounds more like a castrato, althought of course, it is nothing like a castrato. For a modern castrato sound, look up Radu Marian. I don't think he is very good but he is a natural soprano, no falsetto. You will see the difference. He had some hormonal problems.