Russell Oberlin, male alto, Handel: Ombra cara

Russell Oberlin, male alto. Ombra cara, from the opera Radamisto, George Frideric Handel, Kings Theatre, Haymarket, 1720.

Ombra cara di mia sposa,
deh! riposa,
e, lieta, aspetta la vendetta che farò!

E poi, tosto, ove tu stai,
mi vedrai
venir a volo
e, fedel, t'abbraccerò.
(da capo)

Ghost of my dear wife,
Ah! rest in peace,
And, happy, wait for the revenge that I will take.

Then, soon, where you stand,
See me
Flying to you
And, faithful, I will embrace you.
(return to the beginning)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Oberlin
• male
• alto
• castrato
• Handel
• Radamisto
• Baroque
• opera
• voice

[klemperer100]

MAGICO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ryan33bttm]

The final cadenza is stunning, and I doubt very strongly that any modern countertenor could pull it off to Oberlin's standard. I am a natural male alto and even I don't always have a made-to-order D3-F5 riff in my pocket at all times, at least not in chest voice.

[76liber]

Tout simplement magique. à partir de 7'30, étourdissant, à la limite du possible. Russell Oberlin reste injustement méconnu.

[Altiora101]

@Abracadabra208 or, alternatively, just because he simply could ;)

[Abracadabra208]

I guess the low D3 is also interpolated in the cadenza to remind the confused listener that yes, he is a man. :)

[Abracadabra208]

Wow, that low D3 of his was incredible! And the way it then spiraled up to an F5...

I remind myself that this was originally written for a castrato, and such low notes are staggering when one considers their physiology.

[CaraPhilos]

Breathtakingly beautiful. I wish he had been born a few decades later today, with the baroque renaissance, a young Russell Oberlin would become a mega-star. And an interesting chest register indeed. I am grateful that here we can hear his real overall range.

[mradaChris]

Awesome!

[velvetcaress]

A lovely listen. It would be splendid to have some of that beautiful artwork on my wall as well. ;-) Interesting to hear Russell extend down into his chest register - quite an unusual quality to it. Thank you Stephen. :-)