David Daniels

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It's a truism by now that countertenors have made a notable comeback in our time, but David Daniels--Amazon.com's Opera & Vocal Artist of 2000--isn't about to rest on his laurels. As if his recent successes weren't enough to set him apart, on this recital album Daniels forays beyond the countertenor's stereotypical domain of the baroque to interpret lieder of Beethoven and Schubert, as well as French mélodies and Vaughan Williams. A stunningly beautiful disc. --Thomas May

This disc should have been titled Countertenor Escapes Baroque, for the gifted David Daniels here nods to the Baroque repertory to which his voice type has largely been confined, but also plunges forthrightly into core Romantic and modern song styles (as he had so successfully into the classical period in his Sento Amor collection). That should be reason enough to give this disc a serious listening. A second reason is that Daniels's countertenor is a remarkable instrument; on most of the items here he sounds like a good lyric soprano. A third, and most important, reason is that his interpretations are worth hearing. Daniels may not be completely comfortable in the French mélodies, but he really makes a meal of the Schubert and Beethoven lieder and the Vaughan Williams songs, sounding fully at home in the repertory and displaying a sensitivity to the text that sheds new light on these lyric gems. Still, the baroque items come off best; his Salve amiche by Caldera alone is worth the price of the disc. --Dan Davis

David Daniels Was His Usual Dreamy Self...

Interview with David Daniels by James Jorden

From parterre box, the queer opera zine

Excerpt:

James Jorden: Do you consider yourself an opera queen?

David Daniels: I was. Now I'm doing it, so it's hard to be a fan of other singers - I know that sounds bad, but other singers would know what I'm talking about. When I was in college, yes, I was an opera queen. There was Cincinnati opera in the summer, which was a lot of Barbara Daniels. I heard Martina Arroyo sing Turandot there, and one of the best performances I've ever seen: Romeo and Juliette, with Ricky Leech and Faith Esham. They were fantastic. My favorite singers when I was growing up were Corelli and Montserrat, and then I found that concert they did together on CD, I was in heaven! I don't know that any one person influenced me, really, but rather the fact that I grew up around performing...

Undressed in San Francisco

Interview with David Daniels by Ching Chang

From parterre box, the queer opera zine

Excerpt:

Ching Chang: What would you say to countertenors of a previous generation, who might feel that they did the brunt of the work educating the public, while you little golden voiced boys are now reaping the rewards?

David Daniels: Certainly some great work was done before people like Brian Asawa or myself came along, but I think there are voices out there now that are more accessible to the average opera goers, than, say, Drew Minter's, Randall Wong's or Jeffrey Gall's. Our voices are different. I'm not saying that they're better, I'm just saying that it's a different sound that we have, that has opened up doors to mainstream opera houses.

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