Interview, James Hall on Elegy

I’m not entirely sure what the collective noun for countertenors is, but Glyndebourne certainly boasted a fine example this summer for their revival of Robert Carsen’s production of Rinaldo, starring Jakub Józef Orliński in the title-role, Tim Mead as Goffredo and Patrick Terry as Eustazio; making just as much of an impact, though, in his brief appearance towards the end of the evening was newcomer James Hall as the Christian Magician, singing with firm, distinctly ear-catching tone and revelling in Carsen’s Nutty Professor characterisation of the role. I was certainly keen to hear more, and a month or two later I got my wish when a new album of countertenor duets by Purcell and Blow from The King's Consort landed on my desk, with Hall sharing the billing with Iestyn Davies; the recording’s met with widespread acclaim, and it was a pleasure to question James during the autumn tour of Rinaldo (for which he was upgraded to the role of Goffredo) about the singers who’ve inspired him, his collaboration with Davies, and the challenges which aspiring countertenors continue to face in terms of training and early career opportunities.

Did you start your adult singing life as a countertenor, and who were your main inspirations early on?

Many countertenor origin stories tend to follow a similar route: an adolescent baritone or tenor playing around with his falsetto until he decides to shift to countertenor more full-time. I was fortunate as the choirmaster at my school in Salisbury was an alto lay clerk in the cathedral choir round the corner. When my voice began to break, my singing register remained in roughly the same place, so he was able to guide me to the alto section of the choir and ensure that I kept singing healthily. Obviously, a 16 year old boy singing Christmas descants led to some rather unwanted attention from some of the other boys so I did have a period of doubt. However, the moment for me was in September 2005 when Andreas Scholl sang at the Last Night of Proms in the Royal Albert Hall. He sang some Handel arias, as well as an arrangement of 'Fairest Isle' by Purcell and the folksong 'Down by the Salley Gardens' with guitarist John Williams. His poise on stage, the way he held the audience in his hand, his beautiful musicianship, his rich voice, the reaction from the crowd… That was the inspirational moment that made me realise I wanted to pursue singing as a countertenor. I bought as many countertenor albums I could afford. Andreas’s Arias for Senesino disc became a regular on my bedroom HiFi, along with amazing recordings of James Bowman, Michael Chance, Robin Blaze, Bejun Mehta and Phillipe Jaroussky. Each brought a voice and style that was so different from each other and they certainly inspired me in my early days.

How did your friendship with Iestyn Davies come about, and how different are your voices?

Due to the way countertenors are set in most pieces of music, we tend not to have the opportunity to cross paths too often. However, Iestyn and I have found ourselves working together quite frequently over the years! We first met whilst performing for the Academy of Ancient Music a few years ago, and I understudied him shortly after that when he sang The Boy/Angel in George Benjamin's Written in Skin for the Royal Opera House. We knew lots of mutual people and got chatting. A year later, I was invited to join him on Broadway in Claire Van Kampen’s play Farinelli and the King as the alternate singer. Mark Rylance was playing King Philip V and Iestyn and I shared the singing role of Farinelli alongside actor Sam Crane. We’ve been great friends ever since.

I think our voices sit in a pretty similar place, the repertoire and operatic roles we sing is almost identical. Like all countertenors, we have very unique timbres to our sound, but probably due to our history as friends and colleagues, we know each other's voice very well so we can blend and have the trust to bounce musical ideas between the two of us when performing. It’s great fun!

Michael Chance and James Bowman recorded a very similar programme of Purcell and Blow with The King’s Consort thirty-odd years ago – did you listen to that recording in advance of your sessions, or stay well clear?!

I know it well! During one of the concerts we did before the recording, it was noted that when The King's Consort recorded that disc, I wasn't born! That album is famous for countertenors and this repertoire, so it certainly informed some of the recording (how could it not!) but not a great deal. The style of baroque performance and countertenor singing has changed so much in the last thirty years so we were always going to be producing a very different disc.

Do you think that countertenors still face early-career challenges in terms of access to Young Artist schemes and opera schools because of the sort of repertoire they tend to programme – or are things moving on in that regard now?

Young operatic countertenors definitely have a difficult path to traverse. In terms of training, the options to countertenors are limited, with very few programmes able to fully commit to giving young countertenors the same level of performance opportunities as the more modal voice types (ie. everyone else!) due to the specialised nature of the voice-type. Whilst countertenors have become much more common in opera houses around the world, they are still quite niche in terms of the repertoire those houses put on (for example, a house may perform one production that involves a countertenor, but there will be a soprano or baritone role in every production that season). Countertenor roles in operas also tend to be rather high profile with very few smaller ones for developing singers: Giulio Cesare, Bertarido, Oberon, The Boy/Angel, Ottone, Rinaldo… They’re usually one of the leading roles suitable for established, experienced performers! Add to that the fact that countertenors aren’t usually a feature in an opera chorus, the opportunity for young aspiring singers to actually tread the boards can be uncommon.

However, there have been some good steps forward for young altos in the UK over the past few years. The National Opera Studio began taking countertenors on their course a few years ago, as has the Jette Parker Programme at the Royal Opera House. Conservatoire programmes are much more experienced with countertenor voices and are able to tailor the course accordingly with much more effectiveness. There are also increasing opportunities out there for developing countertenors in smaller independent opera companies. I personally cut my teeth on projects in London with invaluable companies like Opera Up Close and Hampstead Garden Opera, and in projects run for inspiring organisations like Tête à Tête and Grimeborn. More than anything else, getting the opportunity to be on stage as a progressing singer and be able to feel what works and what doesn’t is the most valuable thing.

You’re currently singing Goffredo in Glyndebourne’s tour of Rinaldo, after appearing as the Christian Magician in the same production during the main festival this summer – do you have any plans to step up to the title-role further afield, and what sort of repertoire is on your wish-list for the next five years or so?

I would love to sing Rinaldo one day, the great bravura aria 'Venti, turbini', the heartbreaking 'Cara sposa', the jubilant duet 'Ridono sul tuo labbro', the flair and panache of 'Or la tromba' … It’s a fantastic role! There are many great characters in Handel’s back catalogue that I’d love to perform, particularly some of those Senesino roles that Andreas recorded and inspired me to sing all those years ago. There’s a wealth of fantastic concert repertoire for countertenor that I’d love to explore too. I really enjoy studying Bach’s music; his solo cantatas like Vergnügte Ruh or Widerstehe doch der Sünde have been on my wish-list for a long time. I’d love to return to George Benjamin’s music again; I performed Written on Skin for the first time in September which I enjoyed immensely. He writes so brilliantly for the voice, so I hope that I get another opportunity to sing his music, perhaps even his concert piece Dream of The Song with orchestra and female chorus… To be honest, I’d just be happy to be singing anything at all. Every piece and project comes with its own wonderful qualities that help develop my musicianship and interpretation of the next. If I’m singing, I’m becoming more than I was, no matter what the work.