Search - The Art of Russell Oberlin on DVD

Art of Russell Oberlin

Vinylmeister | BAy Area, California | 01/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This program is largely of historic value. Russell Oberlin had a unique voice, unlike any other male singer I've heard (including todays countertenors - Scholl, Daniels, Asawa, Popken, Taylor, Fouchecourt as well as the older generation - Deller, Bowman, Chance, Esswood. Jacobs, Visse, Ragin.) He had an incredibly high natural voice which enabled him to sing without using the falsetto technique. The low quality black and white Kinescope films from television broadcasts give an excellent idea of Oberlin's skill and talent. The sound quality is not state of the art for 2006 but good enough to judge his singing. He's not the most vivid thespian but good enough to make the staged arias viewable without laughter. There are two interviews, a brief one which precedes the American show and a recent (2004) lengthy one after the Radio Canada recital. I first heard Oberlin live in 1956 and I've never forgotten the startling beauty of his singing. I also saw/heard him perform in Britten's "Midsummers Night Dream" in the early 1960's and have collected as many of his recordings as I could find.

For those who wonder why the countenor voice was resurrected in modern times, these videos give the answer. They display a voice that is sensuously beautiful, tastefully utilized and a quantum dimension more satisfying than the first "modern" countertenor (really a falsettist) Alfred Deller."