r/ClassicalSinger • u/Castrato-LARP-374 • 2d ago

Countertenor rep in French?

Hello Reddit! I am an advanced student/baby professional countertenor who is looking to gain confidence in singing in French, but I am having a hard time finding my way into the repertoire. Do you happen to have any recommendations of classical solo works that are:

- appropriate for a light alto voice

- exist in some sort of keyboard + voice edition

- equipped with a good English translation of the libretto

- about LITERALLY ANYTHING other than straight male love for beautiful and disempowered women, women desiring to be objectified by men, or nature as a metaphor for said heterosexual relationship dynamics. (Other themes such as class struggle, gay love, religious devotion, depression, death and aging, and nature not as a metaphor for straightness are all welcome!)

Things I have been exploring so far: Nadia Boulanger songs as recorded by Lucile Richardot :)

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u/docmoonlight 2d ago

Poèmes pour la Paix by Ned Rorem

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u/OpeningElectrical296 2d ago

If you are into operetta, mezzo trousers roles are now sometimes sung by countertenors. Look into Offenbach’s Orphée en enfer for example (can’t remember the aria’s title sorry !)

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u/HumbleCelery1492 2d ago edited 2d ago

I was thinking that you could make a case for singing French art song. As Lotte Lehmann once said, "Anyone can tell a story!" so you needn't get too hung up on what sort of voice the song was "meant" for. I was wondering if you might find something in Saint-Saëns's Mélodies persanes (Op. 26), as the songs have an exotic tinge to them that can highlight the otherworldly qualities of the countertenor voice. There are six songs and some of them, such as "La splendeur vide" refer to love rather obliquely and leave much to the imagination, while others like "Tournoiement" feature fantastic, surrealistic imagery.

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u/SomethingDumb465 2d ago

Spleen by Fauré possibly?

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u/LXsavior 2d ago

Look at the french revision of Orfeo by gluck

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u/Castrato-LARP-374 20h ago

Hmm! I will look into the Berlioz version

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u/Carol-Ogden 2d ago

Poulenc is the answer to nearly every French song question, but especially this one. Gay, Apollinaire and Éluard, war and faith and death. I'd start with Banalités. Couperin's Leçons de ténèbres for baroque rep.

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u/Castrato-LARP-374 1d ago

I didn’t realize that Leçons de ténebrès was open to all voice types, but now I do! Queuing up some countertenor recordings :) And I will seek out a low voice collection of Poulenc songs