# Boy sings Queen of the Night



## panta dokimazete (Jul 20, 2007)

wow!

Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOFKDzxZ5V0


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## Semper Fidelis (Jul 20, 2007)

Wow!

Is that a woman's song?

What is it about boy's voices that makes them so well suited to such pure tones?


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## BobVigneault (Jul 20, 2007)

Yeah, ok. The talent displayed there is amazing, beautiful. The thing is, (and I realize that I'm just a hick from the mountains of Vermont but,) that fellow is singing a ladies song, he's singing like a lady and to top it off he's wearing *lederhosen*. I see years of tedious therapy sessions in that young man's future. Lederhosen, people??!!!


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## Semper Fidelis (Jul 20, 2007)

I was thinking the same thing but the kid's German so lederhosen is fine. The woman's song does seem kind of odd.


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## Anton Bruckner (Jul 20, 2007)

so gay. like dressing in women's clothes. but i will say he has talent.


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## Beth Ellen Nagle (Jul 20, 2007)

Really is amazing. I think part of that song was in the movie Amadeus? It's been awhile.


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## panta dokimazete (Jul 20, 2007)

SemperFideles said:


> Wow!
> 
> Is that a woman's song?



Yes! See this for comparison - go to 3 minutes in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4zqPDNigrw



> What is it about boy's voices that makes them so well suited to such pure tones?



Well - good question - actually a girl can sing in the same ranges, but even at this early age a boy has a bit more vocal "strength" than a girl, so can typically sustain the tone a bit better. 

Then there is the castrato...a woman voice AND a man's lungs. Must have been an awesome sound...but at at price - thanks RCC! 

Here is one of the only recordings of a castrato - not very good, unfortunately - this guy is no Farinelli.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv-S3uoeTXg

Here is a movie clip from Farinelli - they used a woman to voice - it would have been a MUCH larger tone, but this is historically accurate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWMOmBohlTE&mode=related&search=


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## BobVigneault (Jul 20, 2007)

Yes it was Beth, that was the first thing I thought of. Well, ok, the fourth thing I thought of. It's from Mozart's The Magic Flute.


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## BobVigneault (Jul 20, 2007)

But JD, I thought YOU were a BASSO CASTRATO?


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## Semper Fidelis (Jul 20, 2007)

That's just gross JD. I'm sorry but this just goes to show the wickedness of Epicureanism.


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## Beth Ellen Nagle (Jul 20, 2007)

Amazing to get a little music lesson via YouTube!


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## panta dokimazete (Jul 20, 2007)

BobVigneault said:


> But JD, I thought YOU were a BASSO CASTRATO?



ooooo....why, I oughta! 

Obviously, a frustrated tenor in the house...


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## Semper Fidelis (Jul 20, 2007)

By the way, this YouTube thing is panning out pretty well. I'm glad I figured out how we could embed videos.


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## panta dokimazete (Jul 20, 2007)

SemperFideles said:


> By the way, this YouTube thing is panning out pretty well. I'm glad I figured out how we could embed videos.



yah - you should do GodTube, too.

Oh - on the medical side of the castrato:


> Effect of castration on the male voice
> 
> Removal of the testes results in the absence of male-type growth of the larynx. In the only recorded post-mortem examination of a castrato the dimensions of the larynx were strikingly small, with the vocal cords the length of a female high soprano. However, in a castrato somatic growth continued unhindered, resulting in a voice very different from that of the prepubertal boy. Although there was the high pitch of the child, soprano, or contralto, it was associated with fully grown resonating chambers provided by the pharynx and oral cavity as well as an adult thoracic capacity, made even more effective by intensive voice training. Yet although the pitch may have been similar to that of a female, the timbre of the voice was different. A contemporary critic described the castrato sound as being "as clear and penetrating as that of choirboys but a great deal louder with something dry and sour about it yet brilliant, light, full of impact".8



**winces**


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## Semper Fidelis (Jul 20, 2007)

jdlongmire said:


> yah - you should do GodTube, too.


I'm sorry, there's just something irreverant about the name. It reminds me too much of the idea of TestaMints that something completely innocuous like a network path is somehow more "holy" because it's got a Christian moniker.



> Oh - on the medical side of the castrato:
> 
> **winces**


That's just gross. Thanks for filling my mind with disturbing things. You're stumbling me brother!


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## BobVigneault (Jul 20, 2007)

That's very interesting JD. **crosses legs**


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## panta dokimazete (Jul 20, 2007)

SemperFideles said:


> I'm sorry, there's just something irreverant about the name. It reminds me too much of the idea of TestaMints that something completely innocuous like a network path is somehow more "holy" because it's got a Christian moniker.



I with you 100%, brother...there is some wheat in with the chaff, though - might be nice to have access to...just a thought.



> That's just gross. Thanks for filling my mind with disturbing things. You're stumbling me brother!



I repent!


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## Richard King (Jul 20, 2007)

If that kid will loosen the suspenders on those pants he won't have that problem.


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## panta dokimazete (Jul 20, 2007)

Richard King said:


> If that kid will loosen the suspenders on those pants he won't have that problem.


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## VictorBravo (Jul 20, 2007)

jdlongmire said:


> Yes! See this for comparison - go to 3 minutes in:



The boy is remarkable and he'll probably grow up to be a very talented baritone. (I was a pretty good soprano as a boy and now I am an untalented baritone).

But Diana Damrau just blew me away. The fact the anyone can sing that role brings me goosebumps, the way she does it brought me to tears. Yikes.


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## panta dokimazete (Jul 20, 2007)

victorbravo said:


> The boy is remarkable and he'll probably grow up to be a very talented baritone. (I was a pretty good soprano as a boy and now I am an untalented baritone).
> 
> But Diana Damrau just blew me away. The fact the anyone can sing that role brings me goosebumps, the way she does it brought me to tears. Yikes.



Probably one of the most dramatic renditions in terms of theatrical and vocal styles I have seen!


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## BobVigneault (Jul 20, 2007)

I'm confused JD, I thought that in opera there is no dialog unless it's sung. I thought that an opera is all singing and a musical had spoken dialog with songs interspersed.


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## panta dokimazete (Jul 20, 2007)

BobVigneault said:


> I'm confused JD, I thought that in opera there is no dialog unless it's sung. I thought that an opera is all singing and a musical had spoken dialog with songs interspersed.



Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) is actually a sub-genre of opera called Singspiel - a transitional form a little more dramatic and formalized than operetta and some spoken dialog - which is where musical theatre had it's origin. Although many composers utilized the form, Mozart perfected it.


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## turmeric (Jul 20, 2007)

Oh, my, am I learning things on this thread! 
That bit about the Singspiel was interesting though.


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