BEIRUT: Castrati were the first superstars of the opera world. In the first part of the 18th century, the height of the castrati craze, figures such as Farinelli and Senesino raked in fantastic amounts of lucre and allegedly engaged in rock ’n’ roll lifestyles that might put Keith Richards to shame.
Castrated before they reached puberty, these singers retained the unearthly upper-register of infant voices. The physical ramifications of emasculation transformed the castrati into extraordinary figures. Lack of testosterone meant that a castrato’s bones grew unusually long and gave him a huge, bellows-like chest behind his tiny vocal chords.
“They were gigantic,” says singer Matteo al-Khodr, “they were creatures, monsters. Everyone thought they were divine monsters. Because of their huge chests they could sing a single note for two minutes.”
Khodr is a countertenor, a male voice that emerges from natural endowment rather than ethically dubious surgical procedures. The vocal range is similar to that of female voices such as the contralto or even, in Khodr’s case, the mezzo-soprano.
“I’m a countertenor sopranista,” he explains. “I can sing four octaves.”
He doesn’t only hit the high notes. In the past couple of years, Khodr says, he’s discovered a rich baritone voice. This gives him a strong lower register where many countertenors are strained or thin.
“I discovered my countertenor voice before I discovered my baritone voice,” says Khodr. “I was doing exercises and my teacher said, ‘Oh my God! You have a deep, huge low voice!’ Now I’m mixing the countertenor and the baritone technique.”
It’s the eve of Khodr’s Eastertide concert in Beirut, a tradition going back five years. Having flown back from Paris – where he’s spending the year working on “vocal perfection” at the Ecole Normale Superieure de Musique with famed soprano Agnes Mellon – the soft-spoken singer is taking a break in his plush Clemenceau pad.
This year, Khodr is focusing on the repertoire of perhaps the most famous castrato singer of them all: Farinelli. Immortalized in Gerard Corbiau’s fantastically silly biopic, Farinelli dazzled 18th-century Europe and many leading composers of the day wrote arias especially for him.
Khodr will take on a selection of these ditties, including songs by Farinelli’s brother Riccardo Broschi and an aria from George Frideric Handel’s opera “Partenope.”
“We countertenors are the heritage of the castratos,” says Khodr, adding that the tune from “Partenope” is “beautiful, it’s gorgeous. You’ll be able to see the large range of notes that a castrato can have – the low voice and the high-pitched voice.”
These Farinelli-inspired works will occupy the second half of the concert. The first will focus on Easter traditions – Khodr will warble his way through Antonio Vivaldi’s “Stabat Mater” and excerpts of Johann Sebastien Bach’s “St. Matthew’s Passion.”
Countertenors are a niche element of the classical music world – according to Khodr there are only 52 working countertenors – but in these baroque-obsessed times, when Handel operas seem to be more frequently revived than the crowd-pleasers of Giacomo Puccini or Georges Bizet, it can be tricky for a countertenor to offer something new.
French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky recently released an album focusing on late 19th-century French composers, uncharted territory for the higher male voice. Khodr is eyeing up the German lieder tradition as his unique countertenor territory.
“The lieder and the German repertoire has never been made by countertenors,” says Khodr. “The particularity of the lieder is that it can be sung by any voice. It’s a very expressive way of singing.”
Khodr has chosen a tune from the “Liederkreis” of Robert Schumann for Thursday’s concert. Titled “In der Fremde” (In Foreign Lands), the tune details a character’s return to their home after a 30-year absence.
“It’s two-and-a-half minutes of pure, sensitive singing,” promises Khodr. “The music is just fantastic. You can feel the romantic movement of the 19th century in it.”
Khodr is something of a cult figure in Beirut, although his flamboyant style – with fancy on-stage costumes and pouting publicity mug-shots – may not be for purists. Khodr sees himself as someone who can bridge the gap between clubbing kids and the classical world.
“The classical world is very elitist,” says Khodr. “My aim is to open it to everybody. That’s why I have this image of a young fashion-addict. I love to go to clubs, I love to party. I love the cultural life and I love the night-life too.”
True to these diametric interests, Khodr doesn’t restrict himself to the classical repertoire. At Clemenceau’s Bardo lounge last summer, Khodr performed a no-holds-barred tribute to iconoclastic popstrel Lady Gaga as well as whacked-out German artist Klaus Nomi.
Farinelli, or at least the raffish Farinelli of popular legend, would probably approve.
Matteo al-Khodr sings at Downtown’s church of St. Louis des Capucins at 8:30 p.m., April 14. Tickets available at branches of Virgin Megastore (call +961 1 999 666) or at the church door from one hour before the concert.