countertenor

James Thomas Bowman (b. November 6, 1941) is a famous countertenor born in Oxford, England. His career spans opera, oratorio, contemporary music and solo recitals. He began singing as a boy chorister at Ely Cathedral. He later went to New College, Oxford. He was a member of the New College and Christ Church choirs. In 1967 he auditioned for Benjamin Britten's English Opera Group and was cast as Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, a work with which he has subsequently had a long and distinguished association.

Andreas Scholl (born November 10, 1967) is a countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto range. He specialises in Baroque music. His range is akin to that of the celebrated 18th century alto castrato, Senesino, for whom Georg Friedrich Händel wrote his greatest alto roles. Fanfare magazine says: "There are more excellent countertenors before the public today than ever before, but one stands out above all others, as Caruso among tenors a century ago: Andreas Scholl". In 2005, Scholl was the first countertenor ever to be invited to sing solo at The Last Night of the Proms in London.

Philippe Jaroussky (b. 1978) is a French sopranist countertenor. He is noted for a virtuosic technique of melisma, and for compelling and enlivened interpretations of baroque cantatas and opera. This has contributed to his unusual revival of repertoire. According to La Terrasse, "this young singer with the tone of an angel and the virtuosity of the Devil has come into the limelight in only a few years as the great new French vocal talent." He received the 2007 best French lyrical artist. You can see his performance of a Vivaldi aria on youtube, here.