Schedule
HostsWays to Give
HomePlaylistSchedule
HostsEventsOn DemandOur StoryOur TeamWays to Give Become a Sponsor
How to ListenVisit Help CenterContact Us

Find Us on Social Media:

Logo image

Find Us on Social Media:

Download Our Mobile App:

google play icon

About

HomePlaylistSchedule
HostsOn DemandOur StoryOur Team

Community

EventsWays to Give Become a SponsorPressDiversity StatementCareersAnnual EEO ReportDigital Accessibility

Help

Visit Help CenterContact UsHow to Listen

©2025 Classical California

Sweepstakes RulesFCC ComplianceLocal Public FilesCPB ComplianceAnnual EEO ReportPrivacy PolicyCode of Integrity

articles / New Music

A Life of Singing in the Treble Clef

New MusicSan Francisco OperaPop CultureThe State of the Arts

Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo‘s debut CD from Decca, called ARC, juxtaposes arias by Handel with pieces by Philip Glass. He sees a similarity in the two composers, beyond their considerable impact on both his career and approach to performing. The recording was recently nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.

A Life of Singing in the Treble Clef
00:00

You can find out more about the album at Anthony Roth Costanzo‘s website.

The news of his nomination came as a surprise to Costanzo: “I had neglected to look what day they’d be nominating, because I didn’t even think I had a chance. So you can imagine when I woke up and turned on my phone and there were just tons of messages, and I thought, ‘What’s going on?’ So I was totally shocked and really, really thrilled. It’s such an honor to be nominated with all of these other great classical musicians.” His musical career began with music theater, and he was on Broadway before he was even a teenager. “By the time I was 13, I was asked to do an opera, and I was around all of these classical musicians and they said to me, ‘you know, maybe you’ve gone through puberty and you’re a countertenor.’ And I had no idea what that was. But I wanted to keep singing high, I loved singing high, so I figured out what it was, and I started training that way, and I’ve never looked back. I’ve always sung in the treble clef.” That repertoire can be limiting, if one sticks to tradition, and focuses on the Baroque roles written for the great castrati singers. But Costanzo wants to expand what people consider appropriate pieces for the range. “Handel really defined me as a singer, my technique, how I began, how I made my debut at the Metropolitan Opera. But Glass changed me, when I did the role of Akhnaten, it changed the way I approach performance, and his very particular style really got inside of me and made me a different performer… So, I like to sort of think outside of the box, and not think of the countertenor voice as this precious, rarified thing. But rather something which is deeply human, which is a part of pop culture, in the sense that Prince, and Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake all used that falsetto register.”

New MusicSan Francisco OperaPop CultureThe State of the Arts
Written by:
Jeffrey Freymann
Jeffrey Freymann
Published on 03.27.2019
Loading...

MORE LIKE THIS

The Return of ‘Unsilent Night’

The Return of ‘Unsilent Night’

"Unsilent Night, a unique concert played by the audience on boomboxes and smartphones, is happening this Saturday at Mission Dolores Park, San Francisco. The event is inspired by caroling and the work of composer Phil Kline."

03/06/2020
The World Premiere of Caroline Shaw’s ‘The Listeners’

The World Premiere of Caroline Shaw’s ‘The Listeners’

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw collaborates with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra for a new piece, "The Listeners", inspired by Carl Sagan's 'Golden Record'.

11/07/2019
The Crossing’s ‘Arc in the Sky’

The Crossing’s ‘Arc in the Sky’

Composer Kile Smith creates a challenging, concert-length choral work for Grammy-winning ensemble, The Crossing. The piece, inspired by poet Robert Lax, is praised as "ecstatically beautiful".

10/01/2019
Finding New Sounds for a New Concerto

Finding New Sounds for a New Concerto

The California Symphony's final concert features unique sound effects in Katherine Balch's violin concerto, including rustling plastic and thimble-tapped strings.

06/03/2019
A Celebration of Living Women Composers

A Celebration of Living Women Composers

The choir Sacred and Profane concludes its season with a concert featuring works by contemporary women composers, starting with a piece by 12th-century composer Hildegard of Bingen.

06/02/2019
A Festival of Sound in the Round

A Festival of Sound in the Round

The San Francisco Tape Music Festival, featuring music created from recorded sounds, takes place this weekend at the Victoria Theater. The event offers a unique, three-dimensional listening experience.

05/11/2018