Countertenors

This episode of London Weekend Television's acclaimed, long-running documentary series The South Bank Show (hosted by the iconic Melvyn Bragg) discusses the phenomenon of countertenor singing, where adult male singers perform pieces from the classical repertoire in the mezzo-soprano, contralto or soprano ranges. Vocalists who appear in this program and discuss the phenomenon at length include Andreas Scholl, Michael Chance, James Bowman and Jimmy Somerville; as an added bonus, the program features a countertenor concert where Bowman, Chance and Scholl perform works by such classical composers as Ford, Handel, Bach and Dowland.