Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen | Adelaide Festival 2021 review

Cohen appeared determined to break away from countertenor typecasting with a repertoire that included the unexpected.

Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen. Picture: Dario Acosta

Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen

Classical Music / USA / AUS

FESTIVAL

Adelaide Town Hall

March 9

Conventional wisdom says that a voice takes years to mature and singers hit the peak in their mid-30s or later.

Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen is only 27 yet he displays remarkably mature artistry. He is a countertenor, a voice type that has largely been confined to early music and Baroque opera. But Cohen appears determined to break away from that typecasting. His recital ranged widely over a repertoire that included the expected – Handel arias – but also the unexpected – Brahms Lieder and Broadway show tunes. Throughout it all he was ably partnered by pianist Konstantin Shamray who proved himself as sensitive as an accompanist as he is dynamic as a soloist.

Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (right) recital with pianist Konstantin Shamray at Adelaide Town Hall. Picture: Tony Lewis, suppliedl

At the core of the recital, on either side of interval, were exceptional brackets where Cohen could be expected to excel, and he did.

Two very moving Jewish hymns, Avinu Malkeinu by Max Janowski and Kaddish by Ravel, were sung with deep conviction and perfectly judged expression.

Two arias by Handel, from Saul and Rodelinda, were exquisitely sung – these were moments that you didn’t want to end.

Around this core, Cohen went into unfamiliar territory for a countertenor. Four Lieder by Brahms challenged him to find the weight that this music demands; perhaps he didn’t quite achieve that, but his acute musical intelligence did bring its own rewards.

Songs by black American composers Leslie Adams and the nearly forgotten Florence Price were fascinating to hear, especially after to the slightly faded charm of Roger Quilter’s Shakespeare Songs.

Another voyage into uncharted waters for the countertenor voice came in three songs by Duparc, richly romantic works in which Cohen’s sensitivity to the nuances of the poetry and the music were evident.

The evening concluded in a very different mood with Cohen and Shamray taking off their ties and relaxing into familiar tunes from the American Songbook – Misty, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, and I Get a Kick Out of You.

It was a startling to hear these sung by a countertenor, and equally startling to hear Shamray emulating a nightclub pianist.

They ended with an encore – Adelaide, from Guys and Dolls, a tune indelibly associated with Frank Sinatra.

This sounded nothing at all like Sinatra, but it probably brought smile to the audience’s faces – not that you could tell from behind their masks.

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