In Anthropology 101 my class has recently learned about the cultural influence on a society and how that shapes the society’s ideas of gender. Most of us assume that there are only two genders, male and female. However, there are societies in the world that have up to seven different genders. This is a nice little factoid and it ties 
nicely into an article I read over the weekend which deals with the expectations we associate with gender. The article is about the french countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. A countertenor is a singing rarity whereby a male singer has the vocal range equal to a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or soprano. For those of you who have no idea the differences I will break it down nice and simple for you, the guy sounds like a girl. The sounds of countertenors, while interesting are definitely not for everyone. Some may marvel at this anomaly while may be revolted by hearing a young man sound like he is an eight year old girl. In the past choir boys have been used in roles when a more feminine voice was needed. However, the process necessary to become a choir boy or treble has shockingly made them extinct. In the 20th century the countertenor has become more popular because of increased interest in Baroque opera. With the depletion of available choir boys, countertenors have been used to take their place. As many of you may know, men have been used throughout history in female roles. Shakespeare is one of the more famous people to use this sort of gender crossing tactic. In fact Shakespeare’s plays often play off of the fact that women are driven mad by a boy that in his feminine and angelic nature may be a girl( I doubt our female dominated class will agree). Certain acting rolls call for the actor to dress and act as if he /she were a member of the opposite sex, some examples are Dustin Hoffman in “Tootsie”, Tyler Perry in the Madea movies, Hilary Swank in “Boys Don’t Cry”, and Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There.”This blurring of male and female roles is very interesting and I think it adds another dimension to an artistic experience. It’s connected to an idea that we have been talking about in class related to the brain. When a person has certain expectations prior to a performance(seeing a male singer in this case) if those expectations are either met(standard male voice) or completely turned upside down(shockingly high pitched voice), the person’s reaction to what he has experienced will be affected. Of course the reaction a person has will be unique because of his or her various interests, but the societal influence of gender expectations will be a factor as well.
NY Times article about Jaroussky
listen to Jaroussky
Jaroussky reminds me of one of my favorite singers, Mika(crazy voice range rumored at 5 octaves).
Mika “Lollipop”
Mika “Happy Ending”
I will resist commenting on Mika, but I do know something about the historical precedent for high male voice singing. In the Baroque era and earlier, there was a tradition of only male singers in church choirs. This meant that boys would sing the soprano and alto parts taken by women in a modern choir. Before the onset of puberty, boys and girls vocal ranges are indistinguishable. Teenage boys going through puberty find their voices dropping by about an octave. The change in hormones that comes with puberty causes changes to the vocal chords, which lengthen and thicken. In the Baroque era, there was an operation that was performed on male boy sopranos that prevented the onset of puberty (it was not an actual castration, but let’s just say that the hormones were not able to do their work.)
These male adult sopranos were known as Castrati and had a unique vocal quality with the range of a female singer, and the power of a male singer. Jarousky is NOT a castrato, but has developed the upper range of his voice, which does not seem like a true “falsetto” but is a kind of “head voice.” The short answer here, is that each voice is a unique instrument and there are quite a number of “high voiced” male singers, though they seem to be more common in popular music in the last 50 years than in classical music (the endlessly curious can search for “high C male singers” on YouTube). Singers like Jaroussky can sing roles intended for Castrati. In any event, he is a very serious and talented artist. His singing is very musical, which quickly (for me) becomes the focus and not the curious nature of the vocal quality. By the way, the clip you showed included a very nice example of period string instruments in the orchestra. The softer quality of these gut-strung instruments provides a perfect balance for Jaroussky’s voice.