Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen is an American countertenor—a singer from Brooklyn, N.Y. How do you pronounce that first name? As he explained to me, think of three letters: R-E-A. “Ar-ee-é” (with the stress on the first syllable.) And his last name is not “Cohen” but “Nussbaum Cohen.” Delightful guy. Excellent conversationalist. I have sat down with him at the Salzburg Festival.
I begin by asking—for all our sakes—“What’s a countertenor?” I will give his answer in slight paraphrase:
In classical music, a countertenor is still a bit of a rarity, but in pop music, it’s something we’re completely used to. It’s just a man singing in a range we traditionally associate with a woman. A range that is sometimes called “falsetto.” In pop music, you’re used to hearing the Bee Gees or Michael Jackson. Lots of male pop stars sing high like that.
How did Aryeh get launched, so to speak? If I have understood correctly, he was ten, and he attended the birthday party of a fellow ten-year-old—Elias. The party was American Idol-themed. There was a karaoke machine. And Aryeh’s number was “Respect,” the Aretha Franklin hit. He really let ’er rip.
And Elias’s mother, Frances, was amazed. “That’s a voice,” she said. She urged Aryeh’s parents to do something about it. She badgered them at school pickups and synagogue. Finally, they said, “Okay, okay,” and put him in a children’s choir.
That choir was not run-of-the-mill. They sang backup for—get this—Billy Joel, James Taylor, Sting, and Elton John. “I joke that I peaked at 13,” says Aryeh.
He also sang as a cantor. So did Richard Tucker and Jan Peerce (Rubin Ticker and Jacob Pincus Perelmuth), who became world-famous tenors.
Aryeh went to LaGuardia High School, a.k.a. the Fame school. Fellow students at the time included Ansel Elgort and Timothée Chalamet. He then went to Princeton, planning to go into law and politics. But something happened: he saw an opera (La bohème at the Met, in the Zeffirelli production). He thought, I want that.
He got it (though maybe not La bohème, which is not countertenor-friendly).
Near the end of our conversation, I ask him about his favorite singers. He names Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, the late mezzo-soprano. So did Fleur Barron, on an earlier Q&A. Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen goes on to name some rockers, pop artists, et al.
Crosby, Stills & Nash. Dylan. The Punch Brothers, with Chris Thile. Andrew Bird. Lake Street Dive. Brandi Carlile.
Aryeh and his wife have a four-month-old, Eli, who’s already bouncing around to Beyoncé.
I greatly enjoyed talking with ANC—not “African National Congress” but “Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen”—and I believe you will enjoy him too.
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