Drew Minter “As sung by countertenor Drew Minter, the music melted in the throat and emerged in crisp, clear diction that was itself a pleasure to hear. Vocally, Minter’s characteristic sound is light, pure, almost conversational, though with cream in the lower register. He has none of the wearisome artifice that affects all too many countertenors and he can move notes in florid passages without losing intimate touch with the words or sacrificing ease of delivery.” The Washington Post    Handel’s Agrippina: “The Mannes production, directed by Drew Minter, gets to the heart of the opera’s newfound appeal.” The New York Times   Regarded as one of the world’s finest countertenors, DREW MINTER grew up as a boy treble in the Washington Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys. He continued his education with a B.S. in Music and Languages from Indiana University and a Diploma in Lieder and Oratorio from the Academy of Music in Vienna. Minter has appeared in leading roles with the opera companies of Brussels, Toulouse, Boston, Washington, Santa Fe, Wolf Trap, Glimmerglass, and Nice, among others. A recognized specialist in the works of Handel, he performed frequently at the Handel festivals of Göttingen, Halle, Karlsruhe, Maryland. He has sung with many of the world's leading baroque orchestras, including Les Arts Florissants, the Handel and Haydn Society, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Freiburger Barockorchester, and as a guest at festivals such as Regensburg, BAM's Next Wave, Edinburgh, Spoleto, and Boston Early Music; other orchestra credits include the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Minter is a founding member of the The Newberry Consort and TREFOIL and sings and plays early harps regularly with My Lord Chamberlain’s Consort, ARTEK, and the Folger Consort. He has made over 50 recordings on Harmonia Mundi, Decca/London, Newport Classics, Hungaroton and others. He appears in two films: as Tolomeo in Peter Sellars’ Giulio Cesare and as the Devil in In the Symphony of the World; a Portrait of Hildegard of Bingen. He writes regularly for Opera News.   Drew Minter is also a lauded stage director. He was director of the operas at the Göttingen Händel Festival for five years. Since then he has directed productions for the Opéra de Marseilles, Caramoor, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Boston’s Opera Aperta, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music, Boston University’s Opera Institute and at the Washington Cathedral. Recently Monteverdi’s Orfeo was performed in his own translation and under his direction at the Five Colleges in Northampton He teaches voice, opera workshop, and conducts the Madrigal Singers at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY.   Home