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When you think of a countertenor, what generally comes to mind is Renaissance and Baroque music, florid Handel arias and Dowland lute songs, and the castrati. So, what are the songs of Bernstein, Arlen, and Foster doing alongside those of Bellini, Purcell and Dowland on David Daniels' latest album?

In an interview with NPR's Lisa Simeone, Daniels reveals that he wants to defeat the mindset that pigeon-holes countertenors into singing repertoire that they're "suppose to sing." Daniels hopes to redefine the countertenor as simply a voice type, like soprano, alto, tenor, bass, and nothing more. To do this, Daniels sings repertoire that's not associated with his voice type.

How exactly does one define a countertenor? Daniels explains, "[The countertenor] is a falsetto voice. But, the word falsetto I don't really like, because it has a connotation of being false, or fake, or not real. And so, I think to call it strictly falsetto would be limiting to the voice type."

In truth, Daniels' countertenor voice is hardly false, embodying a rich male alto sound full of warmth and color that is unsurpassed by any other countertenor today.