By HEIDI WALESON [Wall Street Journal, 31 May 2006]

St. Paul, Minn.

The recent vogue for Handel operas -- for example, nine were performed by U.S. opera companies last season, compared with none 15 years ago -- has fueled the emergence of a generation of countertenors, high-voiced men who take on the heroic male roles originally written for castrati. Non-Baroque roles for these singers are few, but the Minnesota Opera came up with one in its most recent production, "Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man" by Laurent Petitgirard.