is a Japanese

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...

. His range is three and a half

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

s.Biography with images at bach-cantatas.com
/ref> Originally wanting to become a pop singer, Mera now primarily sings classical music from the West but also classical Japanese music. He appears frequently as a soloist with the

Bach Collegium Japan Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ) is composed of an orchestra and a chorus specializing in Baroque music, playing on period instruments. It was founded in 1990 by Masaaki Suzuki with the purpose of introducing Japanese audiences to European Baroque music ...

, which under its conductor

Masaaki Suzuki is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist and conductor, and the founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label BIS Records, for wh ...

performs

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...

. His 1998 recital disc "Nightingale" on Sweden's

BIS Records BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden. BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings. ...

was a major success in Japan.Billboard – January 24, 1998 – Page 42 Vol. 110, n° 4 "Plus, countertenor Yoshikazu Mera is a sensation in Japan, where his recital disc of Japanese art songs has sold 50,000 copies in four months, according to label reports." It was revealed in a television documentary entitled "米良美一の實話" ("Yoshikazu Mela's true story") that he was born with congenital

osteogenesis imperfecta Osteogenesis imperfecta (; OI), colloquially known as brittle bone disease, is a group of genetic disorders that all result in bones that break easily. The range of symptoms—on the skeleton as well as on the body's other organs—may be mi ...

.米良美一の實話 (Yoshikazu Mela's a true story)
/ref>

Selected discography

*Nightingale – Japanese Art Songs *Baroque Arias *Baroque Arias, vol. 2 *The Best of Yoshikazu Mera * Princess Mononoke: Music from the Motion Picture (1997) *Songs for Counter-Tenor and Orchestra *Mera sings Bach

References

External links

Yoshikazu Mera sings Bach: Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54, I. Aria
Living people 1971 births Musicians from Miyazaki Prefecture Operatic countertenors People with osteogenesis imperfecta 20th-century Japanese male singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese male singers 21st-century Japanese singers {{Japan-singer-stub