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David Daniels is back again after that and he now changes languages, from Italian to English. Two Arias of Athamas from Handel's opera Semele ('Your tuneful voice' and 'Despair no more shall wound me') conclude the evening's program. When Daniels sings 'my soul is tun'd to love' a smile lights up his face and the audience applauds.

'I love the Munich opera house. The acoustics are fantastic,' says Daniels after his concert. 'Munich, New York and London for me are really the best places to sing. The Bayerische Staatsoper especially has been so good to me. The stage was made smaller, with a kind of built-in concert shell. It is always important to bring the sound out fully and with this wall it was even better.'

Asked if he sees a new trend toward old music, Daniels points out the practical considerations for this revival. 'Opera houses want to get back their audiences by finding new things to present to them and, looking for new things, ironically they take old music as presenting something new. Baroque opera is now done every other season, be it in Chicago or in Paris, so it's very exciting.'

After a day spent signing autographs at the Ludwig Beck Classical CD Store, bearing the largest selection of classical music in continental Europe, Daniels was off again on his way to another engagement, elsewhere. In our modern time, where we experience somewhat of a comeback for countertenors, he cannot complain about lack of work.

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