Finding corporeality in the performance of contemporary operatic countertenor repertoire through analysis and interpretation of Ian McQueen’s Line of Terror (1987) and Marko Nikodijevic’s Vivier: ein Nachtprotokoll (2013/2014).

Many operas composed from the mid 20th Century cast countertenors in supernatural and disembodied roles. In this thesis, I examine two operatic arias, composed in 1987 and 2014, which are human and embodied. Using philosophy and psychology as a basis, I develop three 'traits of corporality', which I use to interpret the composition of my case studies and develop an approach to performance which conveys corporeality.