Among the first countertenors to become known for stage roles, Drew Minter made a particular splash as Ptolemy in Peter Sellars' poolside Julius Caesar in 1987 (preserved on DVD). An internationally known singer, recording artist and director now teaching at Vassar College in upstate New York, the D.C.-born Minter stages Handel's utterly delightful Clori, Tirsi and Fileno, sung in English translation, for Philly's dynamic, reasonably priced Tempesta di Mare; joining the fine sopranos Marguerite Krull and Margaret Bragle, he sings Fileno, which he recorded with typical tonal mellowness and fine musicianship under Nicholas McGegan.

City Paper: What should audiences expect from Clori?
Drew Minter: It's a mini-Handel opera, with the atmosphere that da capo arias create. There are 12 of them, plus two duets and a final trio. The piece is actually a serenata; we don't really know if it was staged early on. However, as a miniature about the follies of love, I've found it stages beautifully: a love triangle, with a flighty woman (Clori) between two men. Handel was so conflicted about this that he wrote two endings: one in which both men give up on Clori and go off into the sunset swearing undying friendship, and another where all three declare resignation to her inability to commit and just decide to have fun. We're doing this trio ending. I could understand women having issues with it; I think the thing is not to make it into a drama about gender but about people who don't yet know how to act in love, all of whom think they're in the right. Thus we get the classic problems: jealousy, disappointment, ecstasy … short-lived!

CP: Countertenors have gone global on recordings and in mainstream opera houses. How has the scene changed?
DM: Well, for one thing, they've gotten better. I always believe supply follows demand. Research made it clear around the mid-20th century that early music was interesting; then the recording industry fueled its explosion. We know that countertenors sang much early music (though, it must be admitted, rarely in opera after 1700, unless they were castrated!). More countertenors working was simply an outgrowth of all that. When I got my undergrad degree at Indiana, a lot of faculty didn't know what to do with me; others were excited at the possibilities. Now, it's really not unusual for a countertenor to be studying voice along with everyone else in music schools (I just graduated one at Vassar, and we are hardly a music conservatory). With extraordinary talents like David Daniels and Bejun Mehta out there showing that they can play ball with the big guys, the possibilities for countertenors just continue to increase.

CP: Did your work with Sellars, or anyone else, influence your process and/or style of directing?
DM: Definitely. Peter and Stephen Wadsworth influenced me most, not because of style, but more because of how they nurtured singers during the process. This is the part of directing I enjoy most: helping singers go through their process as they develop a role. It's such a privilege to be part of that — the very same thing I enjoy about being a teacher.

CP: Have you appeared here before?
DM: I sang last season with Piffaro (through my medieval trio Trefoil); several years ago I did Messiah with the orchestra; and before that, a recital at Settlement Music School. I did not find it too welcoming that the city required me to set up a business for these couple of jobs and taxed me at an alarming rate. It seems absurd, since I hardly have a business going there, and I pay state and local taxes where I live; but the city tax offices were very unpleasant about it. Adding to the indignity, Trefoil had done a benefit for the restoration fund of one of Philadelphia's historic churches — for free, of course. It didn't exactly increase my respect for the City of Brotherly Love, but I paid my tax and moved on.

Clori, Tirsi and Fileno, Tempesta di Mare, Sat., May 21, 8 p.m. and Sun., May 22, 3 p.m., $15-$30 ($10 for students with ID), Gershman Y, Broad and Pine sts., 215-755-8776, www.tempestadimare.org.