Brian Asawa would have turned 60 years old today. A decade after his death, his absence is still deeply felt in the world of opera and classical music. Born in Fullerton, California, in 1966, and raised in Los Angeles, Asawa was an American countertenor—a male singer who typically performs in the higher vocal range traditionally associated with female voices. He made his debut in the world of opera in the early 1990s, known for his luminous and rich voice, which was described as almost sensually disturbing in its intensity and beauty. Asawa was the first countertenor to win the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions at the national level in 1991. The following year, he joined the prestigious Adler Fellowship of the San Francisco Opera, having previously participated in the Merola Opera Program. In 1994, he was one of the winners of the first prize of Operalia, a global competition that has launched the careers of many notable singers, including José Cura. For those who followed his career closely, Asawa was not content to be seen as a typical countertenor. He explored a wide range of repertoire, from the works of Monteverdi, Handel, and Mozart to those of Britten, Mussorgsky, Stravinsky, Ligeti, Eötvös, and Johann Strauss. He performed in operas such as Boris Godounov, Grand Macabre, The Rake's Progress, and Angels in America, moving seamlessly from baroque to modern works with a rare freedom and versatility. Asawa was known for his imagination and desire to push the boundaries of what a countertenor could achieve. He dreamed of singing roles like Tancrède from Semiramide or Smeton from Anna Bolena, and even considered performing Elektra or Liù in Turandot in his most daring dreams. For Asawa, the countertenor was never a limitation but a vast territory to explore and expand. His death on April 18, 2016, at the age of 49, cut short a career that had already shown immense promise and was expected to continue for many more years.