WHAT'S NEXT?

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE END OF THE VOICE PARADE AND CONCLUSION

 

 

Major Soprano Roles in Opera

Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera

Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera

Major Mezzo-Soprano Roles in opera

Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera

Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera

Contralto roles in opera

True operatic contraltos are rare, and the operatic literature contains few roles written specifically for them. Contraltos sometimes are assigned feminine roles like Angelina in La Cenerentola, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, and Olga in Eugene Onegin, but more frequently they play female villains or assume trouser roles originally written for castrati. A common saying among contraltos is that they may play only "witches, bitches, or britches."^[5]
Examples of contralto roles in the standard operatic repertoire include the following:^[5].

Angelina*, La Cenerentola (Rossini) Art Banker, Facing Goya (Michael Nyman) Auntie*, landlady of The Boar, Peter Grimes (Britten) Azucena*, Il trovatore (Verdi) The Baroness, Vanessa (Barber) La Cieca, La Gioconda (Ponchielli) Erda, Das Rheingold, Siegfried (Wagner) Madame Flora, The Medium (Gian Carlo Menotti) Fides, Le prophète (Giacomo Meyerbeer) Gloria Mills, Axel an der Himmelstür (Ralph Benatzky) Katisha, The Mikado (Gilbert and Sullivan) Klytemnestra*, Elektra (Strauss) Maddalena*, Rigoletto (Verdi) Mama Lucia, Cavalleria rusticana (Mascagni) Malcolm*, La donna del lago (Rossini) Margret, Wozzeck (Berg) Mary, Der fliegende Holländer (Wagner)

Mother, The Consul (Menotti) Mother Goose, The Rake's Progress (Stravinsky) Olga*, Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky) Orfeo, Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck) Lel, The Snow Maiden (Rimsky-Korsakov) Little Buttercup, H.M.S. Pinafore (Gilbert and Sullivan) Lucretia, The Rape of Lucretia (Britten) Didone, Egisto (Cavalli) Pauline, The Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky) La Principessa, Suor Angelica (Puccini) Rosina*, The Barber of Seville (Rossini) Ruth The Pirates of Penzance (Gilbert and Sullivan) Orsini Lucrezia Borgia (Donizetti) Tancredi, Tancredi (Rossini) Ulrica, Un ballo in maschera (Verdi) Widow Begbick*, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Kurt Weill) Cornelia Giulio Cesare (Handel)

Male Soprano, Countertenor, Falsetto, and Treble Roles

Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera

Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera

Major Tenor roles in opera

Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera

Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera

 

 

Baritone roles in opera

Alfio, Cavalleria rusticana Dr. Malatesta, Don Pasquale Dr. P., The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat Eddie Carbone, A View from the Bridge Enrico Ashton, Lucia di Lammermoor Ernesto, Il pirata Escamillo, Carmen Ford, The Merry Wives of Windsor Francisco Goya, Facing Goya Gérard, Andrea Chénier

Guglielmo Tell, William Tell Horace Tabor, The Ballad of Baby Doe Jack Rance, La fanciulla del West Lescaut, Manon Lescaut Scarpia, Tosca Sharpless, Madama Butterfly Simon, Simon Boccanegra Valentin, Faust Wolfram von Eschenbach, Tannhäuser Wozzeck, Wozzeck

 

 

Bass roles in opera

Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera

Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera Role, Opera

END OF CONSTRUCTION

A PARADE OF VOICES IN GILBERT AND SULLIVAN

 

 

Bass roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas

• The Mikado of Japan (The Mikado)
• Sergeant of Police (The Pirates of Penzance)
• Adam Goodheart (Ruddigore)
• Private Willis (Iolanthe)
• Carpenter's mate (H.M.S. Pinafore)
• Don Alhambra (The Gondoliers)
• The Notary (The Sorcerer)

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE DRAMATIC BASSO PROFUNDO

Dramatic basso profondo

English equivalent: dramatic low bass. Dramatic basso profondo is a powerful basso profondo voice.

Roles

• Il Commendatore, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• Hagen, Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner
• Heinrich, Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
• Gurnemanz, Parsifal by Richard Wagner
• Fafner, Das Rheingold and Siegfried by Richard Wagner
• Marke, Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner
• Hunding, Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
• The Varangian (Viking) Guest, Sadko by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
• The Grand Inquisitor, Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi
• Claggart, Billy Budd (opera) by Benjamin Britten

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE LYRIC BASSO PROFUNDO

Lyric basso profondo

Basso profondo (lyric low bass), is the lowest bass voice type. According to J. B. Steane in Voices, Singers & Critics, the basso profondo voice "derives from a method of tone-production that eliminates the more Italian quick vibrato. In its place is a kind of tonal solidity, a wall-like front, which may nevertheless prove susceptible to the other kind of vibrato, the slow beat or dreaded wobble."

Roles

• Rocco, Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven
• Osmin, Die Entführung aus dem Serail by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Sarastro, Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Pimen, Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky
• Baron Ochs, Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE SCHWERER SPIELBASS

Schwerer Spielbass/dramatic buffo

English equivalent: dramatic bass

Roles

• Khan Konchak, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
• Baculus, Der Wildschütz (Albert Lortzing)
• Ferrando, Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi
• Daland, Der fliegende Holländer by Richard Wagner

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE BASSO BUFFO

Basso buffo/bel canto/lyric buffo

Buffo, literally "funny", basses are lyrical roles that demand from their practitioners a solid coloratura technique, a capacity for patter singing and ripe tonal qualities if they are to be brought off to maximum effect. They are usually the blustering antagonist of the hero/heroine or the comic-relief fool in bel canto operas.

Roles

• Don Pasquale, Don Pasquale (Gaetano Donizetti)
• Dottor Dulcamara, L'elisir d'amore by Gaetano Donizetti
• Don Bartolo, The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini
• Don Magnifico, La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini
• Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Leporello, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• The Doctor, Wozzeck by Alban Berg

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE JUGENDLICHTER BASS

Jugendlicher Bass

Jugendlicher Bass (Juvenile Bass) denotes the role of a young man sung by a bass, regardless of the age of the singer.

Roles

• Leporello, Masetto, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Colline, La bohème (Giacomo Puccini)

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE HOHER BASS

Hoher Bass/dramatic high bass/dramatic bass-baritone

Hoher Bass or "high bass" or often a dramatic bass-baritone.

Roles

• Igor, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
• Boris, and Varlaam, Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky
• Klingsor, Parsifal by Richard Wagner
• Wotan Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner
• Caspar, Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber
• Banquo, Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi
• Zaccaria, Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi
• Fiesco, Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE BARYTON NOBLE

Baryton-noble

• Description: French for noble baritone and describes a part that requires a noble bearing, smooth vocalisation and forceful declamation, all in perfect balance. This category originated in the Paris Opera, but it greatly influenced Verdi (Don Carlo in Ernani and La forza del destino; Count Luna in Il trovatore; Simon Boccanegra) and Wagner as well (Wotan; Amfortas).

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE DRAMATIC LOW-BARITONE

Dramatic Bass-baritone/Low Baritone

Main article: Bass-baritone

• Common Range: From about the F below low C to the F♯ above middle C (F2 to F#4)

• Aleko, Aleko by Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Igor, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
• Dutchman The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner
• Hans Sachs Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner
• Wotan Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner
• Amfortas Parsifal by Richard Wagner
• Examples:
  • George London
  • Hans Hotter
  • Friedrich Schorr

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE LYRIC LOW-BARITONE

Lyric Low Baritone/Lyric Bass-baritone

Main article: Bass-baritone

• Common Range: From about the F below low C to the F♯ above middle C (F2 to F#4)

Some bass-baritones are baritones, like Friedrich Schorr, George London, James Morris and Bryn Terfel. The following are more often done by lower baritones as opposed to high basses.

• Roles:
  • Don Pizarro Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Golaud Pelléas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy
  • Méphistophélès, Faust by Charles Gounod
  • Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Singer:
  • Thomas Quasthoff
  • Bryn Terfel

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE DRAMATIC BARITONE

Dramatic baritone

• Common Range: From the G half an octave below low C to the G above middle C (G2 to G4).
• Description: A voice that is richer and fuller, and sometimes harsher, than a lyric baritone and with a darker quality. This category corresponds roughly to the Heldenbariton in the German fach system except that some Verdi baritone roles are not included. The primo passaggio and secondo passaggio of both the Verdi and Dramatic Baritone are at Bb and Eb respectively, hence the differentiation is based more heavily on timbre and tessitura. Accordingly, roles that fall into this category tend to have a slightly lower tessitura than typical Verdi baritone roles, only rising above an F at the moments of greatest intensity. Many of the Puccini roles fall into this category. However, it is important to note, that for all intents and purposes, a Verdi Baritone is simply a Dramatic Baritone with greater ease in the upper tessitura (Verdi Baritone roles center approximately a minor third higher). Because the Verdi Baritone is sometimes seen as subset of the Dramatic Baritone, some singers perform roles from both sets of repertoire. Similarly, the lower tessitura of these roles allow them frequently to be sung by bass-baritones.

• Role
  • Jack Rance, La fanciulla del West (Giacomo Puccini)
  • Scarpia, Tosca (Giacomo Puccini)
  • Nabucco, Nabucco (Giuseppe Verdi)
  • Iago, Otello (Giuseppe Verdi)
  • Escamillo, Carmen (Bizet)
• Singers:
  • Norman Bailey
  • Peter Kajlinger
  • Sergei Leiferkus
  • Juan Pons
  • Tom Krause

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE VERDI BARITONE

Verdi baritone

• Common Range: From the G below low C to the A♭ above middle C (G2 to A♭4).
• Description: A more specialized voice category and a subset of the Dramatic Baritone, a Verdi baritone refers to a voice capable of singing consistently and with ease in the highest part of the baritone range, sometimes extending up to the C above middle C, or "High C." The Verdi baritone will generally have a lot of squillo, or "ping"

• Roles:
  • Amonasro, Aida
  • Carlo, Ernani
  • Conte di Luna, Il trovatore
  • Don Carlo di Vargas, La forza del destino
  • Falstaff, Falstaff
  • Ford Falstaff
  • Germont, La traviata
  • Macbeth, Macbeth
  • Renato, Un ballo in maschera
  • Rigoletto, Rigoletto
  • Rodrigo, Don Carlos
  • Simon Boccanegra, Simon Boccanegra

• Singers:
  • Ettore Bastianini
  • Renato Bruson
  • Titta Ruffo
  • Leonard Warren
  • Carlos Alvarez
  • Tito Gobbi
  • Dmitri Hvorostovsky
  • Nicolae Herlea
  • Piero Cappuccilli
  • Ingvar Wixell
  • Seymour Schwartzman

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE KAVALIERBARITONE

The kavalierbariton

• Common Range: From the A below low C to the G above middle C (A2 to G4).
• Description: A metallic voice, that can sing both lyric and dramatic phrases, a manly noble baritonal color, with good looks. Not quite as powerful as the Verdi baritone who is expected to have a powerful appearance on stage, perhaps muscular or physically large.

• Roles:
  • Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
  • Justin Labelle, Wakonda's Dream (Anthony Davis)
  • Count, Capriccio (Richard Strauss)
  • Giorgio Germont in La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)

• Singers:
  • Eberhard Wächter

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE LYRIC BARITONE

Lyric baritone

• Common Range: From the A below low C to the A♭ or A above middle C (A2 to A♭/A4).

• Description: A sweeter, milder sounding baritone voice, lacking in harshness; lighter and perhaps mellower than the dramatic baritone with a higher tessitura. It is typically assigned to comic roles.

• Roles:
  • Count Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
  • Guglielmo, Così fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
  • Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
  • Papageno, The Magic Flute (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
  • Marcello, La bohème (Giacomo Puccini)
  • Figaro, The Barber of Seville (Rossini)
• Singers:
  • Sir Thomas Allen
  • Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
  • Frank Guarrera
  • Robert Merrill
  • Thomas Hampson
  • Wolfgang Holzmair
  • Simon Keenlyside

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE BARYTON MARTIN

Bariton/Baryton-Martin

• Common Range: From the low C to the A♭ above middle C (C3 to A♭4)^[8]

• Description: The Baryton-Martin lacks the lower G2-B2 range a heavier baritone is capable of, and has a lighter, almost tenor-like quality. Generally seen only in French repertoire, this fach was named after the French singer Jean-Blaise Martin. Associated with the rise of the baritone in the 19th century, Martin was well known for his fondness for falsetto singing, and the designation 'Baryton Martin' has been used (Faure, 1886) to separate his voice from the 'Verdi Baritone', which carried the chest register further into the upper range.^[9] It is important to note that this voice type shares the primo passaggio and secondo passaggio with the Dramatic Tenor and Heldentenor (C4 and F4 respectively), and hence could be trained as a tenor.

• Roles:
  • Pelléas, Pelléas et Mélisande (Claude Debussy)
  • L'Horloge Comtoise, L'enfant et les sortilèges (Maurice Ravel)
  • Orfeo, L'Orfeo (Claudio Monteverdi)
  • Ramiro, L'heure espagnole (Maurice Ravel)
  • Morales, Carmen (Georges Bizet)

• Singers:
  • Jean Périer
  • Pierre Bernac
  • Wolfgang Holzmair
  • Jacques Jansen
  • Camille Maurane
  • Richard Stilwell

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE TENOR BUFFO OR SPIELTENOR

Tenor buffo or Spieltenor

A tenor with good acting ability, and the ability to create distinct voices for his characters. This voice specializes in smaller comic roles. The range of the tenor buffo is from the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5). The tessitura of these parts lies lower than the other tenor roles. These parts are often played by younger tenors who have not yet reached their full vocal potential or older tenors who are beyond their prime singing years. Only rarely will a singer specialize in these roles for an entire career.^[2] In French opéra comique, supporting roles requiring a thin voice but good acting are sometimes described as 'trial', after the singer Antoine Trial (1737–1795), examples being in the operas of Ravel and in The Tales of Hoffmann.^[11]
Tenor Buffo or Spieltenor Roles in Opera & Operettas:^[2]

Count Danilo Danilovitsch, Die Lustige Witwe (Franz Lehár) Don Basilio, The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) Mime, Siegfried (Richard Wagner) Don Anchise/ Il Podestà, La Finta Giardiniera (Mozart) Monostatos, The Magic Flute (Mozart) Pedrillo, The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart) Dr. Blind, Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss II) Slender, The Merry Wives of Windsor (opera) (Otto Nicolai) John Styx, Orphée aux enfers (Jacques Offenbach) Prince Paul, La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (Jacques Offenbach)

Kálmán Zsupán, The Gypsy Baron (Johann Strauss II) The Captain, Wozzeck (Alban Berg) The Magician, The Consul (Gian-Carlo Menotti) Beppe, I Pagliacci (Ruggero Leoncavallo) Frantz, Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Jacques Offenbach) Spoletta, Tosca (Giacomo Puccini) Goro, Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini) Pong, Turandot (Giacomo Puccini) Gastone, La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)

Tenor Buffo or Spieltenor singers:

Charles Anthony Nico Castel Graham Clark Piero de Palma Anthony Laciura

Michel Sénéchal Darren Keith Woods Heinz Zednik Gerhard Stolze Jerī Alexa

[edit] Operetta

Tenor Roles in Operetta: All of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operettas have at least one lead lyric tenor character; other notable roles are:

• Candide, (Candide)
• Eisenstein, (Die Fledermaus)
• Camille, Count de Rosillon, (The Merry Widow)
• Prince Karl, (The Student Prince)
• Sheikh Red Shadow, (The Desert Song)
• Captain Dick, (Naughty Marietta)

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE HELDENTENOR

Heldentenor

A rich, dark, powerful and dramatic voice. As its name implies, the Heldentenor (English: heroic tenor) vocal fach features in the German romantic operatic repertoire. The Heldentenor is the German equivalent of the tenore drammatico, however with a more baritonal quality: the typical Wagnerian protagonist. The keystone of the heldentenor's repertoire is arguably Wagner's Siegfried, an extremely demanding role requiring a wide vocal range and great power, plus tremendous stamina and acting ability. Often the heldentenor is a baritone who has transitioned to this fach or tenors who have been misidentified as baritones. Therefore the heldentenor voice might or might not have facility up to high B or C. The repertoire, however, rarely calls for such high notes. A Heldentenor is sometimes less a true tenor than a baritone with an unusually strong top register. Lauritz Melchior epitomises the Heldentenor sound in this regard.
Heldentenor Roles In Operas & Operettas:^[2]

Florestan, Fidelio (Beethoven) Tannhäuser, Tannhäuser (Wagner) Loge, Das Rheingold (Wagner) Lohengrin, Lohengrin (Wagner) Parsifal, Parsifal (Wagner) Drum Major, Wozzeck (Berg)

Siegfried, Götterdämmerung (Wagner) Siegfried, Siegfried (Wagner) Siegmund, Die Walküre (Wagner) Walter von Stolzing, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Tristan, Tristan und Isolde (Wagner)

Heldentenor Singers:

Bernd Aldenhoff Giuseppe Borgatti Karel Burian Richard Cassilly Wilhelm Elsner Stephen Gould Claude Heater Peter Hofmann Hans Hopf James King Heinrich Knote René Kollo Ernst Kraus Max Lorenz Lauritz Melchior Albert Niemann

Ticho Parly Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld Ludwig Suthaus Set Svanholm Josef Tichatschek Jacques Urlus Jon Vickers Wolfgang Windgassen Franz Völker Jess Thomas

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE SPINTO TENOR

Spinto tenor

This voice has the brightness and height of a lyric tenor, but with a heavier vocal weight enabling the voice to be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes with less strain than the lighter-voice counterparts. (They are also known as "lyric-dramatic" tenors.) This fach is divided into lirico-spinto and drammatico-spinto, though it is an old-school Italian tradition to do so and Spinto tenors today are simply labeled "Spinto". Spinto tenors have a darker timbre than a lyric tenor, without having a vocal color as dark as many (not all) dramatic tenors. However, other spinto tenors, such as Jussi Björling or Carlo Bergonzi have brightly colored and lyrical sounding voices, but are nevertheless able to perform spinto roles due to fairly large vocal size^[2]. Spinto tenors have a wide range of flexibility within the fach system being able to perform such roles as Radames in Aida and Don Alvaro in La forza del destino as well as lighter roles such as the Duca in Rigoletto and Werther. The German equivalent of the Spinto fach is the Jugendlicher Heldentenor and encompasses many of the Dramatic tenor roles as well as some Wagner roles such as Lohengrin and Siegmund. The difference is often the depth and metal in the voice where some lyric tenors age or push their way into singing as a Spinto giving them a lighter tone and Jugendlicher Heldentenors tend to be either young heldentenors or true lyric dramatic voices giving them a dark dramatic tenor like tone. Spinto tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5), and, like the lyric tenors, they are often capable of reaching D5 and sometimes higher. Similarly, their lower range may extend a few notes below the C3.^[2]
Spinto Tenor Roles In Opera & Operettas:^[2]

Andrea Chénier, Andrea Chénier (Umberto Giordano) Canio, Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) Des Grieux, Manon Lescaut (Puccini) Don Carlo, Don Carlo (Verdi) Don José, Carmen (Bizet) Erik, Der Fliegende Holländer (Wagner) Ernani, Ernani (Verdi) Hermann, Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky) Idomeneo, Idomeneo (Mozart)

Macduff, Macbeth (opera) (Verdi) Manrico, Il trovatore (Verdi) Mario Cavaradossi, Tosca (Puccini) Maurizio, Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea) Max, Der Freischütz (Carl Maria von Weber) Pollione Norma (Bellini) Stiffelio Stiffelio (Verdi) Riccardo, Un ballo in maschera (Verdi) Turiddu, Cavalleria rusticana (Pietro Mascagni)

Spinto Tenor Singers:

Carlo Bergonzi Beniamino Gigli Plácido Domingo Jonas Kaufmann Giacomo Lauri-Volpi Franco Corelli

Francesco Merli Giovanni Martinelli Helge Rosvaenge Georges Thill Richard Tucker Mario Lanza

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE LYRIC TENOR

Lyric tenor

A warm graceful voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy and can be heard over an orchestra. Lyric tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C₃) to the D one octave above middle C (D₅) with some able to sing up to E♭₅ and higher. Similarly, their lower range may extend a few notes below the C₃. There are many vocal shades to the lyric tenor group, repertoire should be selected according to the weight, colors, and abilities of the voice.
Lyric Tenor Roles In Opera & Operettas:^[2]

Alfredo, La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi) Arturo, I Puritani (Vincenzo Bellini) Chevalier, Dialogues des Carmélites (Francis Poulenc) David, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Richard Wagner) Il Duca di Mantova, Rigoletto (Giuseppe Verdi) Edgardo, Lucia di Lammermoor (Gaetano Donizetti) Elvino, La Sonnambula (Bellini) Faust, Faust (Charles Gounod) Fenton, Falstaff (Giuseppe Verdi) Hoffmann, The Tales of Hoffmann (Offenbach) Lensky, Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)

Oronte, I Lombardi alla prima crociata (Giuseppe Verdi) Paris, La belle Hélène (Offenbach) Pinkerton, Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini) Rinuccio, Gianni Schicchi (Giacomo Puccini) Rodolfo, La Bohème (Puccini) Roméo, Roméo et Juliette (Gounod) Tamino, Die Zauberflöte (Mozart) Werther, Werther (Jules Massenet) Wilhelm Meister, Mignon (Ambroise Thomas) Arnold, Guillaume Tell (Giacchino Rossini)

Lyric Tenor Singers:

Roberto Alagna Marcelo Álvarez Giacomo Aragall Piotr Beczała Evgeny Belyaev Jussi Björling Alessandro Bonci Joseph Calleja José Carreras Richard Crooks Giuseppe di Stefano Salvatore Fisichella Miguel Fleta Beniamino Gigli Nicolai Gedda Jerry Hadley Ernst Haefliger Joseph Oparamanuike Ivan Kozlovsky Alexey Kudrya Rafael Hernández

Sergei Lemeshev John McCormack Francesco Marconi Chris Merritt Luciano Pavarotti Jan Peerce Alfred Piccaver Jacques Pottier Dmitri Smirnov Leonid Sobinov Richard Tauber Joseph Schmidt Alain Vanzo Ramón Vargas Fernando del Valle Rolando Villazón Gösta Winbergh Fritz Wunderlich

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

LIRICO LEGGIERO TENOR

Leggiero tenor

The male equivalent of a lyric coloratura, this voice is a light lyric instrument, is very agile and is able to perform difficult passages of fioritura. The Lirico-Leggiero tenor has a range of approximately the C one octave below middle C (C₃) to the D above tenor C (D₅), with a few leggiero tenors being able to sing F₅ and even higher while maintaining quality to the sound. Similarly, the lirico-leggero may be able to sing a little lower than the C₃. The voice is the highest operatic tenor voice and is sometimes referred to as "tenore di grazia". This voice is utilized frequently in the operas of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti and the highest Baroque repertoire for tenors.
Lirico-Leggiero Tenor Roles In Opera & Operettas:^[2]

Count Almaviva, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Belmonte, The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart) Ernesto, Don Pasquale (Donizetti) Ferrando, Così fan tutte (Mozart)

Lindoro, L'italiana in Algeri (Rossini) Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni (Mozart) Don Ramiro, La Cenerentola (Rossini) Tonio, La Fille du Régiment (Donizetti)

Lirico-Leggiero Tenor Singers:

John Aler Luigi Alva Ian Bostridge Rockwell Blake Lawrence Brownlee Juan Diego Flórez John van Kesteren Alfredo Kraus Topi Lehtipuu Alberto Rivera Santaliz

Raúl Giménez William Matteuzzi Francesco Meli Peter Schreier Tito Schipa Léopold Simoneau Ferruccio Tagliavini Cesare Valletti

[edit]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE DRAMATIC COUNTERTENOR

The Dramatic Countertenor

Roles

• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer

Notable Dramatic Countertenors

• Name (1900-2000) Nationality. 
• Name (1900-2000) Nationality. 
• Name (1900-2000) Nationality..

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE LYRICAL COUNTERTENOR

• Roles:
  • Role, Opera (omposer)
    
  • Role, Opera (omposer)
    
  • Role, Opera (omposer)
    
  • Role, Opera (omposer)
    
  • Role, Opera (omposer)
    
  • Role, Opera (omposer)
    
  • Role, Opera (omposer)
    
• Singers
• Name (1900-2000) Nationaity
• Name (1900-2000) Nationaity
• Name (1900-2000) Nationaity
• Name (1900-2000) Nationality

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE MALE COLORATURA SOPRANO or COUNTERTENOR

The Male Coloratura Soprano or Countertenor

Roles

• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer

Notable Dramatic Countertenors

• Name (1900-2000) Nationality. 
• Name (1900-2000) Nationality. 
• Name (1900-2000) Nationality..

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

FALSETTOS AND ROASTED SWANS

This is not really a roasted swan, but a pastry that looks like one! In Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, there is a special aria for the Roasted Swan, a role that can be sung either by a male countertenor or a falsetto! The aria is sung in vulgar Latin.

The Falsetto

Roles

• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer

Notable Dramatic Countertenors

• Name (1900-2000) Nationality. 
• Name (1900-2000) Nationality. 
• Name (1900-2000) Nationality..

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE TREBLE CHOIR BOYS

Here is a Photoshop-modified picture from the French movie Les Choristes. A "treble" is the term we use to describe a boy's voice before he reaches puberty. The voice itself can range from high soprano to low alto. The baritones and basses of a typical choir, like the one depicted in this movie, are usually the older boys.

Children occasionally have roles in even the most serious of operas. You'll hear them as charming street urchins playing soldier in Carmen or hear them emit the most blood-curdling screams as the enslaved Nibelungs in Das Rheingold, running away from the dwarf Alberich and his invisible whip! Some rare operas have a boy soprano singing the leading role, like the shepherd boy in Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors.

The Treble

Roles

• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer
  
• Role, Opera by Composer

Notable Dramatic Countertenors

• Name (1900-2000) Nationality. 
• Name (1900-2000) Nationality. 
• Name (1900-2000) Nationality..

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THE DRAMATIC CONTRALTO

Here is a poster showing Gweneth Bean as Erda the Earth Mother in a Met production of Wagner's opera Siegfried, the third opera of the monumental Ring of the Nibelungs, in which she appears at least once in every one of the operas. Her warning to Wotan in the first opera of the series, Das Rheingold, is indeed a challenging role for a dramatic contralto.

-UNDER CONSTRUCTION-

LYRIC CONTRALTO

An ancient Roman painting of a distinguished matron named Cornelia. The wife of the murdered Pompey was also named Cornelia. Her lyric contralto role plays a tragic figure in Handel's colorful opera Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar) set in the exotic Alexandria of the beguiling Cleopatra and her evil brother Tolomeo (Ptolemy). Her aria is one of the most beautiful and sensitive of the Baroque era.

COLORATURA CONTRALTOS

An aristocratic Spanish lady by Goya. This could very well be Rosina, who later became the Countess Almaviva in the Beaumarchais plays that inspired Mozart and Rossini to put them to music in their operas. The Rosina of Rossini's Barber of Seville was originally played by a coloratura contralto, a rarity these days!

-UNDER CONSTRUCTION-

DRAMATIC MEZZO-SOPRANO

Sant-Saens Samson and Delila The leading female role is the domain of the dramatic mezzo-soprano

-UNDER CONSTRUCTION-

LYRIC MEZZO SOPRANO

This poster shows a couple dancing the sevillana and evokes the exotic world of Carmen in the Bizet opera. The role of the dark and swarthy gypsy is definitely the domain of the lyric mezzo-soprano and her deep melodious voice.

-UNDER CONSTRUCTION-