Opera In The Know - Florentine Opera

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Baritone The middle male voice, close to a French horn in range and tone color, is the baritone. In opera buffa (comedic opera), the baritone is often the ringleader of the comedy, but in opera seria (serious or tragic opera), he is usually the villain. The range is from the G that is an octave and a half below middle C to the G above middle C. Bass The lowest male voice, it is similar to a trombone or bassoon in range and color. Low voices usually suggest age and wisdom in serious opera. In comic opera they are generally used for old characters that are foolish or laughable. The range is roughly two or two and a half octaves down from the F above middle C. Discovering your voice type is not as simple as having green eyes or blue. Singers often float between these categories, and some never really know where they fit. Sometimes, a female singer starts out her training as a soprano and ends up singing mezzo roles a few years into her studies. Baritones with good high notes are often mistaken for tenors. Singing the wrong repertoire can lead to all sorts of vocal problems and can even shorten or end a singer’s career. That’s why it is very important to have a good teacher that you trust and to be selective in the jobs you choose. Voice Types Based on Size and Quality Voices are also categorized according to size and quality of voice. There are small, medium, medium-large, and large voices in opera. The quality of a voice can be defined using the following terms: Soubrette Soubrette describes a soprano of very light vocal weight, comparatively small range, and the looks and disposition of a young girl. Soubrette roles are often flirtatious and witty, and outsmart the rich and powerful by the end of the opera. Many soubrette roles have names that end in –ina: Despina (Mozart’s Così fan tutte), Adina (Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love), and Zerlina (Mozart’s Don Giovanni) are all soubrettes. Character A singer with an exceedingly unique and rarely beautiful sound (and often the looks to match) can make a fine living singing character roles. While they don’t get the fattest paycheck, they do tend to get all the laughs. This classification is reserved for the lower voices (mezzo, tenor, baritone, and bass). Examples are the Witch (Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel) and the stuttering lawyer, Don Curzio (Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro). Coloratura Female singers described as coloraturas have great vocal agility, stunning high notes, and the ability to sing complicated vocal ornamentation. The Queen of the Night (Mozart’s The Magic Flute) is a coloratura soprano. Rosina (Rossini’s The Barber of Seville) is a coloratura mezzo.
Lyric The word lyric generally describes a singer who specializes in long phrases and a beautiful tone. To break it down further, there are light-lyric, full-lyric, and other lyric titles that can precede the general voice type of soprano, tenor, and so on. For a more detailed description, read on. “Lyric” can mean a variety of different things. While there are no hard and fast rules, there are a few widely accepted distinctions, which are outlined below. - A light-lyric soprano like Pamina (Mozart’s The Magic Flute) should have a bigger voice than a soubrette but still possess a youthful quality. A full-lyric soprano has a more mature sound and can be heard over a bigger orchestra. (An example is the character of Mimi in Puccini’s La Bohème). Full-lyric sopranos are typically the highest paid of all the voice types. - A light-lyric mezzo is the equivalent of the soubrette and generally plays young boys like Hansel (Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel). In this case, the long phrases mentioned above are traded for agility and charm. A plain old lyric mezzo (no “full” distinction here) is usually an old woman or a temptress of some sort – Bizet’s Carmen is the quintessential lyric mezzo. - Most tenors fall into the lyric category and don’t call themselves light or full. However, some specific operatic roles for tenors are separated further (though not necessarily the singers themselves). Tamino (Mozart’s The Magic Flute) must be sung by a youthful tenor with a light voice, thus earning the distinction of a light-lyric tenor role. Puccini’s Cavradossi (Tosca) is decidedly heavier than young Tamino but is still considered a lyric tenor by most people. - There are light baritones, but they fall into the lyric pot with the rest of the bunch. Baritones are baritones, unless they’re really loud. Which brings us to… Dramatic Dramatic describes the heaviest voices in any category except for bass. Dramatic singers are capable of sustained declamation and a great deal of power, even over the largest orchestra of about 80 instruments. The title role in Puccini’s Turandot is sung by a dramatic soprano. Most of Verdi’s lead characters require a dramatic voice (e.g. Otello). Helden A German prefix meaning “heroic,” this term is applied to a large voice capable of performing the most demanding roles, usually used in reference to roles written by Richard Wagner. Brünnhilde (the character most often associated with braids and a horned helmet) is a helden-soprano role.
Page 1 and 2: OPERA IN THE KNOW We are looking fo
Page 3 and 4: WHAT IS OPERA? OPERA FAQS An opera
Page 5 and 6: The popularity of the singers was s
Page 7 and 8: In 1825 the first opera performed e
Page 9 and 10: A GUIDE TO OPERATIC SINGING Every c
Page 11 and 12: Chest Voice This is where the natur
Page 13: A GUIDE TO OPERATIC VOICE TYPES All
Page 17 and 18: Other mezzo-sopranos to consider: F
Page 19 and 20: OPERA MYTHS EXPOSED Read on to disp
Page 21 and 22: TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE LISTENING: Getti

Opera In The Know - Florentine Opera

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