The Highs and Lows of the
Operatic Voice Did you ever wonder what the difference is between a soprano and a mezzo-soprano or what voice type can sing the highest note and the lowest? Most opera singers fall into a voice type that reflects the singer’s vocal range and its basic size and quality. Opera singers spend years learning to sing correctly without microphones. The sound an opera singer produces is done through the sheer power of the human voice. So how does one become a soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, or bass, the five most common types of voices? The length of the vocal chords determine vocal range, or the span from the lowest note to the highest note that a particular singer can produce. A voice’s sound quality or color and its ability to project over a full orchestra also help determine which category a voice falls into. Some terms that are used to describe operatic voices are: Coloratura: typically a voice with a very high range and the ability to sing very fast music. Dramatic: a heavy, powerful voice with a steely timbre. Lyric: an average size voice capable of singing long beautiful phrases. Lyric spinto: a slightly larger and steelier voice than a lyric. Helden: a German term referring to a powerful voice capable of singing very demanding roles. Falsetto: the upper part of the voice, often in reference to male voices. Let’s define the voice types that audiences hear in opera: Sopranos are the highest female voice type. In operatic drama, the soprano is almost always the heroine because she projects innocence and youth. Within this category, there are other sub-divisions such as, coloratura soprano, lyric soprano, and dramatic soprano. Each of these voices has particular lighter or darker voice qualities as well as differences in range. For example, Mimì in La bohème is a lyric soprano. The mezzo-soprano has a lower range than the soprano. Many mezzo-sopranos sing “trouser” parts, generally young male roles, or they may be the villainesses or motherly types. This category is also sub-divided into the coloratura mezzo, who can sing complicated fast music. The dramatic mezzo is often found in Giuseppe Verdi’s operas in roles like Amneris (Aida), or Eboli (Don Carlo). Perhaps the best-known mezzo role is Carmen in the opera of the same name.
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The contralto or alto is the lowest and darkest female voice. This voice type is usually reserved for special roles like the goddess Erda in Richard Wagner’s Nordic fantasyepic The Ring of the Nibelungen. Philadelphia native Marian Anderson was one of the world’s greatest contraltos ever. For males, the tenor the highest natural male voice in opera, and often the hero or the love interest of the story. There are many different types of tenor voices, but two of the most common are the high voiced and bright toned lyric tenors, and the darker voiced dramatic tenors who have ringing high notes. Rodolfo in La bohème is a famous lyric tenor role. A countertenor is a man who sings even higher than a tenor. They sing the same notes as mezzo-sopranos and contraltos by singing in the falsetto range. These voices produce a unique otherworldly sound. Hans Werner Henze used a countertenor to portray the female role of Artemis in his opera Phaedra. A baritone is the most common male voice type whose range lies midway between the high tenor voice and the low bass voice. Baritones play several types of roles: comic relief, the trusted friend, or the villain. This voice can have a dramatic quality with rich, dark tones. Marcello and Schaunard are two baritone roles in La bohème. A bass is the lowest and darkest of the male voices. Some singers in this category are bass-baritones as their can’t sing quite as high as a baritone or quite as low as a true bass. A bass frequently plays wise or noble characters like Sarastro in The Magic Flute, or wildly comic roles like Dr. Bartolo in The Barber of Seville. So, no matter what the size, quality or range, a singer’s voice has the ability to thrill an audience with its sheer beauty and musicality.
ACTIVE LEARNING 1. If the film The Hunger Games had been made into an opera, what voice types would you cast in the roles below and why? Katniss Everdeen Gale Hawthorne Peeta Mellark
Haymitch Abernathy Rue President Coriolanus Snow