A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (English: /ˈmɛtsoʊ/; Italian: [ˈmɛddzo soˈpraːno]; meaning 'half soprano') is a type of classical female singingvoice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contraltovoice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3–A5 in scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4; 220–880 Hz). In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C (F3, 175 Hz) and as high as 'high C' (C6, 1047 Hz).[1]The mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic mezzo-soprano.
History[edit]
Download the Opera browser for computer, phone, and tablet. Opera for Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS. Free VPN, Ad blocker, built-in messengers. Opera voices come in many different shapes and sizes. And there are names for every kind of voice – from the lowest to the highest, and everything in between. The Germans use the word “Fach” to describe these different categories.
While mezzo-sopranos typically sing secondary roles in operas, notable exceptions include the title role in Bizet's Carmen, Angelina (Cinderella) in Rossini's La Cenerentola, and Rosina in Rossini's Barber of Seville (all of which are also sung by sopranos and contraltos). Many 19th-century French-language operas give the leading female role to mezzos, including Béatrice et Bénédict, La damnation de Faust, Don Quichotte, La favorite, Dom Sébastien, Charles VI, Mignon, Samson et Dalila, Les Troyens, and Werther, as well as Carmen.
Typical roles for mezzo-sopranos include the stereotypical triad associated with contraltos of 'witches, bitches, and britches': witches, nurses, and wise women, such as Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore; villains and seductresses such as Amneris in Verdi's Aida; and 'breeches roles' or 'trouser roles' (male characters played by female singers) such as Cherubino in Mozart'sLe nozze di Figaro. Mezzo-sopranos are well represented in baroque music, early music, and baroque opera.[1] Some roles designated for lighter soubrette sopranos are sung by mezzo-sopranos, who often provide a fuller, more dramatic quality. Such roles include Despina in Mozart's Così fan tutte and Zerlina in his Don Giovanni.[2] Mezzos sometimes play dramatic soprano roles such as Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth, and Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal.[3]
Vocal range[edit]
Mezzo-soprano vocal range (A3–A5) notated on the treblestaff (left) and on piano keyboard in green with dot marking middle C (C4).
The vocal range of the mezzo-sopranos lies between the soprano and the contraltovoice types. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a heavier, darker tone than sopranos. The mezzo-soprano voice resonates in a higher range than that of a contralto. The terms Dugazon and Galli-Marié are sometimes used to refer to light mezzo-sopranos, after the names of famous singers. Usually men singing within the female range are called countertenors since there is a lighter more breathy tonal (falsetto) quality difference.[4] In current operatic practice, female singers with very low tessituras are often included among mezzo-sopranos, because singers in both ranges are able to cover the other, and true operatic contraltos are very rare.[1]
Subtypes and roles in opera[edit]
Within the mezzo-soprano voice type category are three generally recognized subcategories: coloratura mezzo-soprano, lyric mezzo-soprano, and dramatic mezzo-soprano.
Coloratura[edit]
A coloratura mezzo-soprano has a warm lower register and an agile high register. The roles they sing often demand not only the use of the lower register but also leaps into the upper tessitura with highly ornamented, rapid passages. They have a range from approximately the G below middle C (G3, 196 Hz) to the B two octaves above middle C (B5, 988 Hz). Some coloratura mezzo-sopranos can sing up to high C (C6, 1047 Hz) or high D (D6, 1175 Hz), but this is very rare.[1]What distinguishes these voices from being called sopranos is their extension into the lower register and warmer vocal quality. Although coloratura mezzo-sopranos have impressive and at times thrilling high notes, they are most comfortable singing in the middle of their range, rather than the top.[3]
Many of the hero roles in the operas of Handel and Monteverdi, originally sung by male castrati, can be successfully sung today by coloratura mezzo-sopranos. Rossini demanded similar qualities for his comic heroines, and Vivaldi wrote roles frequently for this voice as well. Coloratura mezzo-sopranos also often sing lyric-mezzo-soprano roles or soubrette roles.[2]
Opera Voice Types
Coloratura mezzo-soprano roles in operas (*denotes a lead role):
- Angelina (Cenerentola), La Cenerentola (Rossini)*
- Ariodante, Ariodante (Handel)*
- Baba the Turk, The Rake's Progress (Stravinsky)
- Griselda, Griselda (Vivaldi)*
- Isabella, L'italiana in Algeri (Rossini)*
- Isolier, Le comte Ory (Rossini)*
- Julius Caesar, Giulio Cesare (Handel)*
- Orsini, Lucrezia Borgia (Donizetti)
- Romeo, I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Vincenzo Bellini)*
- Ruggiero, Alcina (Handel)*
- Rosina, The Barber of Seville (Rossini)*
- Serse, Serse (Handel)*
- Tancredi, Tancredi (Rossini)*
Lyric[edit]
The lyric mezzo-soprano has a range from approximately the G below middle C (G3, 196 Hz) to the A two octaves above middle C (A5, 880 Hz).[1] This voice has a very smooth, sensitive and at times lachrymose quality. Lyric mezzo-sopranos do not have the vocal agility of the coloratura mezzo-soprano or the size of the dramatic mezzo-soprano. The lyric mezzo-soprano is ideal for most trouser roles.[3]
![Opera Voice Opera Voice](/uploads/1/3/7/8/137884988/245747388.jpg)
Lyric mezzo-soprano roles in operas (*denotes a lead role):
- Ariadne, The Minotaur (Birtwistle)
- Carmen, Carmen (Bizet)*
- Charlotte, Werther (Massenet)*
- The Composer, Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss)
- Dido, Dido and Aeneas (Purcell)*
- Hänsel, Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck)*
- Jo, Little Women (Mark Adamo)
- Marguerite, La damnation de Faust (Berlioz)*
- Meg, Little Women (Mark Adamo)
- Mignon, Mignon (Ambroise Thomas)*
- Miranda, The Tempest (Thomas Adès)
- Mother, Amahl and the Night Visitors (Menotti)*
- Nicklausse, The Tales of Hoffmann (Offenbach)
- Octavian, Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss)*
- The Pilgrim, L'Amour de loin (Kaija Saariaho)*
- Sesto, Giulio Cesare (Handel)
- Siebel, Faust (Gounod)
- Sorceress, Dido and Aeneas (Purcell)
- Stephano, Roméo et Juliette (Charles Gounod)
- Suzuki, Madama Butterfly (Puccini)
Dramatic[edit]
A dramatic mezzo-soprano has a strong medium register, a warm high register and a voice that is broader and more powerful than the lyric and coloratura mezzo-sopranos. This voice has less vocal facility than the coloratura mezzo-soprano. The range of the dramatic mezzo-soprano is from approximately the F below middle C (F3, 175 Hz) to the G two octaves above middle C (G5, 784 Hz).[1] The dramatic mezzo-soprano can sing over an orchestra and chorus with ease and was often used in the 19th century opera, to portray older women, mothers, witches and evil characters. Verdi wrote many roles for this voice in the Italian repertoire and there are also a few good roles in the French Literature. The majority of these roles, however, are within the German Romantic repertoire of composers like Wagner and Richard Strauss. Like coloratura mezzos, dramatic mezzos are also often cast in lyric mezzo-soprano roles.[3]
Dramatic mezzo-soprano roles in operas (*denotes a lead role):
- Azucena, Il trovatore (Verdi)*
- Amneris, Aida (Verdi)*
- Adelaide, Arabella (Richard Strauss)
- Brangäne, Tristan und Isolde (Richard Wagner)
- The Gingerbread Witch, Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck)
- The Countess, The Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky)
- Dalila, Samson and Delilah (Saint-Saëns)*
- Dido, Les Troyens (Berlioz)*
- Eboli, Don Carlos (Verdi)
- Fricka, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre (Wagner)
- Herodias, Salome (Richard Strauss)
- Judith, Bluebeard's Castle (Bartók)*
- Klytämnestra, Elektra (Richard Strauss)
- Laura, La Gioconda (Ponchielli)
- Marina, Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky)
- Gertrude (Mother), Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck)
- Ortrud, Lohengrin (Wagner)
- Princess de Bouillon, Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea)
- Waltraute, Götterdämmerung (Wagner)
Gilbert and Sullivan and operetta[edit]
All of Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas have at least one mezzo-soprano character. Notable operetta roles are:
- The Lady Angela, Patience (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Constance, The Sorcerer (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Cousin Hebe, H.M.S. Pinafore (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Edith, The Pirates of Penzance (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Iolanthe, Iolanthe (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Mad Margaret, Ruddigore (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Melissa, Princess Ida (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Pitti-Sing, The Mikado (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Phoebe Meryll, The Yeomen of the Guard (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- The Lady Saphir, Patience (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Tessa, The Gondoliers (Gilbert and Sullivan)
See also[edit]
- Fach, the German system for classifying voices
Opera Singing Voice
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefAppelman, D. Ralph (1986). The Science of Vocal Pedagogy: Theory and Application. Indiana University Press. ISBN978-0-253-20378-6.
- ^ abBoldrey, Richard; Robert Caldwell; Werner Singer; Joan Wall; Roger Pines (1992). Singer's Edition (Soubrette): Operatic Arias – Soubrette. Caldwell Publishing Company. ISBN978-1-877761-03-4.
- ^ abcdBoldrey, Richard (1994). Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias. Caldwell Publishing Company. ISBN978-1-877761-64-5.
- ^Stark, James (2003). Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. University of Toronto Press. ISBN978-0-8020-8614-3.
Further reading[edit]
- Peckham, Anne (2005). Vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer. Berklee Press. ISBN978-0-87639-047-4.
- Smith, Brenda (2005). Choral Pedagogy. Plural Publishing. ISBN978-1-59756-043-6.
External links[edit]
- Media related to Mezzo-sopranos at Wikimedia Commons
- The dictionary definition of Mezzo-soprano at Wiktionary
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mezzo-soprano&oldid=1017152636'
A lyric soprano is a type of operaticsoprano voice that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre that can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have a range from approximately middle C (C4) to 'high D' (D6).[1] This is the most common female singing voice.[2] There is a tendency to divide lyric sopranos into two groups: light and full.[3]
Light lyric soprano[edit]
A light-lyric soprano has a bigger voice than a soubrette but still possesses a youthful quality.[4] There are a wide variety of roles written for this voice, and they may sing soubrette, baroque and other light roles as well.[5]
Light lyric soprano roles[edit]
Source:[3]
- Alice, Le comte Ory (Gioachino Rossini)
- Ännchen, Der Freischütz (Carl Maria von Weber) (or soubrette)
- Annina, La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)
- Antonia, The Tales of Hoffmann (Jacques Offenbach)
- Clorinda, La Cenerentola (Gioachino Rossini)
- Despina, Così fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (or soubrette)
- Euridice, Orfeo ed Euridice (Christoph Willibald Gluck)
- Gretel, Hänsel und Gretel (Engelbert Humperdinck)
- Juliette, Roméo et Juliette (Charles Gounod)
- Laurie Moss, The Tender Land (Aaron Copland)
- Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi (Giacomo Puccini)
- Marzelline, Fidelio (Ludwig van Beethoven)
- Manon, Manon (Jules Massenet)
- Musetta, La bohème (Puccini)
- Pamina, The Magic Flute (Mozart)
- Servilia, La clemenza di Tito (Mozart)
- Sophie, Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss)
- Sophie, Werther (Jules Massenet)
- Susanna, The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) (or soubrette)
- Zerlina, Don Giovanni (Mozart) (or soubrette)
Full lyric soprano[edit]
A full-lyric soprano has a more mature sound than a light-lyric soprano and can be heard over a bigger orchestra.[4] This more mature sound may make a full-lyric less suitable for some of the lighter roles. Occasionally a full lyric will have a big enough voice that she can take on much heavier roles, using volume in place of vocal weight. This is done when a more lyric timbre is desired in an otherwise heavier role. Otherwise full lyric sopranos need be judicious with spinto and other heavy roles to prevent vocal deterioration.[1][6]
Full lyric soprano roles[edit]
Source:[3]
- Emilia, The Makropulos Case (Leoš Janáček)
- La Contessa, The Marriage of Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
- Liù, Turandot (Giacomo Puccini)
- Lulu, Lulu (Alban Berg)
- The Marschallin, Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss)
- Magda, La rondine (Puccini)
- Wally, La Wally (Alfredo Catalani)
- Mimì, La bohème (Puccini)
- Micaëla, Carmen (Georges Bizet)
- Rusalka, Rusalka (Antonín Dvořák)
- Tatyana, Eugene Onegin (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
- Hanna, The Merry Widow (Franz Lehár)
- Bess, Porgy and Bess (George Gershwin)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
![Opera Voice Opera Voice](/uploads/1/3/7/8/137884988/125778911.jpg)
Notes
- ^ abCoffin (1960)
- ^Aronson (2009), p. 278
- ^ abcBoldrey (1994), Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias
- ^ abNashville OperaArchived 2008-02-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^Boldrey (1992), Singer's Edition (Light Lyric Soprano)
- ^'Full lyric soprano' example: Contessa: 'Dove sono' on YouTube from The Marriage of Figaro by Renée Fleming, Metropolitan Opera 1998
Sources
- Aronson, Arnold Elvin; Bless, Diane M. (2009). Clinical Voice Disorders (4th ed.). New York, NY: Thieme Medical Publishers. ISBN978-1-58890-662-5.
- Boldrey, Richard (1994). Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias. Caldwell Publishing Company. ISBN978-1-877761-64-5.
- Boldrey, Richard; Robert Caldwell, Werner Singer, Joan Wall and Roger Pines (1992). Singer's Edition (Light Lyric Soprano): Operatic Arias - Light Lyric Soprano. Caldwell Publishing Company. ISBN978-1-877761-02-7.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Coffin, Berton (1960). Coloratura, Lyric and Dramatic Soprano, Vol. 1. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN978-0-8108-0188-2.
Opera Voice Types
Further reading[edit]
Opera Voice Bass
- Boldrey, Richard; Robert Caldwell, Werner Singer, Joan Wall and Roger Pines (1992). Singer's Edition (Soubrette): Operatic Arias - Soubrette. Caldwell Publishing Company. ISBN978-1-877761-03-4.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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