Let’s Get Loud, Soft, and Sublime: an Opera Primer – Part III: Men’s Voices
“I am a tenor buff. I hear myself.” (Luciano Pavarotti)
THE TENOR
Some tenors will be first to declare that they, not the sopranos, are the true stars of the show… and so will their fans. There are many anecdotes that speak to the rivalry for attention—and for who can hold high notes the longest—between tenors and sopranos: from a soprano kicking a tenor in the shin so he wouldn’t be able to join her for the curtain call to a tenor biting a soprano on the neck onstage instead of kissing her, as revenge for her outsinging him in their climactic note. Whether fact or myth, these stories add to the drama of opera both on and offstage. Tenors are indeed stars, the “divos,” the leading men of opera, and throughout history, some have incited the hype and fandom similar to rock stars. Juan Diego Flórez and Jonas Kaufmann are two of today’s superstar tenors who have taken the international opera stages by storm. Here are the tenors:
Countertenor
The rarest kind of tenor. A male contralto (sometimes soprano) who sings in the “falsetto” register (“falsetto” comes from the Italian word “falso” meaning false, and refers to an artificially high male voice). Often performs roles in Baroque operas, but not only. Examples: title roles in the 1983 opera by Philip Glass, Akhnaten, and in Monteverdi’s Orfeo.
Comic tenor
Light voice, the male equivalent to the soubrette in the soprano voice. Examples: Beppe in Leoncavallo’s I pagliacci, Frantz in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, and Pedrillo in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
Tenor leggiero
Sweet, flexible voice with a high range. Able to perform fast ornamentations, arpeggios, and runs, like the coloratura sopranos. Examples: Count Almaviva in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Belmonte in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte.
Lyric tenor
Warm and strong but not heavy voice; many leading tenor roles fall into this category. Examples: Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème, Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata, and the title role in Gounod’s Faust.
Spinto tenor
Same range as the lyric tenor but a stronger and fuller voice. Examples: Don José in Bizet’s Carmen, Manrico in Verdi’s Il Trovatore, and Canio in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci.
Dramatic tenor
Powerful tenor voice with darker colors and ability to sing over heavy orchestras. Examples: Dick Johnson from Puccini’s La fanciulla del West, the title role in Verdi’s Otello, Radames in Verdi’s Aida, and Samson in Saint-Saens’ Samson et Dalila.
Heldentenor
The most powerful tenor voice. “Helden” means “heroes” in German. These tenors usually embody the heroes of Richard Wagner’s operas. Examples: Tristan in Tristan und Isolde, Siegfried in Der Ring des Nibelungen, and the title role in Parsifal.
THE BARITONE
Just like the mezzo-soprano, the baritone often experiences unrequited love and gets trapped in a love triangle with the tenor and the soprano, usually with tragic outcomes. But baritones also play leading roles in operas like Eugene Onegin, Macbeth, and Don Giovanni. They can embody fathers, brothers, friends, and villains. These are the baritones:
Lyric baritone (includes the “Kavalierbariton” that can also be a separate category)
Smooth, noble, sweet baritone voice. Example: the title roles in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and Thomas’ Hamlet.
Verdi baritone
Strong, full, brilliant voice capable of many colors, very suited to roles from operas by Verdi, but not only. Examples: Rodrigo in Verdi’s Don Carlo, Count di Luna in Verdi’s Il trovatore, the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto.
Dramatic baritone
Richer, fuller, darker than the lyric baritone; roles can overlap with the Verdi baritone. Examples: the title character in Verdi’s Macbeth, Tonio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, and Iago in Verdi’s Otello.
Bass-baritone (divided into lyric and dramatic)
Strong voice with the resonant low notes of a bass and the ability to sing in the baritone range. Examples: King Philip in Verdi’s Don Carlo, Banquo in Verdi’s Macbeth, and Klingsor in Wagner’s Parsifal.
THE BASS
The lowest male voice; often portrays older men, priests, kings, father figures, villains.
Comic bass (also known as “Spielbas;” divided into lyric and dramatic)
Agile bass voice, capable of coloratura and singing very fast; frequently plays comic roles. Examples: Bartolo in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the title role in Verdi’s Falstaff.
Basso profondo (deep bass; divided into lyric and dramatic)
Lowest, darkest and deepest male voice. Examples: Sarastro in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, in Mozart’s Die Zauberflote, Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and König Marke in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.
Voice classification (also known as “the Fach system”—with “Fach” meaning “compartment” or “subject of study” in German) is not an exact science. It was developed to help composers, theaters, and singers with casting the right roles for the right voices. But there have always been singers who have either sung within two or more categories during the same season or have progressed gradually from one category to another as their voices developed with age. Then there are those who have defied categorization altogether. Early on in her career, the legendary soprano Maria Callas could, for instance, switch from Wagnerian powerhouse singing to dazzling audiences with Bellini’s coloratura. She was one of the exceptions. Today, most conservatory programs and voice teachers are careful in guiding young singers to stay in the voice category best suited to them, not only to protect their voices, but also to ensure that they get hired by opera houses searching for specific roles. Those who become superstars and sell out performances enjoy the freedom to propose the roles they want to sing, and to shape their own artistic paths as unconventionally as they wish.
Regardless of the category, the human voice has been, is, and will always be a wondrous, alive instrument, creator of enchantment and emotion.
Read the other stories in Maria-Cristina’s series:
Part IV – operas that are ideal introductions for newcomers to the operatic universe.
Top photo: Bigstock
