Brass Tacks: Baritones

The "middle" of the male voice.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Verdi's Falstaff is a pinnacle of the baritone repertory. Here, Ambrogio Maestri has a pint.
Photo © 2011 Bayerische Staatsoper.

We're in the home-stretch of our Brass Tacks survey of the different types of opera singers. Today, we're talking about baritones: the "middle" of the male voice.

Although the baritone is one of the most versatile vocal types, composers did not begin creatingimportant works for it until the end of the baroque era. Mozart and Rossini led the innovation, bringing Beaumarchais' Figaro plays to the operatic stage in Le Nozze di Figaro and Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Baritones are important to operas both as soloists...

Simon Keenlyside as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte.

Footage © 2003 Royal Opera House of Covent Garden

And in support of higher voices in duets and larger ensembles:

Dwayne Croft and Rolando Villazon in a scene from Don Carlo. 

Footage  © 2007 The Netherlands Opera

In 1850, Verdi's Rigoletto elevated the game yet again, making Victor Hugo's hunchbacked jester into a figure of towering dramatic stature. Later operas like Il Trovatore, Simon Boccanegra and Un Ballo in Maschera featured baritone villains that are as memorable as the tenor parts.

The 19th century also saw the evolution of the "bass-baritone." These singers are featured in most of the operas of Wagner. They can either be a baritone who can extend his range downward,  or more frequently a high bass with an exceptional lyric range.

The typical range for a baritone is from a low A below "low C" to a G# above middle C. A bass-baritone may be able to extend their range down to a low D, but voices vary.

Brass Tacks: Sopranos

Part I of a Superconductor series on Voice Types.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

La Divina: The great Maria Callas. Photo © EMI Classics.

If I were teaching a basic class on the appreciation of opera, I might start with the different types of voices and singers. So we're starting a series on voice types, complete with entertaining musical examples. If you already know this information, you're still likely to enjoy the music!

Let's take it from top--literally.

Sopranos are (usually) female singers whose range runs two octaves (and possibly more). (Male sopranos are sometimes heard in choral music, but are commonly replaced by countertenors or even boy trebles.) Composers from another era wrote for the castrati (boy singers who were mutilated before puberty to preserve their voices) but we're not even going to go there right now.

The soprano range from Middle C to High F.

The (usual) low note for a soprano is "middle" C (the center of the piano keyboard) although some operas can call for a middle A♭. The high note is another C, two octaves above middle C. Some composers ask for higher notes--all the way up to the series of high Fs that Mozart wrote into "Die hölle rache", a famous aria from Die Zauberflöte.