Soprano

Lyric Coloratura

• English equivalent: Coloratura soprano or Lyric Coloratura soprano

• Range: From about middle C to the F two-and-a-half octaves above middle C (F6)
• Description: Usually a light soprano with a high voice. Can often have small
voices lacking the richness and resonance of a dramatic soprano. Must be able to
do fast acrobatics with easy high notes. Many have extremely high ranges (with
notes above the F of the Queen of the Night, but there are also singers in this fach
who do not regularly sing higher than the high E flat.
• Roles:
o Oscar, Un ballo in maschera (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Tytania, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Benjamin Britten)
o Zerbinetta, Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss)
o Olympia, Les contes d'Hoffman (Jacques Offenbach)
o Adele, Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss Jr.)
o Adina, L'elisir d'amore (Gaetano Donizetti)
o Marie, La fille du régiment (Gaetano Donizetti)
o Amina, La sonnambula (Vincenzo Bellini)
o Lucia, Lucia di Lammermoor (Gaetano Donizetti)
o Amenaide, Tancredi (Giacchino Rossini)
o Elvira, I puritani (Vincenzo Bellini)
• Singers:
o Elizabeth Futral
o Natalie Dessay
o Lily Pons
o Lucia Popp
o Mado Robin
o Erna Sack
o Beverly Sills
o Rita Streich
o Laura Claycomb
o Sumi Jo

Dramatic Coloratura
 • English equivalent: Dramatic coloratura soprano
• Range: From about middle C to the F two-and-a-half octaves above middle C
• Description: The same as above, only with a more dramatic, rich voice. Often
heavier and more lyrical than a coloratura soprano. Must also be able to do fast
vocal acrobatics and reach high notes, such as the F6 of the Queen of the Night.
Some of the best examples of this voice type are Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland,
and June Anderson. This is a very rare vocal fach, as thick vocal cords are needed
to produce the large, dramatic notes, which usually lessens the flexibility and
acrobatic abilities of the voice.
• Roles:
o Donna Anna, Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o The Queen of the Night, Die Zauberflöte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Konstanze, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Semiramide, Semiramide (Gioacchino Rossini)
o Lucia, Lucia di Lammermoor (Gaetano Donizetti)
o Fioridiligi, Cosi fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Imogene, Il pirata (Vincenzo Bellini)
o Norma, Norma (Vincenzo Bellini)
o Leonora, Il trovatore (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Violetta, La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Maria, Maria Stuarda (Gaetano Donizetti)
o Lady Macbeth, Macbeth (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Odabella, Atilla (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Abigalle, Nabucco (Giuseppe Verdi)
• Singers
o Maria Callas
o Edita Gruberova
o Joan Sutherland
o June Anderson
o Cristina Deutekom
o Edda Moser
o Nelly Miricioiu
o Diana Damrau

Soubrette
 • English equivalent: Soubrette
• Range: From about A below middle C to the C two octaves above middle C
• Description: a beautiful, sweet light lyric voice usually capable of executing florid
passages similarly to that of a coloratura. The range is usually intermediate
between that of a coloratura and lyric soprano.
• Roles:
o Despina, Cosi fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Zerlina, Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Belinda, Dido and Aeneas (Henry Purcell)
o Adele, Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss)
o Sophie, Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss)
o Ännchen, Der Freischütz (Weber)
• Singers:
o Kathleen Battle
o Barbara Bonney
o Elisabeth Schumann
o Dawn Upshaw

Lyric Soprano

• English equivalent: Full Lyric Soprano

• Range: From about middle C to the C two octaves above middle C
• Description: a more supple-sounding soprano, capable of legato, portamento, and
some agility; generally has a more soulful and sensuous quality than a soubrette,
who tends to be largely flirtatious and somewhat tweety. The voice is very
common and purity of sound within it is essential. It's the "basic" soprano voice in
that it's not found at either extreme of the soprano spectrum of voices; nor is it
known for having particular vocal attributes such as power, stamina, technical
prowess or agility. However, there are several lyric sopranos that possess many of
these vocal attributes, thus allowing them to sing a broader variety of roles.
 Nevertheless, the core of the true fundamentally lyric voice does not encompass
such traits. Innocence, vulnerability and pathos are usually conveyed in the music
written for the characters portrayed by the lyric soprano because of this endearing
simplicity.
• Roles:
o Mimi, La bohème (Giacomo Puccini)
o Magda, La rondine (Giacomo Puccini)
o Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi (Giacomo Puccini)
o Liu, Turandot (Giacomo Puccini)
o Pamina, Die Zauberflöte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Micaela, Carmen (Georges Bizet)
o Marguerite, Faust (Charles Gounod)
o Manon, Manon (Jules Massenet)
o Antonia, Les contes d'Hoffmann (Jacques Offenbach)
o La Contessa, Le nozze di Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Amelia Grimaldi, Simon Boccanegra (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Thaïs, Thaïs (Jules Massenet)
o Rusalka, Rusalka (Antonin Dvorak)
o Tatyana, Eugene Onegin (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
• Singers:
o Lisa della Casa
o Angela Gheorghiu
o Renee Fleming
o Kiri Te Kanawa
o Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
o Mirella Freni
o Anna Netrebko
o Victoria de los Angeles

[edit] Jugendlich Dramatischer Sopran

• English equivalent: Light dramatic soprano

• Range: From about middle C to the C two octaves above middle C
• Description: The Italian version of this fach is the spinto, which literally means
pushed. Thus, a light dramatic soprano must generally push her basically lyric
instrument to create big sounds that can cut through an orchestral or choral
climax. This voice is sometimes referred to as a "young" or "youthful" dramatic
soprano although this term doesn't necessarily refer to the singer's age but rather
to the tonal quality of the voice. Depending on the singer, however, this voice
 type can be more versatile, as it lies at neither extreme of the soprano spectrum.
Spintos are occasionally able to take on lighter mezzo roles, or, conversely, lyric
and even coloratura roles. Spinto sopranos are known to be especially well suited
to art song and operas in English.
• Roles:
o Madama Butterfly, Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini)
o Manon Lescaut, Manon Lescaut (Giacomo Puccini)
o Suor Angelica Suor Angelica (Giacomo Puccini)
o Elizabeth de Valois, Don Carlo (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Leonora La forza del destino (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Amelia Un ballo in maschera (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Marschallin Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss)
o Elsa, Lohengrin (Richard Wagner)
o Susannah, Susannah (Carlisle Floyd)
o Donna Elvira Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Aida Aida (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Liza The Queen of Spades (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
o Floria Tosca Tosca (Giacomo Puccini)
• Singers:
o Gundula Janowitz
o Leontyne Price
o Barbara Frittoli
o Renata Tebaldi
o Michèle Crider
o Aprile Millo

[edit] Dramatischer Sopran

• English equivalent: Full dramatic soprano

• Range: From about the B below middle C to the C two octaves above middle C
• Description: Characterized by their rich, full sounding voices, dramatic sopranos
are expected to project across large orchestras, a feat that requires a powerful
sound. Dramatic sopranos are not expected to have the vocal flexibility of the
lighter fachs. Although most dramatic sopranos have a darker more robust quality
to the voice, there are some that possess a lighter lyrical tone. In these instances,
however, the substantial amount of volume and endurance normally associated
with the dramatic soprano voice is still present. The darker voiced dramatic
soprano may even make a foray into the dramatic mezzo-soprano territory with
great success.
 • Roles:
o Senta, Der fliegende Holländer (Richard Wagner)
o Leonore, Fidelio (Ludwig van Beethoven)
o Ariadne, Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss)
o Magda Sorel, The Consul (Gian Carlo Menotti)
o Gioconda, La Gioconda (Amilcare Ponchielli)
o Santuzza, Cavalleria Rusticana (Pietro Mascagni)
• Singers:
o Hildegard Behrens
o Helga Dernesch
o Jane Eaglen
o Andrea Gruber
o Lotte Lehmann
o Karita Mattila
o Zinka Milanov
o Leonie Rysanek
o Rosa Ponselle
o Deborah Voigt
o Ghena Dimitrova
o Jessye Norman

[edit] Hochdramatischer Sopran

• English equivalent: Wagnerian soprano

• Range: From about the F below middle C to the C two octaves above middle C
• Description: A voice equal to the demands of operas of Wagner's maturity.
Basically, a full dramatic soprano voice taken to the next dimension. The voice is
substantial, very powerful, and even throughout the registers. It's immense,
stentorian and even larger than that of the voice possessed by the "normal"
dramatic soprano. Although the two voices are comparable and are sometimes
hard to distinguish between, this voice has even greater stamina, endurance and
volume than the former. Successful hochdramatischer are rare, only one or two
appear in a generation. Arguably there are none singing today.

• Roles:
o Turandot, Turandot (Giacomo Puccini)
o Elektra, Elektra (opera) (Richard Strauss)
o Salome, Salome (Richard Strauss)
o Brunnhilde, Der Ring des Nibelungen (Richard Wagner)
 o Kundry, Parsifal (Richard Wagner)
o Isolde, Tristan und Isolde (Richard Wagner)

• Singers:
o Birgit Nilsson
o Kirsten Flagstad
o Helen Traubel
o Gwyneth Jones
o Deborah Polaski
o Frida Leider
o Eva Turner

[edit] Mezzo-soprano and Contralto Fächer

[edit] Koloratur-Mezzosopran

• English equivalent: Coloratura mezzo-soprano

• Range: From about the G below middle C to the B two octaves above middle C
• Description: Found especially in Rossini's operas, these roles were written
originally for altos with agility and secure top notes. Today they are often played
by mezzo-sopranos and sometimes even by sopranos. At times a lyric or full lyric
soprano with a flexible voice will assume the roles as written while a true
coloratura soprano will sing the same music transposed upwardly to a higher key.
• Roles:
o Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia (Gioacchino Rossini)
o Angelina La Cenerentola (Gioacchino Rossini)
o Romeo I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Vincenzo Bellini)
o Orsini Lucrezia Borgia (Gaetano Donizetti)

• Singers:
o Cecilia Bartoli
o Vivica Genaux
o Conchita Supervía
o Marilyn Horne

[edit] Lyrischer Mezzosopran / Spielalt

 • Range: From about the G below middle C to the B two octaves above middle C
• English equivalent: Lyric mezzo-soprano
• Description: a lyric soprano's instrument in a lower range; the resulting sound is
less piercing, more lachrymose and kind of sensitive. The voices are so similar in
fact that many lyric mezzos with strong extensions to their upper vocal registers
make the transition to singing as sopranos at some point in their careers.
• Roles:
o Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Octavian Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss)
o The Composer Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss)
o Arianna Arianna (Claudio Monteverdi)
o Dorabella Così fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Carmen Carmen (Georges Bizet)
o Dido Dido and Aeneas (Henry Purcell)

• Singers:
o Christa Ludwig
o Janet Baker
o Susan Graham
o Risë Stevens
o Anne-Sofie von Otter
o Frederica Von Stade

[edit] Dramatischer Mezzosopran

• English equivalent: Dramatic mezzo-soprano

• Range: From about the G below middle C to the B two octaves above middle C
• Description: Dramatic mezzo-sopranos have ranges very similar to a dramatic
soprano. The main difference is the endurance and ease in which the two voice-
types sing - a mezzo will concentrate singing most of the time in her middle and
low registers and will go up to notes like high B-flat only at the dramatic climax.
 Consequently, many dramatic mezzo-sopranos have success in singing some
dramatic sopranos roles that are written with a lower tessitura.
• Roles:
o The Sorceress, Dido and Aeneas (Henry Purcell)
o Dalila, Samson et Dalila (Camille Saint-Saëns)
o Amneris, Aida (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Eboli, Don Carlo (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Azucena, Il trovatore (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Ortrud, Lohengrin (Richard Wagner)
o Fricka, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre (Richard Wagner)

• Singers
o Grace Bumbry
o Shirley Verrett
o Fiorenza Cossotto
o Fedora Barbieri
o Ebe Stignani
o Dolora Zajick
o Denyce Graves

[edit] Dramatischer Alt

• English equivalent: Dramatic Contralto

• Range: From about the G below middle C to the B two octaves above
• Description: Stylistically similar to the dramatic mezzo, just lower. Sings usually
around the break between the chest-voice and middle-voice. Many mezzos tried
their luck in these roles, yet real altos fare better. A deep, penetrating low female
voice. This is a very rare voice type with a darker, richer sound than that of a
typical alto.
• Roles:
o Erda in Der Ring des Nibelungen (Richard Wagner)
o Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Florence in Albert Herring (Benjamin Britten)
o Olga in Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)
o Marfa in Khovanshchina (Mussorgsky)
• Singers:
o Marian Anderson
o Lili Chookasian
o Ewa Podles
[edit] Tiefer Alt

• English equivalent: Low Contralto.

• Range: From about the F below middle C to the A two octaves above
• Description: A low female voice. This is one of the two voice types, along with
the Basso Profundo, in which a bad wobble is all too often, unfortunately, the
defining feature.
• Roles:
o Genevève, Pelléas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy
o Die Kranke, Moses und Aron (Arnold Schoenberg)
• Singers:
o Clara Butt
o Kathleen Ferrier
o Ernestine Schumann-Heink

[edit] Tenor Fächer

[edit] Spieltenor / Tenor Buffo

• English equivalent: (Lyric) comic tenor. It is quite possible for a young Spieltenor
to eventually work into the lighter Lyrischertenor category; the deciding factor
will be the beauty of voice.
• Range: From about low C to the B an octave above middle C (C to b')
• Roles:
o Pedrillo, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Monostatos, Die Zauberflöte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o King Kaspar, Amahl and the Night Visitors (Gian Carlo Menotti)
o Mime, Das Rheingold (Richard Wagner)
o Monsieur Triquet, Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)

[edit] Charaktertenor
 • English equivalent: Character tenor. Must have good acting abilities.
• Range: From about the B below low C to the C an octave above middle C (B to
c')
• Roles:
o Mime, Siegfried (Richard Wagner)
• Singers:
o Gerhard Stolze

[edit] Lyrischer Tenor

• English equivalent: Lyric tenor

• Range: From about low A to the C-F an octave above middle C (C to c')
• Roles:
o Tamino Die Zauberflöte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Belmonte Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Rodolfo La bohème (Giacomo Puccini)
o Ferrando Cosi fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Almaviva Il barbiere di Siviglia (Giacchino Rossini)
o Arturo I puritani (Vincenzo Bellini)
o Elvino La Sonnambula (Vincenzo Bellini)
o Ramiro La Cenerentola (Giacchino Rossini)
o Nemorino L'elisir d'amore (Gaetano Donizetti)
o Alfredo La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Il Duca Rigoletto (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Don Ottavio Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Faust Faust (Charles-Francois Gounod)

• Singers:
o Ian Bostridge
o Richard Tucker
o Fritz Wunderlich
 o Alfredo Kraus
o Juan Diego Florez
o Leopold Simoneau
o Luciano Pavarotti

[edit] Jugendlicher Heldentenor

• English equivalent: Light dramatic tenor

• Range: From about low C to the C an octave above middle C (C to c')
• Description: A tenor with a dramatic extended upper range with the necessary
brightness to come through the orchestra's texture.
• Roles:
o Don José, Carmen (Georges Bizet)
o Lohengrin, Lohengrin (Richard Wagner)
o Siegmund, Die Walküre (Richard Wagner)
• Singers:
o Plácido Domingo
o Georges Thill

[edit] Heldentenor

• English equivalent: Heroic Tenor

• Range: From about the B below low C to the C above middle C (B to c2)
• Description: A full dramatic tenor with baritonal facility in the middle range and
the brightness necessary to pierce a thick orchestral texture.
• Roles:
o Idomeneo, Idomeneo (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Calaf, Turandot (Giacomo Puccini)
o Othello, Otello (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Siegfried, Der Ring des Nibelungen (Richard Wagner)
o Parsifal, Parsifal (Richard Wagner)
 o Tristan, Tristan und Isolde (Richard Wagner)
• Singers:
o Wolfgang Windgassen
o Lauritz Melchior
o James King
o Jon Vickers
o Rudolf Schock
o Mario Del Monaco

[edit] Baritone Fächer

[edit] Lyrischer Bariton / Spielbariton

• English equivalent: Lyric baritone

• Range: From about the B below low C to the G above middle C (B to g')
• Description: A sweeter, milder sounding baritone voice, lacking harshness.
• Roles:
o Conte Almaviva, Le nozze di Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Marcello, La bohème (Giacomo Puccini)
o Papageno, Die Zauberflöte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Onegin, Eugene Onegin (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
o Albert, Werther (Massanet)
o Billy Budd, Billy Budd (Britten)
o Figaro, Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini)
• Singers:
o Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
o Gerhard Hüsch
o Hermann Prey
o Simon Keenlyside
o Brett Polegato

[edit] Kavalierbariton
 • English equivalent: A metallic voice, that can sing both lyric and dramatic
phrases, a manly noble baritonal color, with good looks. Not quite as powerful as
the Verdi baritone or Charakter bariton who is expected to have a powerful
appearance on stage, perhaps muscular or physically large.
• Range: From about the A below low C to the G# above middle C (A to g#' )
• Description: Harsher, more pronounced than the Lyric baritone.
• Roles:
o Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
o Tonio, Pagliacci (Ruggiero Leoncavallo)
o Di Luna, Il trovatore (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Iago, Otello (Giuseppe Verdi)
o Count, Capriccio (Richard Strauss) (Range: c-ab' - does not require A2-B2
part of range)[1]
• Singers:
o Thomas Hampson
o Dmitri Hvorostovsky
o Eberhard Wächter
o Sherrill Milnes

[edit] Charakterbariton

• English equivalent: Verdi Baritone.

• Range: From about the A below low C to the G# above middle C (A to g#')
• Description: A voice particularly effective with passages in its higher reaches. A
high tessitura vis-a-vis the range extremes.
• Roles:
o Wozzeck (Alban Berg)
o Germont, La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)
• Singers:

[edit] Heldenbariton
 • Range: From about the G below low C to the F# above middle C (G to f#')
• Description: Means ‘heroic baritone’. In the German opera houses a true
Heldenbariton is a prized possession: a singer with exciting power at command
and a brightly resonant quality.
• Roles:
o Telramund, Lohengrin (Wagner)
o Count di Luna, Il trovatore (Giuseppe Verdi)
• Examples:
o Leonard Warren
o Thomas Stewart
o Titta Ruffo

[edit] Lyric Bassbariton/Low Lyric Baritone

• English equivalent: Lyric Bass-baritone.

• Range: From about the G below low C to the F# above middle C (G to

f#')*Description: The Bass-baritone's required range can vary tremendously based
on the role, with some less demanding than others. Some bass-baritones are
baritones, like Friedrich Schorr, George London, and Bryn Terfel; while others
are basses, like Hans Hotter, Alexander Kipnis and Samuel Ramey.
• Don Pizarro Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven
• Escamillo Carmen by Georges Bizet
• Golaud Pelléas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy
• Méphistophélès, Faust by Charles Gounod
• Don Alfonso, Cosi fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Example:
o Thomas Quasthoff

[edit] Dramatic Bassbariton/Low DramaticBaritone

 • English equivalent: Lyric Bass-baritone.

• Range: From about the G below low C to the F# above middle C (G to f#')
• Igor, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
• Scarpia, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini
• Dutchman The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner
• Hans Sachs Die Meistersinger by Richard Wagner
• Wotan Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner
• Amfortas Parsifal by Richard Wagner
• Examples:
o Friedrich Schorr
o George London

[edit] Bass Fächer

[edit] Basso Cantante/Lyric Bassbariton/High Lyric Bass

• English equivalent: Lyric Bass-baritone.

• Basso Cantante means 'singing bass'.[2] Basso cantante is a Some bass-baritones
are basses, like Hans Hotter, Alexander Kipnis and Samuel Ramey.
• Roles:
o Duke Bluebeard Bluebeard's Castle by Bela Bartok
o Don Pizarro, Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven
o Count Rodolfo, La Sonnambula by Bellini
o Blitch, Susannah by Carlisle Floyd
o Méphistophélès, Faust by Charles Gounod
o Don Alfonso, Cosi fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
o Leporello,and Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart
o Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
o Don Basilio Il barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini
 o Silva, Ernani by Giuseppe Verdi
o Philip II, Don Carlos by Giuseppe Verdi
o Count Walter, Luisa Miller by Giuseppe Verdi
o Zaccaria, Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi
• Singers:
o Feodor Chaliapin
o Ezio Pinza
o Ruggero Raimondi
o Samuel Ramey
o Cesare Siepi
o José Van Dam

[edit] Hoherbass/Dramatic Bassbariton/High Dramatic Bass

• English equivalent: Dramatic Bass-baritone.

• Roles:
o Igor, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
o Boris, and Varlaam, Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky
o Klingsor, Parsifal by Richard Wagner
o Wotan Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner
o Caspar, Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber
• Singers:
• Theo Adam
• Hans Hotter
• Alexander Kipnis

[edit] Jugendlicher Bass

• English equivalent: young bass

• Range: *Range: From about the E below low C to the F above middle C (E to f')
• Description: A character who is a young man (regardless of the age of the singer).
 • Roles:
o Igor, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
o Don Alfonso, Cosi fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
o Leporello, Masetto, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
o Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
o Varlaam, Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky
o Colline, La bohème (Giacomo Puccini)

[edit] Spielbass/Bassbuffo/Lyric Buffo

• English equivalent: Lyric comic bass

• Range: From about the E half an octave below low C to the F above middle C (E
to f')
• Roles:
o Don Pasquale, Don Pasquale (Gaetano Donizetti)
o Dottor Dulcamara, L'elisir d'amore by Gaetano Donizetti
o Don Bartolo, The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini
o Don Basilio, The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini
o Don Magnifico, La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini
o Méphistophélès, Faust by Charles Gounod
o Don Alfonso, Cosi fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
o Leporello, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• Singers:
o Luigi Lablache
o Fernando Corena

[edit] Schwerer Spielbass/Dramatic Buffo

• English equivalent: Dramatic comic bass

 • Range: From about the C one octave below low C to the F above middle C (C to
f')
• Roles:
o Khan Konchak, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
o Baculus, Der Wildschütz by Albert Lortzing
o Ferrando, Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi
o Daland, Der fliegende Holländer by Richard Wagner
o Pogner, Die Meistersinger by Richard Wagner
o Hunding, Die Walküre by Richard Wagner

[edit] Seriöser Bass/Low Lyric Bass

• English equivalent: Low bass. Italian: Basso Profundo. This is one of the two
voice types, along with the Tiefer Alt, in which a bad wobble is all too often,
unfortunately, the defining feature.
• Range: From about the C one octave below low C to the F above middle C (C to
f')
• Roles:
o Arkel, Pelléas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy
o Brogni, La Juive by Jacques Halévy
o Osmin, Die Entführung aus dem Serail by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
o Commendatore, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
o Sarastro, Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
o Pimen, Boris Godunov(Modest Mussorgsky)
o Colline, La bohème (Giacomo Puccini)
o L'Arbre, L'enfant et les sortilèges by Maurice Ravel

• Singers:
o Gottlob Frick
o Kurt Moll
o Matti Salminen
o Martti Talvela

Dramatic Bass
• English equivalent: a powerful bass voice
• Range: From about the C one octave below low C to the F above middle C (C to
f')
• Roles:
o Khan Konchak, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
o Vladimir Yaroslavich, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
o Commendatore, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
o Alvise, La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli
o Banquo, Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi
o Fiesco, Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi
o Ferrando, Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi
o Daland, Der fliegende Holländer by Richard Wagner
o Hagen, Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner
o Heinrich, Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
o Pogner, Die Meistersinger by Richard Wagner
o Klingsor, and Gurnemanz,Parsifal by Richard Wagner
o Wotan, and Fafner, Das Rheingold and Siegfried by Richard Wagner
o Marke, Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner
o Wotan, and Hunding, Die Walküre by Richard Wagner