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Thank you! There’s part two too! Also where can I contact you?

@@KajiVocals Yes, I’m looking forward to checking out part 2, too! Callas’s chest voice genuinely singlehandedly evolved my taste in music haha. Do you have X? I can DM you there.

@matOpera I can create one or try to get access to my old one.

Thank you. I didn’t include much of recent years because in shows I found her voice did not sound like it was in a good condition.

@@KajiVocals really? in what performances do you notice this.

@ Stuff from last year mostly. The joint performance of Home with 2 other singers. Concert from Atlanta and I think something in Baltimore (?). Can’t remember exactly. But her voice was cracking all over the place and sounded very tired. Sort of how she sounded in that famous Home performance with Sinbad. Except a bit more unsteady. I think she’s simply tired from all those Hadestown shows.

@ Oh I'm sure, she was a busy body 2024, and the consistency she had with Hadestown definitely wore her voice down. I do have audio and video recordings from the show.

Hello, first thank you for the compliment and feedback. I'd like to point out flaws in logic of your reasoning and I hope you read this and do not see this as an attack. Stephanie is not a mezzo-soprano nor does she display any characteristics of one. The first thing you mention is the thinning of her vocal fold mass around an F. This is not unusual. In fact I urge you to find a singer - soprano or otherwise - who does not do this. Most will do it more. What I think you might be mistaking for thinning is a distinct twang and nasality that Stephanie has everpresent in her voice. This is how she can handle the entire upper half of her voice in a full weight rather than having to lighten considerably or outright switch to mixed voice around E or E-flat as many of her peers do for certain notes; or not resorting to outright having to scream the notes, like once again many of her peers do. The passaggio you speak of is strictly referring to head register or M2 laryngeal vibratory mechanism - and to classical voice. Unless one sings in a blended method - 'legit musical theatre' is one of these or a classically-influenced jazz (for example Sarah Vaughan or Alice Babs), this passaggio is completely irrelevant. It is still generally irrelevant as most of these voices are not classically trained and passaggio in head register is not an automatic change but rather an intentional trained acoustic shift. There is a secondo passaggio in modal voice around a B4, for some voices as high as E-flat (though this is very uncommon, the typical upper passaggio for chest voice is around C or C-sharp for higher sopranos), but this is not what you speak of. To add to this, the term middle register which you continue using there to add to your argument is a register which Stephanie does not use. In fact you can find under 10 clips here of her actually using something akin to it. Middle register, and I know this well due to the nature of my job - as people use it in voice pedagogy (particularly classical) is not something that is modal. It is very much a form of 'mixed voice' in head (not that most mixed voice isn't this but you get the idea). If you want to hear how a middle register sounds on a very high soprano voice - listen to parts in lower fifth octave head in the compilation I made of Erna Sack in a movie Nanon. This registration even despite being possible to take up quite high is rarely ever done so above an F. And this goes for sopranos. This is not how we classify passaggi nor how we classify voice types. Limits of registers are not relevant. If lack of comfort above the staff meant one is a mezzo - Rosa Ponselle, Renata Tebaldi, Lina Bruna Rasa, Clara Petrella. The list can go on and on. Any Wagnerian soprano except Birgit Nilsson or Rita Hunter really as well. Any traditional veristic soprano as well. You must understand the flaw in your logic. Especially when Stephanie Mills does indeed have a far easier access to the top than most of these women I mentioned, and all of these were acclaimed operatic sopranos. Rosa Ponselle had to transpose much of the roles she did down. Renata Tebaldi transposed several roles down as well. Not on the level of these singers but the mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne transposed much of her roles down two semitones despite having an easier access to a high C than Renata Tebaldi and ended up singing in a pretty much contralto tessitura due to it. Eugenia Mantelli, a singer of a much higher quality overall transposed things down too. There was also contraltos who never had to transpose anything down for example Marie Delna having great high notes. And then there was a mezzo-soprano like Fedora Barbieri who took her middle register upwards and struggled as early as E5. You see the pattern? What you point to is of no relevance for classification. Especially since you misused the terminology. If you mean above the staff in her belt I would agree but I would also say that very few belters can actually do it properly. Most outright just 'yelp' their high notes or scream. I can do this too and I'm by no means a soprano. This is just knowing how to thin out above a certain point. Not a quality of a voice type. In fact the next big 'contemporary' video range will be on a mezzo-soprano who does just this, and sings in a soprano tessitura. A gospel singer. An old school gospel singer with a very easy high range. Perhaps you might know who I'm referencing. Stephanie does LIVE in the upper region of her voice. I had to force clips of her below B-flat into the video because she has barely anything notable there. She lives in the fifth octave in full voice. In a full belt. Even in her 60s (when in good condition of course) with an aged voice this is a case. She still sings in the same keys, and some songs in a higher key than in studio to avoid the low notes. Low notes which I did not see you mention at all? Where is the presence in her chest voice? A mezzo-soprano is a voice that has to have a striking presence in the middle register - middle which is not chest voice or belt; and then on top of that have a strong chest register with considerable natural density. Density is the most important thing about voice classification. A singer may have the easiest high notes in the world yet still be a mezzo-soprano due to the natural density of their voice (and of course their passaggi but this is a deeper thing which you cannot really classify unless you study their voice in depth and this goes for classical singers) like Margreta Elkins or Della Jones; or even be a lower mezzo-soprano who can due to knowing how to change the acoustic configuration of the voice to enter into the 'flute register' sing like a coloratura soprano - like Huguette Tourangeau, yet she still would remain that voice type. See what I'm pointing out again? The density of the voice is essential. Can you imagine a voice like Stephanie singing mezzo-soprano repertoire without having any strength in her middle register or middle of the chest voice? This is completely unrealistic and I daresay a misunderstanding of how both the voice works and how the classification system works and its purpose. Curious to hear your thoughts. Open to answering any questions.

@KajiVocals I understand where you're coming from, but when I did my research on female voice types, the passaggio for contraltos is roughly around a C or a D5, the passaggio for mezzo-sopranos again is around an E or an F5 and the passaggio for sopranos is roughly between an F#5 or a G#5, depending on the type of soprano and of course, you know I'm referring to the secondo passaggio when I listed the different passagi for women. The only thing that shouldn't be applied to non-classical singers is the German fach system, meaning that pop singers shouldn't be given voice classifications such as a lyric soprano, coloratura soprano, leggiero tenor and things like that, unless if that person is classically trained like Kim Burrell for instance. From what I e heard, Kim Burrell has been classically trained as a dramatic soprano for 10+ years now. Whether if a person is singing pop music or classical music, all the other rules still pretty much apply to all singers. Voice types are often mistaken for one another because for one, all female voice types sit about a third or a fourth apart from each other, so they all are going to share many of the same notes as each other. The same thing goes for male voices as well. It all boils down to the quality and confortability level of these notes. Mezzo-sopranos may have a similar vocal range to that of a standard non-coloratura soprano, but they have different tessituras. Another reason why voice types are mistaken for one another is because of youth, meaning that young mezzos are often mistaken for sopranos and young contraltos are often mistaken for mezzos. People think that just because a female has a bright timbre that can hit high notes that it automatically qualifies them as sopranos when there's so much more to just listening to a person's tone and range. When I classify voices, I pay attention to the timbre, vocal weight, vocal range and then, I would also pay attention to where they're breaks are within their voices and the quality of the chest, middle and head voice. Some singers are more easier to classify than others. Even the fach system isn't necessarily designed to put singers in a box, it's was made to help singers identify the strengths that they have in their voices. A lot of times, they have mezzos singing soprano roles and vice versa.

@@markshelton3121 I don't think you understood these writings properly then. Because the passaggio you speak of does not apply for pop voice and it is not biological regardless. Nor you will find any singer singing in middle register at G-sharp or A5 as some of these writings tend to make you believe. My job is in opera and my area of work is specifically to do with scholarly work and repertoire. Assigning things to parts and finding parts that fit certain voices better rather than others, sometimes having to transcribe things like this from manuscripts and what's not. I am also working on a literary project on the history of voice classifications and their evolution. None of what you said, even in the second paragraph makes Stephanie a mezzo-soprano. She has ZERO qualities of a mezzo-soprano. She spends much of the time singing above the secondo passaggio of chest voice (which sits around five semitones above the primo passaggio). Her chest register is very light naturally and she is to this day still incapable of belting an F in the fourth octave which is a note which is above the primo passaggio for a mezzo-soprano. Can you explain this? Because that is a major contradiction to your point. I assure you that you don't have to explain the misconceptions around voices and confusions around them. Especially when you continue to bring terminology like middle register here which does not apply as Stephanie does not and has never used the middle register. And the so-called breaks you speak of are not passaggi nor do they classify voices. If you want to classify voices pay attention to quality of notes around F4-D5 for the female voices, not higher.

Oh honey, it's so obvious you haven't heard Steph sing live. Her voice was super high when she performed live in the 80s, 90s and 2000s. I haven't seen her since like 2012 or something? But I'd bet anything she still sounds like a soprano now. When I saw her live many times during the 80s (including the Wiz run of 84 SOOO good), she'd totally skip the low noites or struggle with them and I swear she'd practically eat the mic trying to hit them. This happened in the 2000s too. Also FYI I'm a classically trained soprano who sings jazz and I'm struggling to find any sense in what you're saying here... this girl sings in her upper range at all times. And what do you mean her head tone isn't her strength?? She just doesn't sing very high in it but what she uses is GOOD!! This isn't a middle voice singer like Dionne for example or lower voice like Mavis Staples (that right there CONTRALTO). Doesn't really make much sense. I legit don't get how you don't see this.

@@KajiVocals Very interesting job. What's the research for?

No, never took a single lesson. All her talent came from God.❤

@@george4u1960 I've heard the opposite actually. I heard she took some classical lessons in college and then took private lessons. I'd be inclined to agree basing off the strong difference between the quality of her voice in the first couple albums versus later.

@ she started singing in the church like a lot of black singers did back in the day. That’s what they got their training God’s gift was strong in the black community back then because we were praising him through voice.

@ I was there I was a soul train dancer and I met Miss Mills. I’m 65. I met her when she married Jeff Daniels of Shalamar. She told us no training. She was nine years old when she starts singing.

@@george4u1960 I’m surprised at the 2nd comment. The way she sang, especially leading up to her prime sounds like a formally trained singer to me. On top of the informal (but effective, hard training) from church back then. I’m sure she must’ve had at least coaching from the Broadway work she did back then. You don’t do shows like that without any coaching at all.

A sopranino is the real coloratura soprano like Natalie Dessay...these singers can sing from fis 3 up to c4 german tessitura....Edita Grunerova also was one....otherwise, yoz are a lyric or dramatic soprano with agility

@@idankoos4156 nah i think dessay is just a regular coloratura

@@bradycall1889Young Dessay absolutely not. Her voice lowered. And Gruberova’s voice is lower than hers (and with more issues).

@@KajiVocals ok yeah sorry i was guessing based off of little information i am not familiar with her voice

@ ruclips.net/video/JjdBwjhXdrQ/видео.htmlsi=aGjz0m1BCyk6iD8_ Her voice was lighter back then

That would be like 3 or 4 semitones above a normal soprano like Whitney or Streisand. Is that possible?

LOL in a hypothetical situation in which she sang opera yeah she would I think, but she's a contemporary singer so it doesn't apply 💀💀💀.

She never sang Wagner so I’d not say that

@KajiVocals yeah, she never did, I read an analyzes about her voice and this was mentioned....and it absolutely made sense to me

No.

John’s voice is lower! Although Cab does have a considerably better developed lower end.