Every Operatic Mezzo and Contralto Voice Type, Explained
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- Опубликовано: 27 фев 2022
- All the mezzo voice types, EXPLAINED! This is what lyric mezzo, contralto, and Zwischenfach really mean in the opera world. So if you wanted to know the difference between altos and contraltos, now you know! :)
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#mezzosoprano #contralto #whatsmyvoicetype 
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Again, like the first video, this is JUST a crash course! Lots of further depth I had to skip here. Because there lines between all the mezzo and contralto Fächer are so permeable, I could literally write a dissertation on it and only then MAYBE cover everything 😂Drop anything I missed in a comment here!
I love that you mentioned that the facher system was developed to limit abuse and overwork! I had no idea.
@@kagitsune Yeah! Opera houses were telling any soprano, "You're a soprano, right? Do queen of the Night tonight and then do Tosca tomorrow!" as though voices were built for that xD Categories really helped people avoid the pressure to sing roles that could destroy their voices.
@@robinhahnsopran Oh god... o__o;;;
I don't know if you have an answer to this, but I'm always wondering why contraltos (or at least, people officially billing themselves as such) are so scarce nowadays to the point of being almost not worth mentioning, but were much more common in the the past. Are people who would have once been classified as contraltos now being classified as mezzos? And perhaps vice versa in the past, with people who would today be classified as mezzos sometimes classified as contraltos. Or are there genuinely fewer voices with contralto qualities nowadays due to teaching styles (or something else?)
Voices that sound like contraltos to me (whatever that even means, probably less "warm" and more "dark" - although those are overlapping and vague terms) seem to be more common in older recordings, but I'm not sure if that's just a matter if who in particular I'm listening to.
@@professorrock4698 What an excellent question! I can't say I know for sure, but I think you're absolutely right: that some people who would have called themselves contraltos in the past are definitely billing themselves as mezzos now. If I had to guess based on what I know, I think there are a lot of factors at play here (but yes, it's just a guess based on my own observations!): I think it starts with the fact that since the advent of microphones and professional recordings, a lot of singing schools have changed their technique, so for starters a lot of those artists may simply be singing their voices differently. On top of that, there's a financial incentive, once the trend starts; the opera world is liable to pigeonhole an artist if they give themselves a very specific fach label, particularly within the mezzo/contralto realm, and therefore they may get offered fewer parts if they say they're a contralto than anything else. It becomes better for people's careers to give themselves a more "general" fach name in that way, and nowadays, mezzo is more "general". And then, of course, contraltos started to fall out-of-fashion, too, which is simply unfair! Once this has happened for a while, I think we also bring in the biggest confounding factor, and the one that really makes this a self-fulfilling prophecy: fewer teachers and coaches now know what to listen for to distinguish a contralto from a mezzo, because they've heard fewer examples! Therefore, when a young singer begins to learn, it may not occur to either themselves or to their teacher that there may be a difference. I mean, the pitch difference between contraltos and mezzos is so slight to begin with - they may simply not notice!
Sorry I'm super brain-foggy today, which may make this make less sense, but yeah, that'd be my guess. I'm 100% sure I'm missing stuff, too! If anyone else has any further insight on this - and any further ideas of any more factors at play! - I'd love to hear about them :) Thanks for asking!
So glad to help out! And yeah, the boxes are weird, and wildly overlapping, and there are few enough of us that we sing nearly everything anyway. My resume has like 5 MAJOR contralto roles on it, 2 soprano roles, a bunch of lyric, and a few Dramatic mezzo roles. Oh God, it occurs to me, even though I bill myself as a Dramatic Mezzo, I might have fewer ACTUAL Dramatic Mezzo roles on it than contralto/others. Yikes!
The spread of roles mezzos of different types sing outside your actual fach is just. SO wide. We sopranos tend to stick so closely to our Fächer! xD
@@robinhahnsopran Omg, right?! I've sung literally the majority of the Dramatic Contralto rep, and multiple soprano roles but like... 2(?) actual Dramatic Mezzo roles. What the fach?
Do you find yourself billing yourself as a Dramatic Mezzo because that helps companies/directors/etc get an idea for your sound or is this something that helps save you the trouble of having to fully describe what your voice can and can't do? Currently a Bass-Baritone on my resume, but my tessitura loves Bass land. I'm def not an Escamillo, but not a Sarastro.
@@zacharymendenhall I mean, the fach and the resume go together. Lots of mezzos may be lyric but just do the character stuff, or you may have all buffo bass stuff on your resume, or oratorio, and it all helps for people to get an idea of where your voice lives.
Oooh, there are a lot of contralto roles, which are very beautiful...
And many Mezzo-Roles are in truth Contralto Roles, but because Mezzos are singing them today, we think, they are Mezzo-Roles.
Contralto Roles are :
Dalilah - in Samson and Dalilah
Azucena - in Il Trovatore
Gaea - in Daphne
Erda - in Rheingold und Siegfried
Isabella - In Italiana in Algeri
Smeton - in Anna Bolena
Mrs. Quickly - in Falstaff
Ulrica - in Un Ballo in Maschera
Arsace - in Semiramide
Tancredi - in Tancredi
Maffio Orsini - in Lucrezia Borgia
Auntie - In Peter Grimes
Wowkle - in La Fanciulla del West
Lucrezia - von Benjamin Britten
Mallika - in Lakmé
1.Norn - in Götterdämmerung
Waltraute - in Götterdämmerung
Mary - in der fliegende Holländer
Zia Principessa - in Suor Angelica
Bradamante - in Alcina
L'Opinion Publique - in Orphée aux enfers
Arnalta - in L'incoronatione die Poppéa
Orpheus - in Ophée et Eurydice
Cornelia - in Giulio Cesare
Madame de la Haltiére - Cendrillon
Mercedes - in Carmen
La Cieca - in La Gioconda
Madelon - Andrea Chenier
Mama Lucia - in Cavalleria Rusticana
and more
Very very Remarkable are :
Gaea - in Daphne with the Aria "Daphne... Komm ins Haus... Dein Zagen kenn ich"
Erda in Siegfried "Stark ruft das Lied... Männertaten umdämmern mir den Mut... Wirr wird mir, seit ich erwacht"
Mrs. Quickly in Falstaff mit "Reverenza"
Ulrica in Un Ballo mit "Re dell abisso affretati"
Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica mit "Il Principe gualtiero"
La Cieca in La Gioconda mit "Voce di donna"
Und eine Szene mit Madelon in Andrea Chenier.
A really wooonderful and special Contralto Voice is Ewa Podles or Fedora Barbieri, but also many others ❤️
Just wanted to add a few of my favorites to the list:
Tchaikovsky wrote some great contralto roles, namely Polina in The Queen of Spades and Olga in Eugene Onegin.
Orlando in Vivaldi's Orlando Furioso is also specifically a coloratura contralto role.
Also Countess in Pique Dame is definitely a contralto role so as Madame de Croissy in Carmelites or Klytaemnestra in Elektra
I personally catagorize myself as a Dramatic Bass-Baritone (can sing some Countertenor as well) and I have to say I LOVE Dramatic Mezzos and Contraltos.
I want to cry 😭😭 this video deserves a billion views 👏🏻👏🏻 so informative and thorough. Simply love love love this. 😍😍😍 thank you so much for uploading
Ugh, I’m so excited & looking forward to hearing about the other voice parts!!!
This is my new favorite RUclips channel! I’m so glad I found it.
Thanks for sharing all this information! It was fun to hear examples of mezzo repertoire that I can potentially give to students in the future :)
Speaking of roles that can be sung by multiple voice types/zwischenfach, I think Dido and Aeneas is worth a special mention.
I was in a production a few years ago and got sort of obsessed with it, watching and listening to as many as I could find online. Literally every day for months -- or whenever I came across a new one -- I'd watch or listen to a new production. And I have never seen an opera with more voice part flexibility, usually without changing the octaves : Belinda is pretty much always a soprano (although vocal weight varies significantly), and the Sailor is almost always a tenor (except perhaps in more amateur productions like mine, where he was a mezzo.) But Dido is commonly played by both mezzos and sopranos -- and of course falcons/zwischenfachs like Jessye Norman, who to me is the definitive Dido. Aeneas is commonly sung by both tenors and baritones. I've seen the witches as two sopranos, two mezzos, two countertenors, or any combination thereof. The 2nd Woman can be mezzo or soprano. The Spirit seems equally likely to be sung by a soprano or a countertenor (or occasionally other voices.) The Sorceress/Sorceror has been played by literally every voice type imaginable -- soprano (although admittedly I've only seen one or two), mezzo (most common), countertenor (also quite common), contralto - and the rest by changing the octave -- tenor, baritone, and bass (re: bass, there is some debatable evidence that the role was originally written this way -- in general, there is a lot of confusion about how all the parts were originally written and how they have sounded over time, too much to get into here.)
It's really fun because this flexibility leaves a bit more surprise at how everyone is going to sound -- and sound together -- in different productions.
i am a contralto and it is hard for me to sing without belting😂
Friggin SAME
I want to sing, but I don't want to disturb my roommates 😭
I'm excited for your Tenor series! I sang bass in choir and was identified as a baritone because of my vocal timbre, but my range always sat much higher, comfortably up into the Tenor-Alto range. Most people refer to it as a "Baritenor" or "2nd tenor" but after learning more about fach I believe I'm more accurately described as a "Spinto Tenor". It's fun to learn that the story doesn't end with range. My voice has always been too full & dark to describe as simply a "Tenor" yet too powerful & explosive to be described as a "Baritone". A lot of modern teachers over emphasize timbre or range and you're bringing some much needed clarity to the topic!!
Amazing, as always, Lovely!!
My favorite mezzos/contraltos that I listen to are Joyce Didonato, Marian Anderson, J’Nai Bridges, Dolora Zajick, Cecilia Bartoli (I love her recording of Griselda), Christa Ludwig and most recently Isabel Leonard. I’ve started listening to opera more in the last three years because my first year of grad school, I helped my graduate band director/orchestra conductor take notes for the opera program’s tech week (They did Pirates of Penzance) and that was because none of his TA’s wanted to be orchestra conductors.
Very informative. I love your sense of humor. Thanks.
Great... I've spent the latter part of the video picturing Carmen as Marlene Dietrich in a tuxedo.
Thank you!! I've really been trying to understand my "mezzo soprano" voice and this really helped :)
oooooh you wanna do a video on tenor/bass voice types so bad influencing you with my mind powers
Orlando in Händel's Orlando is mostly sung by Contraltos or Counter Tenors! Whew, I could name one too.
Thank you for this
I would just like to point out how underestimated Nathalie Stutzmann is.
ALSO, thank you Robin for this amazing video!!
Could you also maybe make a short or something about people who identify as "Alto-Mezzo's", please?
From what I've gathered one can be a contralto but "train" enough to cover mezzo repertoire too, or did I just get it all wrong?
Sincerely,
A very confused *possible* contralto trying to find her fach.
Answering as a mezzo, but Robin feel free to add. Most younger singers I know who identify as Contralto are generally not. They are either Mezzos or Sopranos who just haven't unlocked their high range yet, or haven't developed the technique/stamina to sing in a higher register, especially since Contralto rep is HECKIN COMFY. I'm happy to help you find a better idea of your fach or what to look/train for, but it's normal for younger singers to only singer lower rep while they get stronger.
There are no mezzo Contraltos in my opinion as an accepted vocal type. You are either a true Contralto or not. HOWEVER l do believe there are two types of mezzos. A low placed one and a more 'standard' one. The low placed mezzo is probably the one more likely to bill herself a mezzo Contralto. This type of mezzo must have an E3 in her chest voice and sing it loudly and clearly enough acoustically that it can be heard over an orchestra. In contrast the Contralto's lowest note in her chest register is D3 but as you may know music written for women even for low voiced women goes no lower than F3. Don't think there are opera pieces calling for women to sing D3
@@arxsyn See voice hacks video on lower voiced women and you'd be as surprised as me to know that most true contraltos can sing A2 well. Mezzos end near D3
This video was briliant, I hope you'll make one about men voice classification :)
Thank you so much! Tenors and baritones/basses are coming soon :)
Thank you, for me (an old guy) a little more diction, a little slower. Don't know if others feel that way--and by the way, you are lovely and thank you again.
Robin, since you are a lovely operatic voice teacher who does not cling rigidly to the boxes, I would love to hear your thoughts on how to find a good local voice teacher! Or even online, during these times of plague ^^; I've always wanted to try learning classical style singing, but I'm nervous about reaching out to local teachers only to have them try to force me into some fach that makes my throat hurt. ;o;
Ooh, I love this question! To me, when starting out looking for a classical teacher, a few things are super important to look for: 1) a teacher who is comfortable teaching in multiple styles, because they're more likely to be flexible and exploratory with you, even if you're particularly interested in classical; and 2) that you mesh well with them. Ask them if they have a consultation rate for the first lesson, or make sure you can pay on a lesson-by-lesson basis at first, to make sure your learning style and their teaching style mesh well. That way, if the matchup doesn't work out, there's no skin off anyone's nose about it. :) Definitely also be clear with them that you're looking for these things, though - it helps the teachers out to know that whether or not the two of you work well together is a priority of yours! :)
I think the criteria I'd look for in a new coach are different depending on the stage you're at, so these may change for your over time, but I feel like that's a good starting point. :)
@@robinhahnsopran Omg thank you 😭❤️
I feel like a straight up lady tenor, honestly.
And here are tonight's three stars/et voici les trois étoiles: the third star - Camera Two (came in clutch yet again!); the second star - Editing Robin (that's a LOT of *FÄCH und *FÄCHER text to add in post!)... And the first star - your lipstick (which stayed immaculate despite you consuming what looked to be at least one entire mug of tea during filming!).
I think Jacksepticeye is a Countertenor or Contralto. He can scream really good!
As someone who was zwischen and settled pretty firmly in the coloratura mezzo area….
Wow, I haven't heard a lot of these terms since before Covid! lol
It's been so looooong~ 😂
Is Guano Apes singer is mezzo soprano or contralto?
Am I understand right that there could be at least 3 categories of Bass-baritones:
1) Zwisch (mix between bass and baritone);
2) Bass that have ability to sing baritone range also;
3) Baritone that have ability to sing bass range also?
Or all 3 categories would be just Zwisch?
A question came up when talking to a tenor capable of singing low wanting to try singing baritone that would suit itself to his lighter voice. I as a toward the high end mezzo who nonetheless can sing low fairly well, but can’t in any way sound like a contralto could identified with him. Coincidentally just a couple days after the discussion almost the ideal contralto to suit even a high mezzo, the Smeton aria Deh Non Voler Costringere, possibly even Smeton in general or maybe trousers contraltos in general. The question then occurred to me of what others are there and what are the other best crossover roles between other voice types. Crossovers between soprano and mezzos I know pretty well. And as you say contralto roles are often taken my mezzo, due to the lack of real contraltos, but which are the most borderline. What are examples of ones most suited to mezzos. Guessing it would likely be coloratura contralto roles, but what are some other good examples besides Smeton. Ones that even mezzos that dip into soprano can effectively do. And what about men? What should my tenor friend sing if he wants to try a bit of baritone. What are the best between baritone and bass roles?
Ursula from The Little Mermaid (Not Opera but hey this Tenor2/Baritone ranged gal is just stoked that Disney finally got a Dramatic Contralto role that's not an "evil Queen") As well as Luisa from Encanto. (Again not opera but hey this vice isn't getting any higher)
which lieder oratorio Facher are there as well as musical theatre?
Ahhh i love this! I've had the exact same idea and never got to it 🙈 don't hate me if i make a similar video 😂
Omg please do! 😂I can't wait to see it!
There are also assoluta zwischen roles! Armida is one. One could argue it’s operatic suicide.
When are the other videos coming out?
Hi! I'm not gonna lie, keeping up with RUclips has been a struggle this season and the last, as I've been super busy! I'm editing more videos suuuuuuuper slowly, though, so I promise things will be coming out! :)
range vs weight? jessye norman, grace bumbry, shirley verrett?
I’m a contralto, but I don’t know which type never mind fach lol ( I’m 21 so my voice isn’t mature yet 😂). If you wouldn’t mind terribly to make a video about contraltos! That would be amazing, and I would be so grateful!
Hi. I line your videos. Can you did video on the Countertenor voice??
soprano 2 vs alto 1? tenor 2 vs bass 1 say in choir situations?
Maybe there are a lot of soprezzo, assoluta ranges, baritenors or even bassitenors. I have a baritone speaking voice but I'm a higher tenor.
rosina, cherubino, adalgisa, lady macbeth,
or mezzo vs contralto?
even carmen can be sung by either
or baritone or bass?
likewise tenor baritone?
strauss mahler solo?
oktavian
cecilia bartoli? joyce di donato?
what are men playing women called say witch in hansel gretel
alto solo in say messiah or bach or
The Rossini mezzo roles you mentioned are on the bottom staff of the women and they also listed as contralto. And some had pretty big voices such as Marilyn Horne. Not try to be ugly or in your face.
How would you classify Beyonce and faouzia
Im surprised how few views u hav.
Unfortunately, you speak so quickly that all your instruction is like "Speed dial".