@@balletshoes It’s confusing from a ballet perspective because terms like soubrette as also used as specific categories for types of ballerinas. I think comparing fach in opera and emploi in ballet might be interesting, though they don’t match up very well either.
To compare a voice with a dancer, if it is high and with a sumoringer if it is low is not really flattering for women with lower voices. What is a contralto like? A wale? That's not nice and it is not accurate.
You're right about seating distance from spintos. I sat in the front row when Christine Goerke was doing a Wagner recital in New Zealand and she nearly blew my eyebrows off. Brilliant.
I wish like hell that every single voice student EVER would get this thorough an explanation. I wish like hell ***I*** had gotten this kind of explanation. I wouldn't have given up on opera if someone had bothered to effing TELL ME even half this information. My first teacher never once mentioned that women's voices change over time (nor did she even hint that I'd need to wait to my thirties to have a mature voice). My second teacher was far more helpful, unfortunately by then I had a kid and there was no chance of me really pursuing a career in art music :( I still adore this music though and you've done just a wonderful job with explaining this idea. It's so much different from choral classifications! Looking forward to checking the male voice counterpart now!
Oh no! Oh I'm so sorry to hear that 😭 But also, omg I should totally make a choral version! And also also, it's never too late. Gotta love youtube for giving us all second chances!
I'm a Music History/Theory major from a small liberal arts college. I couldn't major in 'choir' and I wasn't a soloist, hence where I ended up. I've also worked at both Nashville and Portland Opera. And somehow, despite 5 years at Nashville Opera and 2 or so at Portland Opera, that comparison with women athletes broke my brain. I worked in opera. I understand opera. There are some I love, though usually from a symphonic standpoint. Now I understand that these roles, these were written for **known** vocal athletes! And watching these incredible singers (thanks for the tears that fell hearing Leontyne Price), I saw them COMPLETELY through a different lens. Now, I was in ticketing and stuff, but I've been a decent semi-professional choral singer much of my life. I never understood why any singer felt drawn to the art. NOW I GET IT. This is a long game career, unlike ballet and some others you mentioned. If you take good care of your living instrument, you're only stopped by yourself. I have no idea how or why this came through my feed today, but I want to offer a true mini-panegyric of gratitude that I just got to spend these 15 minutes with your explanations of these opera voices. I second one for choral voices! You didn't make this video last week, but somehow, it feels perfectly timed for me to be considering these things. Like singing again, myself! @ScoresUnstitched Subscribing and looking forward to knitting while delving into your trove of videos!! 🙏💞🦄🥰
German-speaker here: "Fach" is technically the word for _shelf_ not pocket, which especially given the list at the beginning of all of the differen _Fächer_ kind of makes intuitive sense. (It's a great video btw, really good for showing to my friends who are confused)
While Fach means basically "compartment", "Stimmfach" translates to "subject" or "professional skill" in this context. You may also use the analogy to organ, where the term used is "register".
It's also the word used for different school subjects! Translation is extremely squirrelly and that's one of the many reasons words like that don't get translated
@@emmathomas2832I love translations for this same reason! It's fun and enriching to learn the word for something in another language, and attend to the nuances where it doesn't translate exactly but has different connotations... But then I just love language band languages in general
Absolutely loved this video. I’m an opera major and this is a topic that should be explained right away to students in schools before throwing terms around. Thank you so much for much!
This was immensly informative for someone like me, who is interested but has no matrix knowledge of classical music at all. Your acute intelligence and concise pattern of assiociative teaching made this a pleasurable experience. Thank you so much, I feel richer now.❤
I'm so pleased the RUclips algorithms led me to this video. As someone who has loved going to the opera since her teens, but has never actually studied the subject, I found your explanations and analogies really clear. I can't wait to check out your other videos.
I currently sing tenor, in various choirs, but I'm finally getting the training I've always wanted, and I'm assured that I'm actually a Contralto, with a range from A2 to G5. Those high notes are like something I've put in a drawer somewhere, and can't remember what drawer I've put them in - but in lessons, I sing them easily. I can't think what on earth I can actually DO with a voice like that - but I've heard it, and was stunned - I really want to learn to USE it.
This was incredible fun to watch and listen to. I worked for a classical concert house, we had Diana Damrau, Renee Fleming and the likes on the stage and I had no idea there was so much vocal diversity. ^^ The contralto is amazing!! Thank you so much!
True Fach For example: Dramatic coloratura : Soprano with a big voice but can sing flexible agility like Rosa Ponselle, Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland. Soubrette Soprano: Soprano with a small, childish voice like Luissa Tettrazini, Kathleen battle. Lyrics Soprano : Common Soprano with light voice but not as Soubrette Soprano like Anna moffo, Mirella freni etc. Spinto Soprano : Soprano with a Medium size voice between Dramatic and Lyrics like Renata Tebaldi, Montserrat Caballe, Zinka Milanov. Dramatic Soprano : Soprano with big voice like Birgit nillson, Ghena Dimitrova, Rosa Ponselle.
Rosa Ponselle is not a dramatic coloratura lol. She doesn't even have good tops and cannot really go above C#6. Also her coloratura sucks compared to master coloratura like Callas and Joan. Joan have big tops, but her middle and lows are non-existent.
@@moonlightelf591 I always had the idea Ponselle was a mezzo (such a dark timbre) with good high notes (for a mezzo) and was pushed into soprano roles because of greater demand there. It's not surprising that exposed high notes (like the C in O patria mia) made her nervous and her desire for less exposed roles like Carmen (or Adriana which is not that high) It's amazing that she was able keep doing those roles for so long.
The hell. For every single snippet, I've been dumbstruck. Were I ever to see an opera irl. I might have trouble walking out at the end.😮 A whole new world.
Mimi in La Boheme is usually considered to be and sung by lyric sopranos. A really good spinto is exciting in the role (example Tebaldi) but is not the norm.
It would be surprising to find a voice like Tebaldi's today. The woman had such a strong and developed core. One of the most quintessential and beautiful sounding spinto voices. Leontyne Price, on the other hand, was always more of a full lyric soprano to me.
Well, normally Fiodilidgi is considered for a spinto soprano.and what spintisier are is that they usually are already more the dramatic type, nevertheless they can also be very flexible if well trained. As a spinto myself and now becoming more and more dramatic I know exactly the struggles and advantages of a spinto.
Dramatic sopranos basically disappear nowadays. That voice is huge. Nilsson was like wow…. For the tenor singing with her, I think it’s better that he doesn’t sing at all. Because if he sings, he would be silenced by Nilsson’s voice and couldn’t be heard anyway. Corelli was the only tenor who survived Nilsson, and maybe Stefano, whose voice was silenced and reappeared from time to time.
Yes, unfortunately dramatic singers are disappearing. The example used here was not very good. It was a voice full of wobbles. Nilsson had a humongous voice that was laser sharp and crystal clear without any wobbles. The Nillson and Corelli duels made opera really exciting, this is a good example. ruclips.net/video/jL64eAloyIc/видео.htmlsi=3dFOFfLjvSPZBiiS
@@nobumiau6472 Well, outside of Italian repertoires, there are surely some Wagnerians who could match Nilsson's voice, such as Svanholm (the Aida with those two great singers is fantastic). Also Placido Domingo survived once in 1970 when singing Turandot with Nilsson. But generally speaking, I pay my respect to any tenor who had the courage to stand on the stage and sing with her.
The last singer was the Amazing Eva Podles,(RIP) her range was A2 to D6! Also the contralto voice yes it is rare but it is not as rare as many think. There's a lot of reasons for this one is that there wasn't a lot of repertoire written for contraltos, also there's been a misconception that contaltos aren't marketable so many will call themselves mezzo-sopranos. There's also a lot of misunderstanding about the voice and a lot of us go through life not knowing what the heck is wrong with our voices and psychologically we may tell ourselves that this is not the way females are supposed to sing and therefore we may not even discover how low we could really get and how powerful are lower registers are. Another reason is there are three types of contraltos there's a lyric there's the middleweight or coloratura which is what Eva was( which is kind of like having both a basement and an attic so we could go very low and very high. Then there's the dramatic that is extremely low and sounds almost Male. Also the contralto voice mirrors the bass singer an octave higher so in reality there are no fewer contraltos than there are bases unfortunately there is a lot of misunderstanding about this. As an example, I come from a family full of musicians, I've been around musicians all my life but no one seemed to be able to tell me what was "weird" about my voice I didn't start studying vocals until about 4 years ago. I have a similar range as Eva does but I'm set a little lower. Roughly G2 to B5. the thing with control toes is a lot of us can get up there but we don't like to stay up there so I could use high notes sparingly but my best comfort zone is G2 to G5. Adding more to the confusion is the dramatic contralto sounds almost Male, which is why some people insist a female sounding voice can't be a contralto if it doesn't sound male. Also the most common contralto is the lyric that can be confused with a Mezzo, it's lighter and more feminine, which adds to the confusion. For me, had I known years ago about this, I'd have got into opera, but it's too late. I've been "type cast" as a rock belter singing male vocals, and although I've took some lessons, and I'm obsessed with vocal mechanics/science, my knowledge of the latter is always going to exceed my ability to sing plus when I try to sing "nice" everybody goes "what the heck? why aren't you screaming and belting like you normally do? Lol
Interesting! Thanks for educating me on the subject. I have been wondering a lot about that too. And of course you can still sing! Especially as a contralto, you have opera roles until very late in life!
@5:40 O mio babbino caro is a " grown ass woman's aria " ... but Lauretta - the character - is a teen girl who has been driven out of her mind by her insane relatives. @8 minutes: "crossfit icons of opera" ... Weight-lifters and long-distance Marathon runners in one ... I'm getting a visual @10:40 As an Assoluta, who sings Queen of the Night, I was asked to record Carmen ... 11 years ago ... not because I have a death wish ... and not because Carmen's arias were some of my best, but because men (((love))) Carmen ... and that's what the men were repeatedly begging me to record ... 11 years later, Carmen's arias are some of my best arias because my lower notes are very rich now ... like Belgian Chocolates
This was fantastic! Thanks for doing this. I knew of some of these kinds of voices, but holy MOLY, I had no idea there were that many. Also, I love you using physical metaphors for these. As a singer and dancer, I completely felt seen. LOL Love this!
Really not the best examples at all. Here’s a better idea assuming you want video footage: Lyric coloratura - Lily Pons or Mady Mesple Dramatic Coloratura - Maria Callas or Joan Sutherland Light Lyric - Kathleen Battle Full Lyric - Angel Blue or Saioa Hernandez Spinto - Renata Tebaldi Dramatic Soprano - Eileen Farrell Wagnerian - how the hell could you put anyone but Nilsson Coloratura Mezzo - Cecelia Bartoli (not the best technique but she pioneered this voice type) Lyric Mezzo - Christa Ludwig Dramatic Mezzo - Elena Obratszova Lyric Contralto - Ewa Podles or Marian Anderson Dramatic Contralto - this is even rarer, Podles is still a lyric. Only example I know of is Clara Butt.
This video made me laugh with astonishment and wish for more!!! So informative and well done! I LOVE the comparison of female vocalists and their types of voices to varied types of dancers and women athletes.Very inspiring. I'll check out local opera performances this season! Thank you!!
It seems to me many sumo wrestlers would also be offended by your comment. No offense was intended. I see sumo wrestling as a strong, powerful sport and treat it with as much respect as I do to the fach I compared it to.
I’ve been singing in and composing for choirs for a long time, and have gotten good at keeping within comfortable vocal ranges. So it’s always been a bit confusing when a mezzo comes along and sings a high B flat, but this video has helped me make more sense of it. Occasionally I get to compose for particular voices that I know well. My favourite soprano can float a high B over the rest of the choir serenely for 12 seconds 😀 (edit: I guess that would count as soubrette)
I used to be able to sing Sempre Libre. My lowest note is B2. I was lucky enough to hear Kiri te Kanawa as the Marchelin in _Der Rozenkavalier_ back in the day.
Amazing video. I really liked the parallel with gymnastics and dance, it helped a lot. I would like to watch more elaborate videos on certain themes you treated, for instance more thorough comparison between lyrical and spinto roles. Thanks again
this just popped up in my recommended. i know next to nothing about music or opera, other than i enjoy them. did i watch it in full? hell yes. thank you for such a quality video, i thoroughly enjoyed it.
I don't know if it was demonetized or demonized but it came into my recommendations 2 years after it was posted. It's an excellent job. Thank you very much!
Hoch means high in English but "Hochdramatisch" soprano roles lies very low for a regular soprano. Many mezzo-sopranos sings Wagnerian "hochdramatisch" because they are not that high. So translating it "high dramatic soprano" is very tricky because the "regular" Italian dramatic soprano roles are in much higher range (Tosca, Turandot, Amelia etc)
it's actually a very simple translation problem-- in german, adjective adverb pairs which are separated by a -ly suffix in english are often completely undifferentiated in german. 'hoch' translates both as 'high' and as 'highly'. it's a highly dramatic soprano.
You described the voices accurately and youre hilarious but you miscategorised some roles. Mimi= full lyric soprano not spinto Tosca=spinto soprano not dramatic soprabo Gilda= caro nome is lyric coloratura but then the rest is quite light lyric soprano. Far from dramatic coloratura. Aside from that i loved your video
Just realized my primary comment went to somebody else's post (I was SO inspired!!) but also want to write to you directly-- I feel like I've just found out a way to nerd out once more on music and perhaps even dabble in something else I've considered: composing! I think it's really time to get a keyboard. Well, after I spend the month of December committing to 4 concurrent writing projects. 😉 I'm a Music History/Theory major from a tiny liberal arts school, C '92. Listening to your analysis and 'let's make this all relatable, shall we?' approach has reminded me why I also looked into a Master's in Ethnomusicology! And why I sat for the Music version of the GMAT... I think that came and went. Anyhoo! Thanks for letting me feel so immediately at home! So excited to take my time and browse your trove of education and, doubtless, commentary and insights! I feel like I just won a lottery of some kind, truly. 💜
I would like to add that there are a couple more types of contraltos, one being a coloratura contralto which is what I am. I wish there was more information and examples of contraltos 😢😢
I think I'd have used Nilsson in the Turandot and Die Walkure excerpt. Also, if list to coloratura sopranos like Luisa Tetrazzini you find their voice dark and flexible with bell like staccato. Her chest and middle voice were insane! Magda Olivero and Rosanna Carteri are what lyric sopranos used to sound like.
I'm going to play devil's advocate here (always dangerous thing to do). I am at 65 writing vocal jazz for female voice that's very untraditional. Quite instrumental in nature and very challenging. I realized early on that the classically trained voice in full cry is a parody of itself. It makes alot of otherwise exceptionally discerning people roll their eyes. The microphone has changed everything. It's created the possibility of great "natural" even breathy intimacy at a distance. It's like the difference between a great symphonic trumpet player and a Miles or Chet Baker playing a modern jazz ballad. We are talking about the legitimate expressive power of the contemporary aesthetic. In my book a comical vibrato big enough to drive a car through just don't get it. It's just not cool understated modern it just draws too much attention to itself. I understand that there's a reason for it's existence, but it's always gonna function as a neon arrow pointing at the past, at that body of classical vocal repertoire so that sound will always point to the past. Devil's advocate position stated. There are rare exceptions..
That's basically just a lot of words to say you don't like it. Which is fine, but own that it's your opinion. I don't like the 'breathy intimacy' you claim is "natural" or 'cool and modern'. It sounds like a hissing radiator, like someone with such bad training half their air is wasted. Opera is about big stories with big emotions. A breathy 'modern' voice wouldn't fit because the not only would it sound spineless, it would be eaten by the story, even without any accompaniment.
This is lovely. My mom trained for a large portion of my childhood at the local community college with a former opera pianist, and she was very good, but I never knew all the extra stuff involved. I LOVE having examples of each! Thank you ♥ My mom wanted to be a coloratura but she couldn't go high enough. (She was a soprano but I gotta figure out which one tho, but I think sang spinto/dramatic stuff)
This was brilliantly done. I never knew there was so much to female opera. You took a subject that could have been a bit dry to teach and brought it to life in a very relatable way. Can't wait for the male video.
Huh, very cool. I've heard some of this terminology but never really got into opera enough to understand what the words meant. Thanks for this concise yet tremendously clarifying illustration of these voices!
We need some Zwischenfach Ladies/roles. Lyric or dramatic Falcon or Dugazon. Roles like Adriano in Wagner's Rienzi, Kundry in Parsifal, Venus in Tannhaüser, Eboli in Don Carlo, Sarah in Roberto Devereux, Cassandre in Les Troyens, Blanche in Carmelites, Sapho, etc... Iphigénie en Tauride.
I loved the analogies too - really helped illustrate the differences. And SO agree with you re. Oh Mio Babbino Caro (I'm soubrette/coloratura and it's just not right for my voice). And Mozart is one of my favourite composers - Exsultate Jubilate and the Alleluia.
My alternative examples for the voice types would be: Coloratura Soprano: Natalie Dessay Dramatic Coloratura Soprano: Joan Sutherland Soubrette: Kristen Chenowith, although she really is limited to musical theater. I would never consider her as a proper opera singer. Lyric Soprano: Renee Fleming Spinto Soprano: Leontyine Price is actually a good example Dramatic Soprano: Birgit Nilsson High Dramatic Soprano: Kirsten Flagstad The mezzo examples are al fitting. Although Marilyn Horne is the epitome of coloratura mezzo.
"Soprano leggiero, lirico leggiero, lirico spinto, leggiero …I don’t know what! Soprano, basta! Once upon a time, one soprano did „Norma“, „Puritani“, „Sonnambula, „Lucia“. The same woman. …Madame Malibran, she does „Sonnambula“ and „Fidelio“ the same night. It’s a matter of technique." (Maria Callas, Juilliard School Of Music, 1971)
I really liked this very informative video, you illustrated everything with great humor, which made it easier to follow along. The question I still got in my head were also are very different types of voices for different periods of time.
I really enjoyed this. The dancers getting their leotards in a twist over the comparisons is very funny to me so please let me carry the hate like the Sprinto I am. I wonder if cultural vocal trainings have anything to do with tendencies in range. I was raised in a very African tradition of singing so I found anything in Soubrette almost impossible. Being a chunky dark skinned girl I thought I was an alto for years by design. It was my flatmate who encouraged me to join her as the other soprano. I so want to push myself into larger ranges just to see what my voice can do. This has given me some courage so cheers.
This was really cool!! What would have made it cooler is highlighting several big name singers of each type. Like, what was Jessye Norman ? Renata Scotto ? Maria Callas ? Renee Fleming ? I would love to know where they fit in
what makes high/heavy dramatic sopranos rare is not because there are only few people who CAN do it, the reason is that dramatic sopranos have stayed in Italian operas often. There is a little difference between wagnerian and dramatic sopranos, so little that even a spinto can sing a wagnerians. Actually I can only name few wagnerian sopranos, Flagstad, Leider, Nilsson, Varnay, and Modl
I like your video, but i also think about the dramatic coloratura (Maybe Callas instead of Damrau) and the spinto (Zinka Milanov instesd of Price) in a different way... I also consider Cesare to be a contralto role not a mezzo. Garancia was said to be a soprano in 1999 when she won the mirjan hellin (And who ssid it was Nilsson, so i believe her lol).
Diana Damrau is absolutely not a dramatic coloratura. While I like what the content creator is trying to convey, I disagree with some of the examples. There are far more exemplary choices.
Thank you for your good, crystal-clear explanations. A detail in your statement at the beginning that is worth clarifying concerns the term you translated somewhat roughly - although not completely incorrectly: Fach stands rather for academic subject or drawer than for pocket. No offense of course.
Thank you! "Compartment" was what I was taught (from when the word started being applied to opera in the 19th century), but I thought "pocket" would be a bit more whimsical. Perhaps I should better balance whimsy with applicability next time. 😂
As a german speaker I had never thought of the word „Fach“ in connection with opera as „compartment“ or „pocket“. Yes, the word can mean that, but the word Fach has other meanings in other contexts, and in this context I am quite sure the correct translation would be „discipline“ or „specialty“. When someone asks you in german „was ist dein Fach?“ (what is your „Fach“) what they are asking is what you specialize in. This question would not only be asked in the context of music. If you say you are a doctor that would be a valid question, asking what kind of doctor you are, or what you specialize in. If you say you are a tenor and someone asks which „Fach“ the question is what you specialize in, not which pocket you fit into.
Gotta be honest - i'm not a huge fan of opera. I think it's beautiful - but in general the singing style bores me. Having said that - mad props to the people who can do it because I know it takes an immense amount of skill and practice. Thank you for putting these together to explain opera more to the lay person!!
![ARGENTINA vs. PERÚ [1-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 12](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xtI25ENDDSY/mqdefault.jpg)
My jaw dropped at the first note by the 'Principessa'. So unexpected!
Ewa Podleś was a queen.
I had to repeat this part just to enjoy once more
Mine too! Literally!
i had the same reaction, impressive
I loved your dancer/athlete analogies. They made so much sense to me.
Me too! That was a great choice.
I hated it! But I am a former ballerina, so ... to me, they make absolutely no sense ...
@@balletshoes It’s confusing from a ballet perspective because terms like soubrette as also used as specific categories for types of ballerinas. I think comparing fach in opera and emploi in ballet might be interesting, though they don’t match up very well either.
I thought it was confusing as well as rather dismissive of gymnasts
To compare a voice with a dancer, if it is high and with a sumoringer if it is low is not really flattering for women with lower voices. What is a contralto like? A wale? That's not nice and it is not accurate.
You're right about seating distance from spintos. I sat in the front row when Christine Goerke was doing a Wagner recital in New Zealand and she nearly blew my eyebrows off. Brilliant.
you were very brave.
"blew my eyebrows off" lmao that's evocative! Had you looking like Brad Dourif in The Two Towers eh?
@@joyfulyes Yes but my hair rather less greasy
I wish like hell that every single voice student EVER would get this thorough an explanation. I wish like hell ***I*** had gotten this kind of explanation. I wouldn't have given up on opera if someone had bothered to effing TELL ME even half this information. My first teacher never once mentioned that women's voices change over time (nor did she even hint that I'd need to wait to my thirties to have a mature voice). My second teacher was far more helpful, unfortunately by then I had a kid and there was no chance of me really pursuing a career in art music :(
I still adore this music though and you've done just a wonderful job with explaining this idea. It's so much different from choral classifications! Looking forward to checking the male voice counterpart now!
Oh no! Oh I'm so sorry to hear that 😭 But also, omg I should totally make a choral version! And also also, it's never too late. Gotta love youtube for giving us all second chances!
@@ScoresUnstitchedplease make a choral version of voice classification!
I'm a Music History/Theory major from a small liberal arts college. I couldn't major in 'choir' and I wasn't a soloist, hence where I ended up. I've also worked at both Nashville and Portland Opera. And somehow, despite 5 years at Nashville Opera and 2 or so at Portland Opera, that comparison with women athletes broke my brain. I worked in opera. I understand opera. There are some I love, though usually from a symphonic standpoint. Now I understand that these roles, these were written for **known** vocal athletes! And watching these incredible singers (thanks for the tears that fell hearing Leontyne Price), I saw them COMPLETELY through a different lens. Now, I was in ticketing and stuff, but I've been a decent semi-professional choral singer much of my life. I never understood why any singer felt drawn to the art. NOW I GET IT. This is a long game career, unlike ballet and some others you mentioned. If you take good care of your living instrument, you're only stopped by yourself.
I have no idea how or why this came through my feed today, but I want to offer a true mini-panegyric of gratitude that I just got to spend these 15 minutes with your explanations of these opera voices. I second one for choral voices! You didn't make this video last week, but somehow, it feels perfectly timed for me to be considering these things. Like singing again, myself!
@ScoresUnstitched Subscribing and looking forward to knitting while delving into your trove of videos!! 🙏💞🦄🥰
@@itsirkeel OH Leontyne Price...yeah, those were good tears.
German-speaker here: "Fach" is technically the word for _shelf_ not pocket, which especially given the list at the beginning of all of the differen _Fächer_ kind of makes intuitive sense.
(It's a great video btw, really good for showing to my friends who are confused)
While Fach means basically "compartment", "Stimmfach" translates to "subject" or "professional skill" in this context. You may also use the analogy to organ, where the term used is "register".
I would have used drawer, but I hate translation for that exact reason
It's also the word used for different school subjects! Translation is extremely squirrelly and that's one of the many reasons words like that don't get translated
@@emmathomas2832I love translations for this same reason! It's fun and enriching to learn the word for something in another language, and attend to the nuances where it doesn't translate exactly but has different connotations... But then I just love language band languages in general
Absolutely loved this video. I’m an opera major and this is a topic that should be explained right away to students in schools before throwing terms around. Thank you so much for much!
This was immensly informative for someone like me, who is interested but has no matrix knowledge of classical music at all. Your acute intelligence and concise pattern of assiociative teaching made this a pleasurable experience. Thank you so much, I feel richer now.❤
I'm so pleased the RUclips algorithms led me to this video. As someone who has loved going to the opera since her teens, but has never actually studied the subject, I found your explanations and analogies really clear. I can't wait to check out your other videos.
Voice teacher here - I really appreciate how well you explained all of this information, in a relatable format, with relatable analogies! Thanks!
I love the athlete and voice types comparisons. I think it’s very effective.
I think it is insulting for woman with lower voices.
Love how clear & informative this is 😊
No es por arruinarte pero este video esta explicado casi todo mál.
I can NOT sit through Un Bel Di without chills. Such an AMAZING passage that I can never not be moved to the point of tears.
Watching and hearing Asmik Grigorian in the Met HD production recently made me feel like I was hearing the aria for the first time! Overwhelming.
I currently sing tenor, in various choirs, but I'm finally getting the training I've always wanted, and I'm assured that I'm actually a Contralto, with a range from A2 to G5. Those high notes are like something I've put in a drawer somewhere, and can't remember what drawer I've put them in - but in lessons, I sing them easily. I can't think what on earth I can actually DO with a voice like that - but I've heard it, and was stunned - I really want to learn to USE it.
Love the expression "Those high notes are like something I've put in a drawer somewhere and can't remember where"
This was incredible fun to watch and listen to. I worked for a classical concert house, we had Diana Damrau, Renee Fleming and the likes on the stage and I had no idea there was so much vocal diversity. ^^ The contralto is amazing!! Thank you so much!
True Fach For example:
Dramatic coloratura : Soprano with a big voice but can sing flexible agility like Rosa Ponselle, Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland.
Soubrette Soprano: Soprano with a small, childish voice like Luissa Tettrazini, Kathleen battle.
Lyrics Soprano : Common Soprano with light voice but not as Soubrette Soprano like Anna moffo, Mirella freni etc.
Spinto Soprano : Soprano with a Medium size voice between Dramatic and Lyrics like Renata Tebaldi, Montserrat Caballe, Zinka Milanov.
Dramatic Soprano : Soprano with big voice like Birgit nillson, Ghena Dimitrova, Rosa Ponselle.
Rosa Ponselle is not a dramatic coloratura lol. She doesn't even have good tops and cannot really go above C#6. Also her coloratura sucks compared to master coloratura like Callas and Joan. Joan have big tops, but her middle and lows are non-existent.
Tetrazzini was a coloratura soprano.
@@moonlightelf591 I always had the idea Ponselle was a mezzo (such a dark timbre) with good high notes (for a mezzo) and was pushed into soprano roles because of greater demand there. It's not surprising that exposed high notes (like the C in O patria mia) made her nervous and her desire for less exposed roles like Carmen (or Adriana which is not that high) It's amazing that she was able keep doing those roles for so long.
I LOVED the dancer/athlete analogies.
Nice.
Wow, the contralto is so beautiful.
The hell. For every single snippet, I've been dumbstruck. Were I ever to see an opera irl. I might have trouble walking out at the end.😮 A whole new world.
Mimi in La Boheme is usually considered to be and sung by lyric sopranos. A really good spinto is exciting in the role (example Tebaldi) but is not the norm.
It would be surprising to find a voice like Tebaldi's today. The woman had such a strong and developed core. One of the most quintessential and beautiful sounding spinto voices. Leontyne Price, on the other hand, was always more of a full lyric soprano to me.
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@@lissandrafreljord7913Caballe also!
Well, normally Fiodilidgi is considered for a spinto soprano.and what spintisier are is that they usually are already more the dramatic type, nevertheless they can also be very flexible if well trained.
As a spinto myself and now becoming more and more dramatic I know exactly the struggles and advantages of a spinto.
@@BarbaraMarieLouise My mother was a lyric-dramatic soprano & Fiordiligi was one of her roles.
Dramatic sopranos basically disappear nowadays. That voice is huge. Nilsson was like wow…. For the tenor singing with her, I think it’s better that he doesn’t sing at all. Because if he sings, he would be silenced by Nilsson’s voice and couldn’t be heard anyway. Corelli was the only tenor who survived Nilsson, and maybe Stefano, whose voice was silenced and reappeared from time to time.
Yes, unfortunately dramatic singers are disappearing. The example used here was not very good. It was a voice full of wobbles. Nilsson had a humongous voice that was laser sharp and crystal clear without any wobbles. The Nillson and Corelli duels made opera really exciting, this is a good example. ruclips.net/video/jL64eAloyIc/видео.htmlsi=3dFOFfLjvSPZBiiS
@@ZENOBlAmusic It's sooooo good! I mean clearly they are trying to compete with each other on that HighC.
And definitely Windgassen! Also check out Lise Davidsen, she's like the reincarnation of Nilsson!
@@nobumiau6472
Well, outside of Italian repertoires, there are surely some Wagnerians who could match Nilsson's voice, such as Svanholm (the Aida with those two great singers is fantastic). Also Placido Domingo survived once in 1970 when singing Turandot with Nilsson. But generally speaking, I pay my respect to any tenor who had the courage to stand on the stage and sing with her.
The last singer was the Amazing Eva Podles,(RIP) her range was A2 to D6! Also the contralto voice yes it is rare but it is not as rare as many think. There's a lot of reasons for this one is that there wasn't a lot of repertoire written for contraltos, also there's been a misconception that contaltos aren't marketable so many will call themselves mezzo-sopranos. There's also a lot of misunderstanding about the voice and a lot of us go through life not knowing what the heck is wrong with our voices and psychologically we may tell ourselves that this is not the way females are supposed to sing and therefore we may not even discover how low we could really get and how powerful are lower registers are. Another reason is there are three types of contraltos there's a lyric there's the middleweight or coloratura which is what Eva was( which is kind of like having both a basement and an attic so we could go very low and very high. Then there's the dramatic that is extremely low and sounds almost Male. Also the contralto voice mirrors the bass singer an octave higher so in reality there are no fewer contraltos than there are bases unfortunately there is a lot of misunderstanding about this. As an example, I come from a family full of musicians, I've been around musicians all my life but no one seemed to be able to tell me what was "weird" about my voice I didn't start studying vocals until about 4 years ago. I have a similar range as Eva does but I'm set a little lower. Roughly G2 to B5. the thing with control toes is a lot of us can get up there but we don't like to stay up there so I could use high notes sparingly but my best comfort zone is G2 to G5. Adding more to the confusion is the dramatic contralto sounds almost Male, which is why some people insist a female sounding voice can't be a contralto if it doesn't sound male. Also the most common contralto is the lyric that can be confused with a Mezzo, it's lighter and more feminine, which adds to the confusion. For me, had I known years ago about this, I'd have got into opera, but it's too late. I've been "type cast" as a rock belter singing male vocals, and although I've took some lessons, and I'm obsessed with vocal mechanics/science, my knowledge of the latter is always going to exceed my ability to sing plus when I try to sing "nice" everybody goes "what the heck? why aren't you screaming and belting like you normally do? Lol
Interesting! Thanks for educating me on the subject. I have been wondering a lot about that too. And of course you can still sing! Especially as a contralto, you have opera roles until very late in life!
Ok but Kristin Chenoweth killed it
@5:40 O mio babbino caro is a " grown ass woman's aria " ... but Lauretta - the character - is a teen girl who has been driven out of her mind by her insane relatives.
@8 minutes: "crossfit icons of opera" ... Weight-lifters and long-distance Marathon runners in one ... I'm getting a visual
@10:40 As an Assoluta, who sings Queen of the Night, I was asked to record Carmen ... 11 years ago ... not because I have a death wish ... and not because Carmen's arias were some of my best, but because men (((love))) Carmen ... and that's what the men were repeatedly begging me to record ... 11 years later, Carmen's arias are some of my best arias because my lower notes are very rich now ... like Belgian Chocolates
This was fantastic! Thanks for doing this. I knew of some of these kinds of voices, but holy MOLY, I had no idea there were that many. Also, I love you using physical metaphors for these. As a singer and dancer, I completely felt seen. LOL Love this!
I'm an educator and your use of sporting analogies here (in additional to your verbal descriptors) was marvelous.
Goodness! This is so helpful as a listener. Thank you
Really not the best examples at all. Here’s a better idea assuming you want video footage:
Lyric coloratura - Lily Pons or Mady Mesple
Dramatic Coloratura - Maria Callas or Joan Sutherland
Light Lyric - Kathleen Battle
Full Lyric - Angel Blue or Saioa Hernandez
Spinto - Renata Tebaldi
Dramatic Soprano - Eileen Farrell
Wagnerian - how the hell could you put anyone but Nilsson
Coloratura Mezzo - Cecelia Bartoli (not the best technique but she pioneered this voice type)
Lyric Mezzo - Christa Ludwig
Dramatic Mezzo - Elena Obratszova
Lyric Contralto - Ewa Podles or Marian Anderson
Dramatic Contralto - this is even rarer, Podles is still a lyric. Only example I know of is Clara Butt.
Those are some great examples Clara Butt was amazing.
For dramatic contralti what about Gwendolyn Brown, Meredith Arwady, Nicole Mitchell, Angela Christine Smith?
There are no lyric contralto voices in the fach system.
Yeah examples are terrible. I mean Leontyne? Very unbalanced registers and voice
This video made me laugh with astonishment and wish for more!!! So informative and well done! I LOVE the comparison of female vocalists and their types of voices to varied types of dancers and women athletes.Very inspiring. I'll check out local opera performances this season! Thank you!!
Inspiring? I'm sure your voice wasn't compared with a sumoringer. That was bashing low voices - again!
It seems to me many sumo wrestlers would also be offended by your comment. No offense was intended. I see sumo wrestling as a strong, powerful sport and treat it with as much respect as I do to the fach I compared it to.
I’ve been singing in and composing for choirs for a long time, and have gotten good at keeping within comfortable vocal ranges. So it’s always been a bit confusing when a mezzo comes along and sings a high B flat, but this video has helped me make more sense of it.
Occasionally I get to compose for particular voices that I know well. My favourite soprano can float a high B over the rest of the choir serenely for 12 seconds 😀 (edit: I guess that would count as soubrette)
Contraltos are so incredibly underrated.
I used to be able to sing Sempre Libre. My lowest note is B2.
I was lucky enough to hear Kiri te Kanawa as the Marchelin in _Der Rozenkavalier_ back in the day.
Amazing video. I really liked the parallel with gymnastics and dance, it helped a lot. I would like to watch more elaborate videos on certain themes you treated, for instance more thorough comparison between lyrical and spinto roles. Thanks again
Great video. Very well informed. And may I praise the beauty of Ewa Podes’s voice.
this just popped up in my recommended. i know next to nothing about music or opera, other than i enjoy them. did i watch it in full? hell yes. thank you for such a quality video, i thoroughly enjoyed it.
This was the best video I've ever seen on explaining the types of voices. Characteristics and comparison to the sports are absolutely amazing.
I don't know if it was demonetized or demonized but it came into my recommendations 2 years after it was posted.
It's an excellent job.
Thank you very much!
Very informative! Of course some of the roles could fit in more than one fach (I would consider Mimì a full lyric for instance).
Hoch means high in English but "Hochdramatisch" soprano roles lies very low for a regular soprano. Many mezzo-sopranos sings Wagnerian "hochdramatisch" because they are not that high. So translating it "high dramatic soprano" is very tricky because the "regular" Italian dramatic soprano roles are in much higher range (Tosca, Turandot, Amelia etc)
It would be more of a "very dramatic soprano" instead, right?
it's actually a very simple translation problem-- in german, adjective adverb pairs which are separated by a -ly suffix in english are often completely undifferentiated in german. 'hoch' translates both as 'high' and as 'highly'. it's a highly dramatic soprano.
@@matheus97922correct.
Mezzo lyric and lower are the most soothing to my ears.
Can't wait for your compilation of the different male voice Fächer!
That overview was very informative and - fun!
Tricky, spinny flashy stuff - great description 😊
wow! Thanks. Even those short snippets brought me to tears with their beauty.
You described the voices accurately and youre hilarious but you miscategorised some roles.
Mimi= full lyric soprano not spinto
Tosca=spinto soprano not dramatic soprabo
Gilda= caro nome is lyric coloratura but then the rest is quite light lyric soprano. Far from dramatic coloratura.
Aside from that i loved your video
100% agree with you.
I have finally found my favorite genre of music ❤ Thank you for the quick and easy education
Just realized my primary comment went to somebody else's post (I was SO inspired!!) but also want to write to you directly-- I feel like I've just found out a way to nerd out once more on music and perhaps even dabble in something else I've considered: composing! I think it's really time to get a keyboard. Well, after I spend the month of December committing to 4 concurrent writing projects. 😉
I'm a Music History/Theory major from a tiny liberal arts school, C '92. Listening to your analysis and 'let's make this all relatable, shall we?' approach has reminded me why I also looked into a Master's in Ethnomusicology! And why I sat for the Music version of the GMAT... I think that came and went. Anyhoo! Thanks for letting me feel so immediately at home! So excited to take my time and browse your trove of education and, doubtless, commentary and insights! I feel like I just won a lottery of some kind, truly. 💜
I would like to add that there are a couple more types of contraltos, one being a coloratura contralto which is what I am. I wish there was more information and examples of contraltos 😢😢
Thank you!❤️ Same thought.
Good point!
Oh that was a joy !! constant giggle over the comparison 😄 thanks for sharing your knowledge so delightfully ❤
I think I'd have used Nilsson in the Turandot and Die Walkure excerpt. Also, if list to coloratura sopranos like Luisa Tetrazzini you find their voice dark and flexible with bell like staccato. Her chest and middle voice were insane! Magda Olivero and Rosanna Carteri are what lyric sopranos used to sound like.
Fantastic video for me who love listening to opera but would like to understand more. Love your examples!
Really helpful! Explains so much about music for voices. Thank you.
I'm going to play devil's advocate here (always dangerous thing to do). I am at 65 writing vocal jazz for female voice that's very untraditional. Quite instrumental in nature and very challenging. I realized early on that the classically trained voice in full cry is a parody of itself. It makes alot of otherwise exceptionally discerning people roll their eyes. The microphone has changed everything. It's created the possibility of great "natural" even breathy intimacy at a distance. It's like the difference between a great symphonic trumpet player and a Miles or Chet Baker playing a modern jazz ballad. We are talking about the legitimate expressive power of the contemporary aesthetic. In my book a comical vibrato big enough to drive a car through just don't get it. It's just not cool understated modern it just draws too much attention to itself. I understand that there's a reason for it's existence, but it's always gonna function as a neon arrow pointing at the past, at that body of classical vocal repertoire so that sound will always point to the past. Devil's advocate position stated. There are rare exceptions..
Yeah.
That's basically just a lot of words to say you don't like it. Which is fine, but own that it's your opinion. I don't like the 'breathy intimacy' you claim is "natural" or 'cool and modern'. It sounds like a hissing radiator, like someone with such bad training half their air is wasted. Opera is about big stories with big emotions. A breathy 'modern' voice wouldn't fit because the not only would it sound spineless, it would be eaten by the story, even without any accompaniment.
This was such an amazing video and the comparisions were on point and were so fun, I applaud you!
This is lovely. My mom trained for a large portion of my childhood at the local community college with a former opera pianist, and she was very good, but I never knew all the extra stuff involved. I LOVE having examples of each! Thank you ♥ My mom wanted to be a coloratura but she couldn't go high enough. (She was a soprano but I gotta figure out which one tho, but I think sang spinto/dramatic stuff)
Absolutely FANTASTIC video. THANK YOU for making this!
This video did a really good job of teaching me about these voices.
This was brilliantly done. I never knew there was so much to female opera. You took a subject that could have been a bit dry to teach and brought it to life in a very relatable way. Can't wait for the male video.
This was sooo interesting! Thank you for compiling all the examples - much appreciated!
This was so insightful and enjoyable to watch. Thank you!
Huh, very cool. I've heard some of this terminology but never really got into opera enough to understand what the words meant. Thanks for this concise yet tremendously clarifying illustration of these voices!
Nice job! Could be cool to have all the examples play in a row at the end as a summary to quickly compare them.:)
We need some Zwischenfach Ladies/roles. Lyric or dramatic Falcon or Dugazon.
Roles like Adriano in Wagner's Rienzi, Kundry in Parsifal, Venus in Tannhaüser, Eboli in Don Carlo, Sarah in Roberto Devereux, Cassandre in Les Troyens, Blanche in Carmelites, Sapho, etc... Iphigénie en Tauride.
I was thinking exactly the same. It’s an important Fach that wasn’t mentioned here.
What a fun and educational video! Thanks!
you've picked excellent examples, I really like it 👏👏👏
Really very interesting, I hadn't realized there was so much variety. And very entertaining too. Thanks!
I loved the analogies too - really helped illustrate the differences. And SO agree with you re. Oh Mio Babbino Caro (I'm soubrette/coloratura and it's just not right for my voice). And Mozart is one of my favourite composers - Exsultate Jubilate and the Alleluia.
My alternative examples for the voice types would be:
Coloratura Soprano: Natalie Dessay
Dramatic Coloratura Soprano: Joan Sutherland
Soubrette: Kristen Chenowith, although she really is limited to musical theater. I would never consider her as a proper opera singer.
Lyric Soprano: Renee Fleming
Spinto Soprano: Leontyine Price is actually a good example
Dramatic Soprano: Birgit Nilsson
High Dramatic Soprano: Kirsten Flagstad
The mezzo examples are al fitting.
Although Marilyn Horne is the epitome of coloratura mezzo.
Sutherland is s spinto disguised as something else.
Leontyne Price was a lyric.
Nilsson and Flagstad were dramatics or hochdramatischer.
(Same thing)
@@draganvidic2039 but leontyne has that metallic overtone that i think only spintos have, i think maybe she's a spinto with the range of a lyric
Price called herself a lyric soprano "but a juicy one."
"Soprano leggiero, lirico leggiero, lirico spinto, leggiero …I don’t know what!
Soprano, basta!
Once upon a time, one soprano did „Norma“, „Puritani“, „Sonnambula, „Lucia“. The same woman.
…Madame Malibran, she does „Sonnambula“ and „Fidelio“ the same night. It’s a matter of technique." (Maria Callas, Juilliard School Of Music, 1971)
Same note at 4:19 (soubrette) and 7:25 (spinto). Good for comparing.
Whoa. Good catch! They actually do sound different. The first one actually sounds higher and lighter even though it's the same note!
I really enjoyed this; especially! the comparisons...😁
I was so hoping for Ewa! Thanks
okay this video is AWESOME. i'm so happy i found it!
This was so helpful for me in my continuing self-education in opera, and music and singing in general.
I really liked this very informative video, you illustrated everything with great humor, which made it easier to follow along.
The question I still got in my head were also are very different types of voices for different periods of time.
I LOVE THIS! thankyou for putting a lot of effort to this video. It really helps! ♥
I really enjoyed this video on classical voices soooo informative and educational
Am a contralto. It’s the best way to be. Get outta my way, sopranos. Imma take you out at the knees.
Beautiful video! The first two mezzo examples sounded almost somewhat like dramatic sopranos.
I really enjoyed this. The dancers getting their leotards in a twist over the comparisons is very funny to me so please let me carry the hate like the Sprinto I am. I wonder if cultural vocal trainings have anything to do with tendencies in range. I was raised in a very African tradition of singing so I found anything in Soubrette almost impossible. Being a chunky dark skinned girl I thought I was an alto for years by design. It was my flatmate who encouraged me to join her as the other soprano. I so want to push myself into larger ranges just to see what my voice can do.
This has given me some courage so cheers.
This was really cool!! What would have made it cooler is highlighting several big name singers of each type. Like, what was Jessye Norman ? Renata Scotto ? Maria Callas ? Renee Fleming ? I would love to know where they fit in
Thoroughly enjoyed this presentation. Thank you!
Really enjoyed this, thank you!
This really good and I think will get me more into opera.
Just saw The Barber of Seville last night!
what makes high/heavy dramatic sopranos rare is not because there are only few people who CAN do it, the reason is that dramatic sopranos have stayed in Italian operas often. There is a little difference between wagnerian and dramatic sopranos, so little that even a spinto can sing a wagnerians. Actually I can only name few wagnerian sopranos, Flagstad, Leider, Nilsson, Varnay, and Modl
I like your video, but i also think about the dramatic coloratura (Maybe Callas instead of Damrau) and the spinto (Zinka Milanov instesd of Price) in a different way... I also consider Cesare to be a contralto role not a mezzo. Garancia was said to be a soprano in 1999 when she won the mirjan hellin (And who ssid it was Nilsson, so i believe her lol).
Completely right - i agree your comment
Diana Damrau is absolutely not a dramatic coloratura. While I like what the content creator is trying to convey, I disagree with some of the examples. There are far more exemplary choices.
I loved your presentation. Very esucational.
Very informative as well as funny! Thank you.
Thank you for your good, crystal-clear explanations. A detail in your statement at the beginning that is worth clarifying concerns the term you translated somewhat roughly - although not completely incorrectly: Fach stands rather for academic subject or drawer than for pocket. No offense of course.
Thank you! "Compartment" was what I was taught (from when the word started being applied to opera in the 19th century), but I thought "pocket" would be a bit more whimsical. Perhaps I should better balance whimsy with applicability next time. 😂
Wow! Thank you for this video.
Very nice, I totally loved the examples!
Thank you so much for this clear informative video.
I once asked my singing teacher why she gave me a lot of mozart arias and she said "You just have a very mozart voice." I think I know why now hahhaa
I like the dancing examples you used ❤
Thank you! Very informative!
I'm a young soprano and still struggle with all these types of voices lmao
What a warmfull video. Thanks a lot for that
As a german speaker I had never thought of the word „Fach“ in connection with opera as „compartment“ or „pocket“. Yes, the word can mean that, but the word Fach has other meanings in other contexts, and in this context I am quite sure the correct translation would be „discipline“ or „specialty“.
When someone asks you in german „was ist dein Fach?“ (what is your „Fach“) what they are asking is what you specialize in. This question would not only be asked in the context of music. If you say you are a doctor that would be a valid question, asking what kind of doctor you are, or what you specialize in. If you say you are a tenor and someone asks which „Fach“ the question is what you specialize in, not which pocket you fit into.
hence too, as a non-native speaker of German, one could point to the word Fachmann -in English expert or professonal
Thanks for this video. It helped me so much.
Gotta be honest - i'm not a huge fan of opera. I think it's beautiful - but in general the singing style bores me.
Having said that - mad props to the people who can do it because I know it takes an immense amount of skill and practice.
Thank you for putting these together to explain opera more to the lay person!!
I don’t care what fach a singer sings in as long as I enjoy them.
So you don’t give a fach?
@
no, I enjoy them all.
Lollll