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OPERATIC VOICES
People who love opera love the sound of the human singing voice with nothing artificial between it and the listener’s ear. Although styles and technique have continued to evolve, there are certain features which distinguish operatic singing from popular. First of all, opera singers rarely use microphones to project their sound. They are trained to fill the largest halls with their natural voices, even when singing softly with a large orchestra. They must be able to do this without straining their voices. In contrast, nearly all pop singers and performers in musicals must use amplification to make their voices audible, no matter where they perform.
 To the uninitiated, an operatic voice may sound highly unnatural. Opera singers must use the resonance of the sinus cavities of the face and head, as if they were echo chambers. Proper breath control is essential. The diaphragm (a muscle beneath the lungs and above the stomach) acts as a trampoline does, pushing the air from the lungs at the desired rate.
The vocal cords (the wishbone shape in the diagram) vibrate by this controlled release; the speed at which the cords vibrate determines high or low pitch. The mouth acts like a megaphone, amplifying the sound and carrying it out on an expelled breath.
In speech or in singing, the sounds which make the words are produced by changing the positions of the tongue and the lips. Try saying the vowels a,e,i,o,u but in the following order and feel how the use of the mouth changes from the front to the back.
The following shows how important mouth placement is. Form your mouth as though you were going to say “eee”. Now, without moving your tongue or throat, try to say “ah”. What happens?
Now try changing the consonants as follows:
bad, bat, bag, ball, back, bah, bass
bat, fat, hat, sat, mat, cat, rat, tat
Which consonants are sounded in the front of the mouth, which in the middle and which at the back?
Proper singing techniques are always the same, no matter what language is being sung, but some languages are more difficult to sing clearly than others. For example, German words in general use the back of the mouth, enabling the singer to open the throat and produce a full sound. On the other hand, most French words are formed in the nose and front of the mouth. Thus, using proper singing technique is more difficult with French. Try saying the following to see why.
English -- German -- French
father -- Vater (FAH-ter) -- père (pear)
dog -- Hund -- chien (shyehn)
small -- klein -- petit (peh-TEE)
cold -- kalt -- froid (frwa)
egg -- Ei -- oeuf (euf)
Italian is the easiest of all the European languages in which to sing because most of the sounds are made in the middle of the mouth. English is the hardest because it is a mixture of words taken from French and German and requires a constant shifting from front to back. That is one reason why operas sung in English are often difficult to understand.
VOICE CLASSIFICATIONS
Singers are usually cast in roles by the kinds of voices they have, even if their physical appearance does not totally match that of the character they are playing. (Although this doesn’t happen as often as it used to, it is not unusual to find a famous older man or woman playing the part of a youthful character, or a singer made to look old with makeup.) The range of human voices is about four and one-half octaves, one and one-half octave less at each end than the piano.
SOPRANO — The highest female voice, with a sound similar to a flute or violin in range. In opera, the soprano is most often the heroine, since a high bright sound can easily suggest youth, innocence and virtue. Pamina and the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, Marguerite in Faust, Love Simpson in Cold Sassy Tree, Ilia and Elettra in Idomeneo, and Aïda are all roles sung by sopranos. The normal range of a soprano is two octaves up from middle C, sometimes with extra top notes.
MEZZO-SOPRANO or MEZZO — The middle female voice, similar to an oboe or viola in range. The mezzo-soprano sound is often darker and warmer than that of the soprano. In opera, composers generally use the mezzo voice to portray villainesses or older women such as mothers. Seductive heroines such as Amneris in Aïda is an example of the latter. A special operatic convention is the use of mezzos to portray young men. Such roles are called trouser roles or pants parts. Idamante in Idomeneo and Siébel in Faust are such roles. The mezzo’s normal range is from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above it.
CONTRALTO — The lowest female voice, sometimes called simply alto. A true contralto is a very rare voice type, similar to the lower range of a clarinet. It is usually used for an older female and special character parts such as witches and old gypsies. Its normal range is two octaves from F below middle C. There are no contralto roles this season.
TENOR — The highest male voice in most operas. It is similar to a trumpet in range, tone color and acoustical “ring”. Faust, Idomeneo, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, and Radamès in Aïda are roles sung by tenors. Some composers did not like tenors and gave them character parts instead. The range is from the C below middle C to the C above. There is a higher male voice, the COUNTERTENOR, used mainly in oratorio and very early (Baroque) opera. The role of Idamante in Idomeneo may also be sung by a countertenor or male alto.
BARITONE — The middle male voice, close to a French horn or cello in range and tone color. In comic opera, the baritone is often the ringleader of the high jinks. In tragic opera, he is usually the villain or an older man. Valentine in Faust, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and Amonasro in Aïda are roles sung by a baritone. The range is from G an octave and a half below middle C to G above.
BASS (pronounced base) — The lowest male voice. It is similar to a trombone, bassoon or bass violin in range and color. Low voices usually suggest age and wisdom (basso profondo). Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte is an example. In comic opera they are generally used for old characters who are wily, foolish or laughable (basso buffo). Its range is roughly two octaves down from the F above middle C.
SPECIAL VOCAL TERMS
In addition to the vocal categories described above, there are certain terms used to describe particular kinds of voices.
BASS-BARITONE — A rare male voice, with a large range and a color between baritone and bass. Méphistophélès in Faust is a role for a bass-baritone.
COLORATURA (kawl-ohr-ah-TOO-rah) — The adjective applied to a voice that possesses unusual flexibility, able to sing many notes quickly over a wide range. This term is most often applied to female voices, although many men have this same ability. It was a requirement for all voices up to the time of Verdi.
DRAMATIC — The heaviest voice, capable of sustained declamation and a great deal of power, even over the largest operatic orchestra of about 80 instruments. This description applies to all voice categories from soprano to bass.
FALSETTO — The upper part of a voice in which the vocal cords do not vibrate completely, more often used in reference to male voices. Falsetto is frequently used by male characters when they are imitating females, but it is not just used for comic effects. British and French tenors have always been able to integrate the falsetto into the rest of the voice, which makes for very beautiful, soft singing.
HELDEN — A German prefix meaning heroic’, applied to a large voice capable of performing the most demanding dramatic roles. This word is used most often in reference to roles written by Richard Wagner.
LYRIC — A light- to medium-weight voice with an innocent quality, capable of both sustained, forceful singing and delicate effects.
SOUBRETTE — A soprano or mezzo-soprano of very light vocal weight and comparatively small range, generally cast as a young girl such as Papagena in Die Zauberföte.
SPINTO (SPEEN-toh) — A medium to heavy voice, capable of sustained singing over a large orchestra, but also able to sing lyrically when required.
EAO
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