Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Tenor
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
== Subtypes and roles in opera == Within the tenor voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories: ''leggero'' tenor, lyric tenor, [[spinto]] tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, Mozart tenor, and tenor buffo or spieltenor. There is considerable overlap between the various categories of role and of voice-type; some tenor singers have begun with lyric voices but have transformed with time into spinto or even dramatic tenors. === Leggero === Also known as the ''[[tenore di grazia]]'', the ''leggero'' tenor is essentially the male equivalent of a [[Coloratura soprano|lyric coloratura]]. This voice is light, agile, and capable of executing difficult passages of [[fioritura]]. The typical ''leggero'' tenor possesses a range spanning from approximately C<sub>3</sub> to E<sub>5</sub>, with a few being able to sing up to F<sub>5</sub> or higher in [[Modal voice|full voice]]. In some cases, the chest register of the ''leggero'' tenor may extend below C<sub>3</sub>. Voices of this type are utilized frequently in the operas of [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]], [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]], [[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]] and in music dating from the [[Baroque]] period.{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}} ''Leggero'' tenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey /> {{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}} * Arturo, ''[[I puritani]]'' ([[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]]) * Count Almaviva, ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' (Rossini) * Count Ory, ''[[Le comte Ory]]'' (Rossini) * Ernesto, ''[[Don Pasquale]]'' ([[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]) * Elvino, ''[[La sonnambula]]'' (Bellini) * Henry Morosus, ''[[Die schweigsame Frau]]'' ([[Richard Strauss|Strauss]]) * Lindoro, ''[[L'italiana in Algeri]]'' (Rossini) * Don Ramiro, ''[[La Cenerentola]]'' (Rossini) * Tonio, ''[[La fille du régiment]]'' (Donizetti) {{div col end}} {{anchor|Lyric tenor}} === Lyric === [[File:PDP-CH - Beniamino Gigli, Tenor - La bohème - Che gelida manina - Puccini - Hmv-db1538-8769a.flac|thumb|[[Beniamino Gigli]] singing ''[[Che gelida manina]]'' from ''[[La bohème]]'']] The lyric tenor is a warm graceful voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy and can be heard over an orchestra. Lyric tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C<sub>3</sub>) to the D one octave above middle C (D<sub>5</sub>). Similarly, their lower range may extend a few notes below the C<sub>3</sub>. There are many vocal shades to the lyric tenor group, repertoire should be selected according to the weight, colors, and abilities of the voice. [[Gilbert Duprez]] (1806–1896) was a historically significant dramatic<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qeq1AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA459 | title=Performance Practice: A Dictionary-Guide for Musicians | isbn=978-1-136-76769-2 | last1=Jackson | first1=Roland | date=23 October 2013 | publisher=Routledge }}</ref> tenor. He was the first tenor to sing on stage the operatic [[high C]] from the chest (''ut de poitrine'') as opposed to using [[falsettone]]. He is also known for originating the role of Edgardo in ''Lucia di Lammermoor''. Lyric tenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey /> {{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}} * Alessandro, ''[[Il re pastore]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]) * Alfredo, ''[[La traviata]]'' ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]) * Bastien, ''[[Bastien und Bastienne]]'' (Mozart) * Belmonte, ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' (Mozart) * Chevalier, ''[[Dialogues of the Carmelites]]'' ([[Francis Poulenc|Poulenc]]) * David, ''[[Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg]]'' ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]) * Don Ottavio, ''[[Don Giovanni]]'' (Mozart) * Il Duca di Mantova, ''[[Rigoletto]]'' (Verdi) * Edgardo, ''[[Lucia di Lammermoor]]'' ([[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]) * Faust, ''[[Faust (opera)|Faust]]'' ([[Charles Gounod|Gounod]]) * Ferrando, ''[[Così fan tutte]]'' (Mozart) * Hoffmann, ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann]]'' ([[Jacques Offenbach|Offenbach]]) * Idomeneo, Idamante, ''[[Idomeneo]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]) * Lensky, ''[[Eugene Onegin (opera)|Eugene Onegin]]'' ([[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]) * Martin, ''[[The Tender Land]]'' ([[Aaron Copland|Copland]])<ref>{{cite web | author = Glaubitz, Robert | date = 2010 | title = The Tender Land, Composer: Aaron Copland, Librettist: Horner Everett | work = Aria-Database.com | url = http://www.aria-database.com/search.php?sid=1a8242262fb7171ada3db8f148b84104&X=2&individualOpera=109 | access-date = 16 April 2017 | url-status=live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170905124314/http://www.aria-database.com/search.php?sid=1a8242262fb7171ada3db8f148b84104&X=2&individualOpera=109 | archive-date = 5 September 2017 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> * Mitridate, ''[[Mitridate, re di Ponto]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]) * Oronte, ''[[I Lombardi alla prima crociata]]'' (Verdi) * Paris, ''[[La belle Hélène]]'' (Offenbach) * Pinkerton, ''[[Madama Butterfly]]'' ([[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]]) * Rinuccio, ''[[Gianni Schicchi]]'' (Puccini) * Rodolfo, ''[[La bohème]]'' (Puccini) * Roméo, ''[[Roméo et Juliette]]'' (Gounod) * Tamino, ''[[The Magic Flute]]'' (Mozart) * Thaddeus, ''[[The Bohemian Girl]]'' ([[Michael William Balfe|Balfe]]) * Tito, ''[[La clemenza di Tito]]'' (Mozart) * Werther, ''[[Werther]]'' ([[Jules Massenet|Massenet]]) * [[Wilhelm Meister]], ''[[Mignon]]'' ([[Ambroise Thomas|Thomas]]) {{div col end}} {{anchor|Spinto}} === Spinto === The spinto tenor has the brightness and height of a lyric tenor, but with a heavier vocal weight enabling the voice to be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes with less strain than the lighter-voice counterparts. Spinto tenors have a darker timbre than a lyric tenor, without having a vocal color as dark as many (not all) dramatic tenors. The German equivalent of the Spinto ''[[Fach]]'' is the ''{{Lang|de|Jugendlicher Heldentenor}}'' and encompasses many of the Dramatic tenor roles as well as some Wagner roles such as Lohengrin and Stolzing. The difference is often the depth and metal in the voice where some lyric tenors age or push their way into singing as a Spinto giving them a lighter tone and a ''{{Lang|de|Jugendlicher Heldentenor}}'' tends to be either a young heldentenor or true lyric spinto. Spinto tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C<sub>3</sub>) to the C one octave above middle C (C<sub>5</sub>). Spinto tenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey /> {{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}} * Andrea Chénier, ''[[Andrea Chénier]]'' ([[Umberto Giordano|Giordano]]) * Calaf, '' [[Turandot]]'' ([[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]]) * Des Grieux, ''[[Manon Lescaut (Puccini)|Manon Lescaut]]'' (Puccini) * Don Carlo, ''[[Don Carlos]]'' ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]) * Don José, ''[[Carmen]]'' ([[Georges Bizet|Bizet]]) * Erik, ''[[Der fliegende Holländer]]'' ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]) * Ernani, ''[[Ernani]]'' (Verdi) * Gustavo, ''[[Un ballo in maschera]]'' (Verdi) * Hermann, ''[[The Queen of Spades (opera)|Queen of Spades]]'' ([[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]) * Macduff, ''[[Macbeth (Verdi)|Macbeth]]'' (Verdi) * Manrico, ''[[Il trovatore]]'' (Verdi) * Mario Cavaradossi, ''[[Tosca]]'' (Puccini) * Max, ''[[Der Freischütz]]'' ([[Carl Maria von Weber|Weber]]) * Pollione, ''[[Norma (opera)|Norma]]'' ([[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]]) * Radames, ''[[Aida]]'' (Verdi) * Stiffelio, ''[[Stiffelio]]'' (Verdi) * Turiddu, ''[[Cavalleria rusticana]]'' ([[Pietro Mascagni|Mascagni]]) {{div col end}} {{anchor|Dramatic tenor}} === Dramatic === Also "tenore robusto", the dramatic tenor has an emotive, ringing and very powerful, clarion, heroic tenor sound. The dramatic tenor's approximate range is from the B one octave below middle C (B<sub>2</sub>) to the B one octave above middle C (B<sub>4</sub>) with some able to sing up to the C one octave above middle C (C<sub>5</sub>).<ref name=Boldrey /> Many successful dramatic tenors though have historically avoided the coveted high C in performance. Their lower range tends to extend into the baritone tessitura or, a few notes below the C<sub>3</sub>, even down to A♭<sub>2</sub>. Some dramatic tenors have a rich and dark tonal colour to their voice (such as the mature [[Enrico Caruso]]) while others (like [[Francesco Tamagno]]) possess a bright, steely timbre. Dramatic tenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey />{{rp|194–197}} {{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}} * Canio, ''[[Pagliacci]]'' ([[Ruggero Leoncavallo|Leoncavallo]]) * Dick Johnson, ''[[La fanciulla del West]]'' (Puccini) * Don Alvaro, ''[[La forza del destino]]'' ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]) * Enée, ''[[Les Troyens]]'' ([[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]]) * Florestan, ''[[Fidelio]]'' ([[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]) * Otello, ''[[Otello]]'' (Verdi) * Samson, ''[[Samson and Delilah (opera)|Samson et Dalila]]'' ([[Camille Saint-Saëns|Saint-Saëns]]) * Peter Grimes, ''[[Peter Grimes]]'' ([[Benjamin Britten|Britten]]) {{div col end}} === Heldentenor === {{Main|Heldentenor}} The heldentenor (English: ''heroic tenor'') has a rich, dark, powerful and dramatic voice. As its name implies, the heldentenor vocal ''[[Fach]]'' features in the German [[Romantische Oper|romantic operatic]] repertoire. The heldentenor is the German equivalent of the tenore drammatico, however with a more baritonal quality: the typical [[Richard Wagner|Wagnerian]] protagonist. The keystone of the heldentenor's repertoire is arguably Wagner's ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]'', an extremely demanding role requiring a wide vocal range and great power, plus tremendous stamina and acting ability. Often the heldentenor is a baritone who has transitioned to this ''Fach'' or tenors who have been misidentified as baritones. Therefore, the heldentenor voice might or might not have facility up to high B or C. The repertoire, however, rarely calls for such high notes. Heldentenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey /> {{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}} * Florestan, ''[[Fidelio]]'' ([[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]) * Tannhäuser, ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]) * Lohengrin, ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' (Wagner) * Siegmund, ''[[Die Walküre]]'' (Wagner) * Siegfried, ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]'' (Wagner) * Siegfried, ''[[Götterdämmerung]]'' (Wagner) * Walther von Stolzing, ''[[Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg]]'' (Wagner) * Tristan, ''[[Tristan und Isolde]]'' (Wagner) * Parsifal, ''[[Parsifal]]'' (Wagner) * Aegisth, ''[[Elektra (opera)|Elektra]]'' ([[Richard Strauss|R. Strauss]]) * Bacchus, ''[[Ariadne auf Naxos]]'' (R. Strauss) * The Emperor, ''[[Die Frau ohne Schatten]]'' (R. Strauss) * Menelaus, ''[[Die ägyptische Helena]]'' (R. Strauss) * Apollo, ''[[Daphne (opera)|Daphne]]'' (R. Strauss) * Drum Major, ''[[Wozzeck]]'' ([[Alban Berg|Berg]]) * Paul, ''[[Die tote Stadt]]'' ([[Erich Wolfgang Korngold|Korngold]]) * The Stranger, ''[[Das Wunder der Heliane]]'' (Korngold) * Mao Tse-Tung, ''[[Nixon in China]]'' ([[John Adams (composer)|Adams]]) {{div col end}} === Tenor buffo or spieltenor === A Tenor buffo or spieltenor is a tenor with good acting ability, and the ability to create distinct voices for his characters. This voice specializes in smaller comic roles. The range of the tenor buffo is from the C one octave below middle C (C<sub>3</sub>) to the C one octave above middle C (C<sub>5</sub>).<ref>{{cite web|author1=Suverkrop, Bard|author2=Draayer, Suzanne|year=2017|title=Tenor Aria|website=IPASource.com|url=http://www.ipasource.com/tenor|access-date=16 April 2017}}</ref> The tessitura of these parts ranges from lower than other tenor roles to very high and broad. These parts are often played by younger tenors who have not yet reached their full vocal potential or older tenors who are beyond their prime singing years. Only rarely will a singer specialize in these roles for an entire career.<ref name=Boldrey /> In French [[opéra comique]], supporting roles requiring a thin voice but good acting are sometimes described as 'trial', after the singer [[Antoine Trial]] (1737–1795), examples being in the operas of [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]] and in ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann]]''.<ref>{{cite book | author = Cotte, R.J.V. | date = 1997 | chapter = Trial, French Family of Musicians | title = The New Grove Dictionary of Opera | location = London, New York | publisher = Macmillan | url = http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/ | access-date = 16 April 2017 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170309025722/http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/ | archive-date = 9 March 2017 | df = dmy-all }}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2017}} Tenor buffo or spieltenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey />{{page needed|date=April 2017}} {{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}} * Count Danilo Danilovitsch, ''[[The Merry Widow]]'' ([[Franz Lehár|Lehár]]) * Don Basilio, ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]) * Mime, ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]) * Don Anchise/ Il Podestà, ''[[La finta giardiniera]]'' (Mozart) * Monostatos, ''[[The Magic Flute]]'' (Mozart) * Pedrillo, ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' (Mozart) * Slender, ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor (opera)]]'' ([[Otto Nicolai|Nicolai]]) * John Styx, ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' ([[Jacques Offenbach|Offenbach]]) * Prince Paul, ''[[La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein]]'' (Offenbach) * Kálmán Zsupán, ''[[The Gypsy Baron]]'' ([[Johann Strauss II]]) * The Captain, ''[[Wozzeck]]'' ([[Alban Berg|Berg]]) * The Magician, ''[[The Consul]]'' ([[Gian Carlo Menotti|Menotti]]) * Beppe, ''[[Pagliacci]]'' ([[Ruggero Leoncavallo|Leoncavallo]]) * Frantz, ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann]]'' (Offenbach) * Spoletta, ''Tosca'' ([[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]]) * Goro, ''Madama Butterfly'' (Puccini) * Pong, ''Turandot'' (Puccini) * Gastone, ''[[La traviata]]'' ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]) * Roderigo, ''[[Otello]]'' (Verdi) * Dr. Caius, ''[[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]]'' (Verdi) * Gherardo, ''Gianni Schicchi'' (Puccini) * King Kaspar, ''[[Amahl and the Night Visitors]]'' (Menotti) * Triquet, ''[[Eugene Onegin (opera)|Eugene Onegin]]'' ([[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]) * The Holy Fool, ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]'' ([[Modest Mussorgsky|Mussorgsky]]) * Pasquale, ''[[Orlando paladino]]'' ([[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]]) * Platon Kuzmich Kovalev, ''[[The Nose (opera)|The Nose]]'' ([[Dmitri Shostakovich|Shostakovich]]) {{div col end}}
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)