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Voice type (equivalent to the German Fach and similar Italian and French categorizations) is a system for categorizing classical and operatic solo singers, and the roles they sing, by the tessitura, weight and timbre of their unamplified voices in an opera house or concert hall.

This classification system is a tool for singers, composers, venues, and listeners to categorize vocal properties, and to associate possible roles with potential voices. There have been times when this system has been used too rigidly, i.e. a house assigning a singer to a specific type, and only casting him or her in roles they consider belonging to this category.

A singer will ultimately choose a repertoire that suits their instrument. Some singers such as Enrico Caruso, Rosa Ponselle, Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas or Plácido Domingo have voices which allow them to sing roles from a wide variety of types; some singers such as Shirley Verrett or Grace Bumbry change type, and even voice part over their careers; and some singers such as Leonie Rysanek have voices which lower with age, causing them to cycle through types over their careers. Some roles as well are hard to classify, having very unusual vocal requirements; Mozart wrote many of his roles for specific singers who often had remarkable voices, and some of Verdi’s early works make extreme demands on his singers.

A note on vocal range vs. tessitura: Choral singers are classified into voice parts based on range; solo singers are classified into voice types based in part on tessitura – where the voice feels most comfortable for the majority of the time. Following is a list of types, with representative examples of roles and singers:
(For more information and roles and singers, see the individual voice type pages.)

Female voices

Soprano

Soprano range:
The low extreme for sopranos is roughly B3 or A3 (just below middle C). The high extreme: at a minimum, non-coloratura sopranos have to reach "soprano C" (C6, two octaves above middle C), and many roles in the standard repertoire call for D6 or D-flat6. Sopranos are often divided into different sub-categories based on range, vocal color or timbre, the weight of voice, and dexterity of the voice. These sub-categories include: Coloratura soprano, Soubrette, Lyric soprano,Spinto, and Dramatic soprano.

Intermediate Voice Types

Two types of soprano especially dear to the French are the Dugazon and the Falcon, which are intermediate voice types between the soprano and the mezzo soprano: a Dugazon is a darker-colored soubrette, a Falcon a darker-colored soprano drammatico.

Singers include Jessye Norman and Rosa Ponselle (Falcon examples)

Mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano range: range is a stricter requirement for choral voices than for opera singers. In fact, a mezzo-soprano's range can be the same as a soprano’s; some mezzo roles call for the "soprano C" (C6), but the tessitura is lower. Mezzo-sopranos are often broken down into two categories: Lyric mezzo-soprano and Dramatic mezzo-soprano.

Contralto/Alto

Contralto is the lowest female operatic voice, usually with a deep and dark timbre. True operatic contraltos are very rare.

• Alto - Technically, "alto" is only a separate category in choral music where it refers simply to the vocal range. In current operatic practice, female singers with very low tessituras are often included among mezzo-sopranos.

Male voices

Voices higher than tenor

• Countertenor , Sopranist and Haute-contre

Vocal range for such voices (approximate)
Countertenor: from about G3 to E5 or F5
Sopranist: extend the upper range, some as high as E6 or F6
Haute-contre: from about D3 or E3 to about D5

These, and other similar terms, are used for the highest male voices, and singers designated by the first two of these terms often sing roles originally written for castrati in baroque operas. Except for a few very rare voices (such as the American male soprano Michael Maniaci, or singers with a syndrome such as Kallmann's) singers called sopranist, male alto or countertenor generally sing in falsetto, sometimes using their modal, speaking voice for the lowest notes. Historically, there is much evidence that "countertenor", in England at least, also designated a very high tenor voice, the equivalent of the French haute-contre, and something similar to the "leggiero tenor". It should be remembered that until about 1830, all male voices used some falsetto-type voice production in their upper range.

Tenor

Tenor range:
The lowest note in the standard tenor repertoire is A2 (Mime, Herod), but few roles fall below C3 (one octave below middle C).
The high extreme: many tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for a "tenor C" (C5, one octave above middle C). In the leggiero repertoire the highest note is an F5 (Arturo in I Puritani), though few singers will have this role in their repertoire. Tenors are often divided into different sub-categories based on range, vocal color or timbre, the weight of the voice, and dexterity of the voice. These sub-categories include: Leggiero tenor, Lyric tenor, Spinto tenor, Dramatic tenor, and Heldentenor.

Baritone

The Baritone is the most common type of male voice. The vocal range of the baritone lies between the bass and tenor ranges, overlapping both of them. Music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second A below middle C to the F above middle C (i.e. A2-F4) in choral music, and to G above middle C (i.e. A2 - G4) in operatic music, though it can be extended at either end. Baritones are often divided into different sub-categories based on range, vocal color or timbre, the weight of the voice, and dexterity of the voice. These sub-categories include:Lyric baritone, Bel Canto (coloratura) baritone, kavalierbariton, Dramatic baritone, Verdi baritone, baryton-noble, andBariton/Baryton-Martin.

Bass-baritone

Bass-baritone - Also called "Heldenbaritone", a bass-baritone has the tessitura of a baritone but the lower range that is customary of a bass. Bass-baritones play a variety of roles, and frequently play either villainous characters, or regal older men.

see

Bass

Base range: from D2 (Osmin's aria) to E4 (Osmin also has to sing an E4)

A bass is a male singer who sings in the deepest vocal range. Basses are often divided into different sub-categories based on range, vocal color or timbre, the weight of the voice, and dexterity of the voice. These sub-categories include: Basso cantante, Basso profondo, Basso Buffo / Bel Canto Bass, Basso Cantante, and Dramatic Bass

See also

• Fach, an explanation of the German system of classifying voices
• Vocal weight
• Singing
• Opera

External links

• Collection of public domain scores (Indiana U)
• Smaller collection of public domain scores (Harvard)
• Collection of librettos and translations
• Collection of librettos (Karadar)
• Collection of librettos (Stanford)
• Verdi librettos
• German/English Wagner librettos
• Aria database

1. http://pioneer2.aaps.k12.mi.us/choir/voiceclass.html#Soprano

• Articles lacking sources from November 2007
• Musical terminology
• Singing
• Vocal music
• Vocal ranges
• Opera terminology