Classification of singing voices. Types of singing voices Famous singers - tenors

I am sure that I will not be mistaken if I begin to assert that the male tenor voice is the object of desire for the masses of young men who dream of a vocal career. I believe that this is the influence of fashion, which acts indirectly through composers who write modern vocal material primarily for a high male voice.

“How to make your voice tenor?”- even such a question, which any person more or less versed in the realities of vocals would simply consider stupid, can be found on the Internet, and in one form or another on this site under the heading “Have you asked? I answer..."

It’s good if a young man knows exactly what type of voice he has and chooses a repertoire that best suits the capabilities of his body. But often the exact opposite happens - having objectively, by nature, a completely different type of voice, the beginning vocalist tends to sing notes that are too high for him. What does this lead to? To constant overstrain of your vocal organs, and here it is, this overstrain is a direct path to illness and subsequently to loss of voice.

One of the signs is the tenor voice range

So, it is already clear that the tenor has a high voice. How tall? CLASSIC defines the range of the tenor voice as C minor - C second octave.

Does this mean that the tenor singer will not be able to sing D second (or big B)? No, of course he can. But here QUALITY playing notes outside the range may be different. You have to understand that we are talking about classical music (and vocals).

At the same time, starting from a certain note of the first octave (it is different for different voice subtypes), the tenor uses a mixed technique - mixed, this section is indicated in yellow. That is, one way or another, the head register in the voice works, but not in its pure form, but as an “admixture” to the chest register. Tenor is the name for a classical male voice; calling a pop or rock singer a tenor is not entirely correct.

Firstly, classical vocal works, which are written to be performed by a tenor singer, do not go beyond the named range, and secondly, the classics do not use a pure male head voice (based on the falsetto register), therefore the tenor is limited to the second octave , although it may be better to talk about Re-Mi (but there are exceptions to this rule - the counter-tenor, more on him below). Thirdly, classical vocal technique (we must not forget about this) is distinguished by its own characteristics.

What is a tenor like?

To be fair, we should talk about subtypes of the tenor voice, because this type of male voice itself can also be different. There is the following gradation:

counter-tenor (in turn divided into alto and soprano) is the highest voice, making full use of the “head” part of the range (upper register). This is a thin boyish voice, which either did not disappear during the period of mutation, but was preserved along with a lower, chesty, masculine timbre, or a product of the development of the voice in this particular manner of singing. If a man deliberately develops his upper range, then with a certain nature he will be able to sing like a counter-tenor. This high-pitched male voice is very reminiscent of a female one:

E. Kurmangaliev “Dalilah’s aria”

M. Kuznetsov “Aria of the Queen of the Night”

The light tenor is the highest voice, which, nevertheless, has a full-bodied chest timbre, which, although it sounds very light and airy, nevertheless differs from the female one:

H. Florez “Granada”

lyric tenor– soft, thin, gentle, very mobile voice:

S. Lemeshev “Tell, girls, your girlfriend...”

lyric-dramatic tenor– a richer, denser and more overtonal timbre, compare its sound with a light tenor singing the same song:

M. Lanza “Granada”

dramatic tenor- the lowest of the family of tenors, already close in timbre to a baritone, he is distinguished by the power of sound, therefore the parts of many main characters in opera performances were written for such a voice: Othello, Radomes, Cavaradossi, Callaf... And Herman in “The Queen of Spades” too He

V. Atlantov “Herman’s Aria”

As you can see, with the exception of the highest subspecies, the rest differ from each other not in their range, but in their TONE, or, as it is also called, “voice color”. That is, TIMBRE, and not range, is the main characteristic that allows us to classify male voices and tenor, among other things, as one or another type and subtype.

The main distinguishing feature of the tenor voice is its timbre.

Famous researcher Professor V.P. Morozov talks about it this way in one of his books:

“This feature turns out to be more important in many cases than even the range feature, since we know that there are, for example, baritones who take tenor highs, but, nevertheless, these are baritones. And if a tenor (in terms of timbre, no doubt) does not have tenor highs, then for that reason alone one should not consider him a baritone...”

The most significant mistake of young people who do not yet have vocal experience is trying to determine their voice solely by its range. For example, both a baritone and a tenor sing in the middle of the first octave, what should we do? Listen to the nature of the sound of the voice. How can you hear it? And contact a specialist! At the age of 16-20, the brain has not yet had time to form certain auditory ideas about how an average male voice sounds compared to a high one in the same part of the range. This is the knowledge and experience of a vocal teacher, to whom you need to turn.

By the way, even a teacher will not always determine the type of voice from one listening; at least, to distinguish a dramatic tenor from a lyric baritone, you need to work hard! Therefore, it is not at all important to know exactly the type of your voice if you strive to sing modern repertoire, and do not learn opera parts. This has long been understood in the West, where vocal teachers define the voices of their students, classifying them into three types - low, medium or high. I talk about this in the article “Transitional areas of the voice - our vocal beacons” on this site.

The transition section is another sign that the voice type is tenor

It must be said that another distinctive feature of the voice type will be transitional sections (transitional notes). Their “location” on the height scale is directly related to the structure of the vocal apparatus, mainly, of course, the vocal folds. The thinner and lighter the singer's folds, the higher the sound they create without using the falsetto, head register. That is, the higher the transition note in the voice will be (more precisely, the entire section).

For any tenor, the transition note can be anywhere in this section; this does not mean that a dramatic tenor will have a transition to E, and a lyric or light one to G. You can't measure with a ruler! And the singer’s experience will play a significant role, and here’s why.

The fact is that gradually, with voice training, the transitional area shifts somewhat upward, because an experienced, seasoned voice is completely different from a beginner’s voice, like an adult athlete compared to a teenager. A professional can sing higher in a clear chest register than a beginner with the same voice type, this is a consequence of skill development. It follows from this that if a beginner is assigned a transition note as D of the first octave, this does not mean that his voice type is baritone. It’s just that over time, with the right training, the transition note can shift to both Mi and Fa.

So, a vocalist needs to have TIMBRE tenor voices first. Considering only the currently existing range and the location of the transition note, it is impossible to determine the exact type of voice. You need to pay attention to ALL THREE aspect, while the timbre is the greatest.

Why is it not entirely fair to consider modern high-pitched voices of rock and pop stars from the point of view of a standard classifier? Aren't they tenors?

Let's talk about this at.

Use of site materials is permitted subject to obligatory reference to the source

Altino, lyric light and strong lyric tenor
Lyric-dramatic and dramatic tenor
Characteristic tenor
Lyric and dramatic baritone

Tenor

Among the tenors, according to the given classification, it is customary to distinguish: altino, light lyric, strong lyric, lyric-dramatic, dramatic and characteristic tenor.

Voice range: from before small octave C before second octave. The tenor-altino has - before small octave - mi second octave. For dramatic tenors - from la big up before second octave. It is extremely rare to find voices whose range and timbre coloring allowed them to perform both tenor and baritone roles (for example, E. Caruso).

Altino ( A), lyrical light ( LL) and strong lyrical ( OK) tenor

In the first two types of voices, the lower part of the voice sounds only on the piano, the upper parts are light. These voices easily perform coloratura passages and embellishments. The lyric tenor has another name - di grazia (“di gracia”, graceful). The capabilities of these voices are comparable to similar types of female voices. Most often, altino and lyric tenors are entrusted with the roles of hero-lovers, but they also perform the roles of old people.

Opera repertoire:

Berendey – Rimsky-Korsakov “The Snow Maiden” ( A);
The Stargazer - Rimsky-Korsakov "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel" (only A);
Holy Fool – Mussorgsky “Khovanshchina” ( A);
Lensky – Tchaikovsky “Eugene Onegin” ( LL);
Bayan – Glinka “Ruslan and Lyudmila” ( LL And A);
Faust – Gounod “Faust” ( LL);
Romeo - Gounod "Romeo and Juliet" ( LL);
Duke - Verdi "Rigoletto" ( LL);
Indian guest - Rimsky-Korsakov “Sadko” (can sing A And LL);
Levko - Rimsky-Korsakov “May Night” ( LL);
Almaviva – Rossini “The Barber of Seville” ( A And LL);
Lohengrin – Wagner "Lohengrin" ( OK);
Werther – Massenet "Werther" ( OK);
Rudolph - Puccini "La Bohème" ( LL).

Owners of these votes: Ivan Kozlovsky ( A), Sergey Lemeshev ( LL), Leonid Sobinov ( OK), Yuri Marusin ( LL), Alfredo Kraus (L), Andrey Dunaev ( LL), Mikhail Urusov ( OK), Ahmed Aghadi ( OK), Alibek Dnishev ( LL).

Lyrical-dramatic ( LD) and dramatic ( D) tenor

The dramatic tenor has another name - di forza (“di forza”, strong), which determines its place in operatic work. Heroic parts were written for him, requiring vocal power and bright timbre colors throughout the entire range of the voice. The repertoire of the lyric-dramatic tenor is almost the same as that of the dramatic tenor.

These are strong characters, bright personalities, capable of feats, who face great trials in life.

Operatic repertoire of dramatic tenor:

Sadko - Rimsky-Korsakov “Sadko”;
Siegfried – Wagner “Siegfried”;
Othello - Verdi "Othello".

Radames - Verdi "Aida";
Sobinin - Glinka “Ivan Susanin”;
Lykov - Rimsky-Korsakov “The Tsar’s Bride”;
Calaf – Puccini “Turandot”;
Cavaradossi – Puccini “Tosca”.

Performers: Enrico Caruso ( D), Mario Lanza ( D), Nikolay Figner ( D), Mario Del Monaco ( D), Vladimir Atlantov ( D), Vladislav Piavko ( D), Placido Domingo ( D), Jose Carreras ( LD).

Characteristic tenor

This type of tenor has a special timbre coloring and, as a rule, plays supporting roles. He may not have a full tenor range, but in a limited part of his range his voice must be especially expressive and flexible in portraying insinuating, flattering, hissing, insidious whispers.

Opera repertoire:

Shuisky – Mussorgsky “Boris Godunov”;
Triquet – Tchaikovsky “Eugene Onegin”;
Misail – Mussorgsky “Boris Godunov”;
Sopel - Rimsky-Korsakov “Sadko”;
Eroshka – Borodin “Prince Igor”;
Bomelius - Rimsky-Korsakov “The Tsar’s Bride”;
Ovlur – Borodin “Prince Igor”;
Podyachiy – Mussorgsky “Khovanshchina”.

Lyrical ( LB) and dramatic ( DB) baritone

These types of voices combine the power of sound and a soft, enveloping warm timbre. Range – from la major octave C la first octave. The lower notes of a dramatic baritone sound richer than those of a lyric baritone. In this section, the dramatic baritone sounds confidently on the forte. This voice is loudest from si small octave C F first. In a number of baritone parts, falsetto sound is allowed, like a special color, for example, in Figaro's cavatina. The lyrical baritone is entrusted with the roles of hero-lovers who act not at the whim of feelings, but thoughtfully and rationally.

Opera repertoire:

Germont - Verdi "La Traviata" ( LB);
Don Juan – Mozart “Don Giovanni” ( LB);
Vedenets guest - Rimsky-Korsakov “Sadko” ( LB);
Onegin – Tchaikovsky “Eugene Onegin” ( LB);
Yeletsky – Tchaikovsky “Queen of Spades” ( LB);
Robert - Tchaikovsky "Iolanta".

Performers: Mattia Battistini, Titto Gobbi, Pavel Lisitsian, Dmitry Gnatyuk, Yuri Gulyaev, Yuri Mazurok, Dietrich Fischer Dieskau, Alexander Voroshilo, Dmitry Hvorostovsky.

The dramatic baritone embodies the images of strong heroes, often treacherous and cruel. Note that these parts were also performed by bass-baritones (for example, the parts of Figaro, Ruslan).

Opera repertoire:

Figaro – Mozart “The Marriage of Figaro”;
Rigoletto – Verdi “Rigoletto”;
Iago – Verdi “Othello”;
Mizgir - Rimsky-Korsakov “The Snow Maiden”;
Aleko – Rachmaninov “Aleko”;
Igor – Borodin “Prince Igor”;
Scarpia – Puccini “Tosca”;
Ruslan - Glinka “Ruslan and Lyudmila”;
Count di Luna - Verdi "Il Trovatore".

Performers: Sergei Leiferkus, Titta Ruffo.

Bass-baritone, central bass, bass profundo, bass buffo

The high bass has the most sonorous note - before first octave, working middle - B-flat major octave - re first octave.

The strength of the sound of the central bass, the saturation of the lower notes increases compared to the bass-baritone; note before the first octave sounds stronger than the high bass. Parts of this type of bass actively use the central and lower parts of the range. Working middle – sol-la large octave - up to the first octave.

Bass profundo is very rare, so its parts are often assigned to the central bass. The bottom notes of the bass profundo are la counter octaves. Owners of this voice: P. Robson, M. Mikhailov, Y. Vishnevoy.

Let us note an even more rare voice - a bass octavist, whose lower notes sound very powerful and full - beans counter octaves. Modern singer Yuri Vishnevoy, for example, has such capabilities. This type of voice is nothing more than a bass profundo with an extended range and more powerful lower notes.

Bass buffo performs the main and supporting parts, comic parts and old people's parts. This type of voice clearly demonstrates acting abilities in a certain part of the range, but they may not have the beauty of timbre or unique technique.

Bass-baritone operatic repertoire:

Basilio – Rossini “The Barber of Seville”;
Mephistopheles – Gounod “Faust”;
Nilakanta - Delib "Lakme";
Susanin - Glinka “Ivan Susanin”;
Vladimir Galitsky - Borodin “Prince Igor”.

Performers: F. Shalyapin, E. Nesterenko, P. Burchuladze, V. Baikov, P. Tolstenko, V. Lynkovsky.

Operatic repertoire of the central bass:

Konchak – Borodin “Prince Igor”;
Farlaf - Glinka “Ruslan and Lyudmila”;
Varangian guest - Rimsky-Korsakov “Sadko”;
Sobakin - Rimsky-Korsakov “The Tsar’s Bride”;
Gremin – Tchaikovsky “Eugene Onegin”;
Rene - Tchaikovsky "Iolanta".

Performers: Maxim Mikhailov, Mark Reisen, Leonid Boldin.

Operatic repertoire of characteristic bass:

Bartolo – Rossini “The Barber of Seville”;
Skula – Borodin “Prince Igor”;
Duda - Rimsky-Korsakov “Sadko”;
Zuniga - Bizet "Carmen".

- (Italian tenore). High male voice. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. TENOR high male voice. A distinction is made between the heroic t. (the strongest) and the lyrical t. (the most gentle). Dictionary of foreign words... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

And (obsolete) TENOR, tenor, husband. (Italian tenore from Latin teneo I hold (implies: I hold the main melody, cf. 4 meanings). 1. High male voice. Dramatic or heroic tenor. Lyric tenor. Lohengrin’s part was written for tenor. Sing ... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Modern encyclopedia

See singer... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and similar expressions. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian Dictionaries, 1999. tenor tenorishko, tenor; voice, singer, instrument; trombone, dombra, saxophone, saxhorn Dictionary of Russian syn... Synonym dictionary

Tenor- (Italian tenore, from Latin teneo I hold, I direct), 1) a high male singing voice. There are lyrical, dramatic, and lyric-dramatic tenors. 2) A wind musical instrument that is part of a brass band. 3) Composite... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Italian tenore from Latin tenor uniform movement, tension of the voice, from teneo I hold, direct),..1) a high male singing voice. There are lyrical, dramatic, lyric-dramatic2)] A brass wind musical instrument, part of ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

tenor- lively (Zlatovratsky); tall (Andreev); vagrant (Ertel); skittish (Leskov); sonorous (Andreev) Epithets of literary Russian speech. M: Supplier of His Majesty's court, the Quick Printing Association A. A. Levenson. A. L. Zelenetsky. 1913. tenor O... ... Dictionary of epithets

tenor- a, m. tenor, it. tenore. 1. The highest male voice. BAS 1. The loud tenor of the Dorpat student was no longer lonely, because in all corners of the room people started talking and laughing. Thick. Youth. 2. A singer with such a voice. BASS 1. Tenors rise to ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

TENOR, a, plural. a, ov and s, ov, husband. 1. High male voice. Lyrical t. Dramatic t. 2. A singer with such a voice. | decrease tenor, rka, husband (to 1 value). | adj. tenor, aya, oe (to 1 value). Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu.... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

tenor- tenor, plural tenor, b. tenors and obsolete tenors, tenors. The pronunciation [tenor] is outdated... Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

Books

Tenor. Vladislav Piavko. From the chronicle of lives lived... , . A book dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the birth and 35th anniversary of the creative activity of the outstanding Russian singer Vladislav Piavko. Created in the genre of collage from the artist’s autobiographical notes, stories...
Nikolay Figner. Tenor. Arias from operas. Nikolai Figner (1857-1918) - Russian singer (lyric-dramatic tenor). In 1887 he made his debut on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. In his first season he attracted attention as Othello, performing...

Three - bass, baritone and tenor.

Tenor – high male singing voice, perhaps the most popular voice in the world. Translated from Latin, tenor means uniform movement, tension of the voice.

Range soloists from “C” of the small octave to “C” of the second, and in choral parts the upper limit is “A” of the first octave. Soloists value very highly the ability to cleanly and firmly take B-flat from the first to the second.

Transitional note (between the chest and head registers) - E-F-F-sharp of the first octave.

The tenor part is written in treble clef (an octave higher than the actual sound), as well as in bass and tenor clefs.

By timbre and range there are:

countertenor
altino-tenor
lyric tenor (tenore di grazia)
lyric-dramatic tenor
dramatic tenor (tenore di forza)
characteristic tenor

Countertenor (Counter-tenor) - the highest of the male operatic voices, the range of “C” is the small octave - “B” is the second! Until recently, it was relatively rare, but is now becoming increasingly widespread.

It is worth noting that counter-tenor is not even a voice type, it’s a SINGING TECHNIQUE. As a rule, baritones who sing strongly in the falsetto register become counter-tenors. The sound of a countertenor is similar to the sound of a female voice.

Listen to the song "El Condor Pasa" ("Flight of the Condor") Peruvian composer Daniel Robles (1913) performed by the world famous countertenor Fernando Lima.

This song ranges from F-sharp minor to D of the second octave.

Tenor-altino is a variety lyric tenor, which has a well-developed upper register, the range reaches "E" of the second octave. Usually this voice has a small range, which imposes restrictions on the repertoire.

The role of the Astrologer in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden Cockerel was written for the altino tenor.

Lyric tenor. The largest number of roles in the operatic repertoire were written specifically for him: Faust (Gounod's Faust), Lensky (Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin), Alfred (Verdi's La Traviata), Pierre Bezukhov (Prokofiev's War and Peace).

In the operas of Rossini and Mozart, the tenor is required to have very high vocal mobility and a wide range. Therefore, the concept arose Rossini (Mozart) tenor.

Listen to Richard Croft, an American opera singer who is often characterized as a lyric tenor or "Mozart tenor", perform a magnificent performance of the Aria of Mithridates "Vado incontro al fato estremo"(“I’m going to meet an unusual destiny”) from Mozart’s opera.

Notice how big the jumps are in this game.

Lyric-dramatic tenor capable of performing the roles of both lyric and dramatic tenor.

Listen to the singing of a unique Russian singer Alexander Gradsky.

Music by A. Pakhmutova, lyrics by N. Dobronravov, “How young we were,” song from the movie “My Love in the Third Year”

The range in this performance of Gradsky’s “A” is large - “D” of the second octave!

Dramatic tenor. This voice is found less often in operas than the lyric tenor, but magnificent roles have been created for it - images of people with contradictory characters whose fate is tragic: Jose (Bizet's "Carmen"), Othello (Verdi's "Otello"), Herman (Tchaikovsky's "The Peak" lady"). The arias of these heroes sound much more tense and dramatic.

There is also a concept heroic Wagnerian tenor. Wagner's operas are incredibly large-scale, and colossal stamina is required from the performer to continuously sing for several hours in a row heroically, powerfully, strongly.

Listen to the German opera singer and dramatic tenor Jonas Kaufmann sing.

Richard Wagner opera "Lohengrin" "In fernem land"

A dramatic tenor, the strongest of the high male voices, the timbre of this voice is often hard, steely, and the sound is usually “laser” direct. These are usually the most powerful sounding voices. It is also worth adding that a true dramatic tenor is a rather rare beast, and tenors such that their voices resemble battering rams are generally born once every century.

Mario Del Monaco (1915-1982), according to many testimonies, had the strongest, darkest voice, already close to a baritone in depth of sound. Monaco did not sing almost lyrical parts, except for Rudolf from Puccini's La Bohème and Alfredo from Verdi's La Traviata. His crowning role was the role of Othello in Verdi's opera of the same name. In this part, Monaco’s voice sounded as free as possible, with all its characteristic power.

Dio mi potevi "Otello" Verdi
Here Monaco allows himself to show the entire dynamic range of his voice, from a relatively light and quiet sound to a thunderous forte at the end. It is worth paying attention to the clarity of transitions between notes, to the volume of the voice, to its “directness” in the good sense of the word.

Di quella Pira "Trovatore" (The Troubadour) by Verdi.
The famous “Stretta Manrico” in which Mario completely freely enters the upper C, just as freely he sings all the rather awkward short notes in this aria, everything sounds precise and clear, but with the feeling that the singer is going to the limit of his capabilities, that it wasn't like that at all. Singers such as Mario Del Monaco were also called tenore di forza.

Che gelida manina "La Boheme" by Puccini. In this aria, Monaco tries very hard to sound lyrical, which he almost succeeds. But at the climax, on the upper C, the nature of his voice takes its toll.

Franco Corelli (1921-2003): Was perhaps the only one who could compete with Monaco in terms of sound power. His voice was lighter, softer, and if necessary, Corelli could make it sound almost lyrical. In addition to excellent vocal abilities, Franco was the owner of a deep musical, and not only musical, culture. Corelli became a legend during his lifetime. What’s interesting is that, despite Franco’s thunderous voice, he did not sing Othello (the reason, as he himself admitted, was that this part seemed to him too nervous and psychologically difficult), and one of Corelli’s favorite parts was Rudolf from La Bohème, performed by his is much better than that of Monaco, and that of many lyric-dramatic and lyric tenors. Also one of Corelli's amazing vocal abilities was the smooth deminuendo (gradual decrease in sound volume) on high notes, from thunderous forte to light piano.

Ah, si ben mio. Di quella pira! "Troubadour"
Despite the fact that Monaco performed this part perfectly, in my opinion Corelli sings it stronger, more emotionally, more subtly.

Che gelida manina "Bohemia".
The role of Rudolph, as mentioned above, was one of Corelli’s favorites.
Despite the power and volume of his voice, he sings everything as lyrically as possible, although nature cannot be ignored, a big voice is a big voice.

Celeste Aida "Aida" Verdi.
Mentioning Corelli, one cannot help but touch on his magnificent deminuendos. At the end of Radamès's romance "Sweet Aida", Corelli makes a smooth deminuendo on the upper B, from forte to a barely audible piano, while the voice does not go into falsetto on the piano.

Aureliano Pertile (1885-1952): Possessing a large, sonorous, dramatic voice, Aureliano Pertile sang almost the entire tenor repertoire, from Othello to Arturo from “The Puritans” (although he was forced to sing the last part a tone lower than written by the composer).
Pertile's timbre is specific; his contemporaries called him a croaking tenor, due to his harsh, sometimes even seemingly unpleasant voice. But excellent technique, musicality, literally mathematical precision in performance, make you forget about some unpleasant timbre nuances. Usually, after listening to several things, one gets the impression that Aureliano had a voice with the noblest sounding timbre.

Dio mi potevi "Otello" Verdi.
In this work, in accordance with traditions, Pertile sings powerfully, but sometimes goes into a light sound, in lyrical places.

Di quella pira "Trovatore"
Here Pertile's timbre is very clearly audible, as well as his clarity and thoughtfulness of each phrase; the free and powerful upper notes, rich in timbre, are impressive.

Mein Lieber Schwan "Lohengrin" Richard Wagner.
In the part of Lohengrin, Pertile sings very softly, lyrically, on the piano, but sometimes he comes out on the forte, which seems even more powerful because of the piano preceding it.