Dear Vocalisters:
Musetta is not infrequently sung by a lyric mezzo voice. Her role in
the opera is a wonderful combination of an aggressive women who seeks
a secure place for herself while loving a man who cannot provide for
those needs, at least not financially. Musetta is the action member
of the cast, the one who flaunts her "provider" in the face of her
lover to get him back, the one who finds Mimi on the street and the
one who goes for the doctor and the medicine when Mimi is dying. In
my opinion, she is an example a woman who seeks to determine her own
world even within the major limits placed on women during the time
period of the opera.
The type of voice chosen for Mimi is a key factor in the kind of
voice type chosen for Musetta. They are both sopranos but they must
not be similar in vocal color.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson
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