Dear Jeffrey and Vocalisters
You ended your recent post with this statement:
>Adding to this confusion is that many "mezzo" roles are, in fact,
>soprano roles. Check out the score: Siebel, Cherubino, Dorabella, and
>many other roles usually sung by mezzos are in fact listed as soprano
>roles.
May I add to this that many of the present Baritone roles are listed
as Bass roles up until about the time of Verdi. The concept of many
various fachs or types of singers is a modern concept that was not a
part of the considerations during the 18th and most of the 19th
centuries. Most singers were trained to have ranges that are much
longer than is expected of modern singers. It was expected that the
high voice of all singers was to be very well developed and this took
years of training. Seven years with a particular voice teacher was a
common norm.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson
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