Mezzo-soprano

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Vocal ranges
Female ranges
Soprano
Mezzo-soprano
Alto

Male ranges

Sopranist
Countertenor
Alto
Tenor
Baritenor
Baritone
Bass-baritone
Bass

A mezzo-soprano (meaning "half soprano" in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3-A5 in scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4). Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or richer) vocal tone than sopranos, and their voice type sits between the soprano and the contralto. The terms Dugazon and Galli-Marié are sometimes used to refer to light mezzo-sopranos, after the names of famous singers. A castrato with a mezzo-soprano range was called a mezzo-soprano castrato.

Mezzo-sopranos typically sing secondary roles in operas, with the protagonist in Bizet's Carmen and Rosina in Rossini's Barber of Seville as the most notable exceptions. Typical roles for mezzo-sopranos include "witches, bitches, and breeches", a common expression that summarizes their function in opera. Witches are the old hags, nurses, and wise women, such as Azucena and Ulrica (which can also be performed by contraltos); breeches are male roles sung by female singers, such as Cherubino; and bitches are villains and seducers, such as Amneris or Eboli.

Some roles designated for soubrette sopranos are also often sung by mezzo sopranos. This gives the roles a fuller and more dramatic quality, which often suits them well. Such roles include Despina in Così fan tutte and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Other roles designated for dramatic sopranos walk a fine line between soprano and mezzo territory. Mezzos quite often play Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana, Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth, and even Isolde in Tristan und Isolde. These examples are simply proof that the line between soprano and mezzo soprano is not clearly defined.

In soul music, a person will sometimes be classified mezzo-soprano, if she can sing both contralto and soprano.[citation needed] To earn this classification however, she must be able to reach the D and even E above Soprano C, as well as the corresponding note below Middle C, thus possessing a three-octave range.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Mezzo-soprano roles in operas

[edit] Mezzo-soprano pants roles in operas

[edit] Mezzo-soprano roles in operettas and musicals

[edit] Famous mezzo-sopranos

Common vocal ranges represented
on a musical keyboard

[edit] Classical music

[edit] See also

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