# What are your favorite type of voices



## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

whether or not you listen them by fach is up to you, but what types of voices do you find yourself drawn to? feel free to post examples I'll start with some types of soprano voices I typically like:
1) an extremely high, light soprano voice with an almost boy soprano-like quality which sings high lying, tender passages (as opposed to their usual, more girly repertoire which gets annoying after more than 10 minutes)





2) a middle weight soprano voice (probably a spinto or dramatic coloratura) which combines a mighty, heroic timbre with graceful, elegant singing and a touch of femininity. must have natural, spinning high notes 





3) a creamy lyric soprano with a smooth, dark voice and strong chest voice





....I'm all about formidable power and vocal weight, but dramatic sopranos are imo...overrated, especially current ones, who feel that it is acceptable to sing with wobbly high notes, poor vocal line and zero elegance or sensuality (though I will say that the rare dramatic soprano who can get it right is a treat to behold, such as Kirsten Flagstad or Frieda Lieder)


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

I can't say that I really favour any. I can find any fach enjoyable if the singer is up to the task.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I'm pretty easy to please. However, I do like mezzo-sopranos and baritones best, as well as coloratura sopranos with dramatic weight, a prime example being Joan Sutherland. In sopranos, I like the middle of the voice to be reasonably round and full, rather than colorless and wispy. For whatever reason, I generally prefer baritones of American and British nationality to their Italian counterparts. I've always gravitated a bit more toward bright-colored voices (this is probably partly why I like the American/British baritones better -- the Italians all sound quite "dark" to me), but my ideal is a voice with both bright and dark elements in it, Anna Netrebko being a perfect example. Lastly, as much as I love roundness in a voice I also love incisiveness; such a voice strikes me as being inherently dramatic, regardless of the singer's actual vocal-acting abilities. For instance, the main reason I've never quite been able to get extremely excited about Leonard Warren (he's the only one of the "American Verdi baritones" I don't especially care for, though I do of course hear that he was a great singer) is that his tone, although beautiful, strikes me as very "mushy," almost though he were trying to sing while holding something in his mouth (I understand it was actually described during his lifetime as a "potato in the mouth" sound). Because their voices strike me as more precisely defined and agile, Tibbett, Merrill, MacNeil, and Milnes all sound more "dramatic" to me, though I don't think Merrill was a brilliant actor with the voice, and none of them were in, say, Gobbi's class as vocal actors though I think Tibbett might have been the closest.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I have no favorite vocal range or fach. What I like in any voice, regardless of category, is a distinctive and arresting timbre, a firm "core" to the tone, a quick vibrato which gives a "thrill" to the sound but scarcely deviates from the fundamental pitch, and an ability to sing both softly and loudly without loss of tonal quality. Someone with these vocal characteristics who can also exhibit ease of emission, technical facility, and stylistic graces (another subject!), is my idea of a "bel canto" singer, and I want to hear such singers in every repertoire.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I like them all but have a particular like at this time for the mezzo-soprano. A great exampe is von Stade in Cenerentola:


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

I think I may have misinterpreted the question. Are you asking for favoured qualities within a particular fach?


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

Delicate and beautiful voices with an unusual tone, where you can hear the natural timbre of the voice without it being obscured by too much flowery vibrato. Examples of these singers are Kathleen Battle, Lucia Popp, Barbara Bonney, Veronique Gens, Andreas Scholl. I also like female voices which have versatility and can be very forceful and leaning towards dramatic as well as delicate and tender, here I am thinking of Karita Matilla. So my favourite kind of voices are: delicate lyric voices, full bodied lyrical voices with versatility, pure and full sounding countertenors. I appreciate when you can actually hear the real voice; big operatic voices are very impressive but just don't always affect me as I can't hear the natural beauty. I want to be moved by the beauty of the colour and its expressiveness, not just wowed by the size of a voice. Having said that I do enjoy opera...I am not trying to bash it.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

I have favorite singers among all the Fächer, but have a particular weakness for tenors. I like voices with beautiful timbres, whether the voices are purely lyric or have some dramatic qualities (lirico spinto or its German equivalent, jugendlich dramatisch). Among those with lyric voices, Fritz Wunderlich, Ileana Cotrubas, José Carreras, Werner Krenn, and Katia Ricciarelli are some of my favorites; in the spinto/jugendlich dramatisch Fach, I like Jonas Kaufmann, Siegfried Jerusalem (in spite of his repertoire, never a big hochdramatische Heldentenor), Sena Jurinac, Anja Harteros, and Camilla Nylund. With mezzos, I clearly favor lyric voices like Agnes Baltsa, Elina Garanča, and Teresa Berganza, but also love Shirley Verrett and Grace Bumbry, whose sound was darker and more dramatic. Among the baritones, Sherrill Milnes is my absolute favorite, though I also like the more lyric Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Simon Keenlyside, Dietrich Henschel, and Anthony Michaels-Moore, as well as the dark, dramatic sound of Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Then there are the bass-baritones, Bryn Terfel and James Morris. Among the basses, I tend to prefer the beautiful German voices (think Sarastro) -- Kurt Moll, Franz Crass, Karl Ridderbusch, and René Pape -- though I love the Welshman Gwyn Howell and Italian Giorgio Tadeo as well. About the only Fach I absolutely cannot warm up to is the great big Hochdramatische voice, whether it belongs to a soprano, tenor, or mezzo. And no countertenors (sorry, HIP enthusiasts).


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

I guess it's falcon sopranos and baritenors. They're 'grounded' (the lower part of their voice) and can also go pretty high....they're nicely balanced voice types.
A second favorite would be lyric mezzos since they're feminine (I prefer female voices) and unlike sopranos I don't find them overbearing if I listen to them too much. 

I definitely don't like 'buttery' spinto voices (e.g. Leontyne Price, Martina Arroyo, Sondra Radvanovsky), 'mushy' voices (Anna Netrebko), and 'muddy' voices (Leyla Gencer). 

I'm not the type that dislikes countertenors because of homophobia (I'm gay myself) but I don't like that fach....it just doesn't sound natural and healthy.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> whether or not you listen them by fach is up to you, but what types of voices do you find yourself drawn to? feel free to post examples I'll start with some types of soprano voices I typically like:
> 1) an extremely high, light soprano voice with an almost boy soprano-like quality which sings high lying, tender passages (as opposed to their usual, more girly repertoire which gets annoying after more than 10 minutes)
> 
> 
> ...


 2 and 3.... Preach, as they say down South


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I enjoy male voices live in operas, but never listen to them in the car except in duets. I emotionally connect more with male pop stars, such as the incredible Jeff Buckley, who sang opera excerpts sometimes.
In live performances a distinctive sound to the voice is not so important but listening in the car it is imperative. I'd love to see Joyce Didonato live but would never bother listening to her in a recording.
I tend to like voices that are big, beautiful and very distinctive in sound. Dramatic coloraturas like early Callas, early Caballe, Tetrazinni,Ponselle, Milanov, Farrell, Dimotrova, a fabulous Italian soprano from the mid century I love but can't think of her name- sang Norma, Price,Rita Hunter, early G. Jones in Verdi, early Eaglen and of course Sutherland ( early, middle and late). Sutherland is on a whole different level than any other singer to me. I also LOVED Alessandra Marc , both Italian and German roles.
I love big coloratura mezzos like Podles, Horne and Barton ( Jamie is one of the very few current singers I love). That leads me to other generality.... with the exception of Barton, Goerke and a few countertenors, I don't like any singing past the 80's. 
I loved a lot of Fleming and Dorothy Kirsten and Eleanor Steber. 
The only light voice that grabbed me was Battle. 
I LOVE the really gigantic voices but they must be beautiful: Flagstad, Traubel, Eva Turner, Rita Hunter, early Varnay, Farrell, early Callas, early fat Jessye Norman, Jones, early Marton, Nilsson ( who I tend to prefer in live recordings).
The only males I get into are countertenors. I loved David Daniels before the mess. Fagioli, Hansen, all who have voices that sound female to me. I like looking at the Polish hunk but his voice doesn't entrance me.... but he does.


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