# Favorite Male Operatic Voice



## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

What is your favorite male operatic voice type?


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Tenor : Bergonzi.
( soft spot for Milnes and Keenlyside)


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

This is a tough one because I like them all so I split the difference and voted baritone.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

unlike the question for female voices, I can answer this one easily: baritones, particularly a nice dark, authoritative baritone with ringing high notes a la Warren or Merrill.


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## Annied (Apr 27, 2017)

Another vote for baritiones here, I like the richness of the voice. Chernov was a favourite. Carreras and Calleja make it a very close run decision though.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Bass(-baritone).









Boris Christoff; George London; Otto Edelmann; Hans Hotter; José van Dam...


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

How can you list countertenor & not bass baritone???


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## Amara (Jan 12, 2012)

I like them all. A beautiful voice is a beautiful voice. I have favorite singers, not favorite voice types.


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## graziesignore (Mar 13, 2015)

Baritone all the way baby


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## Jermaine (Apr 23, 2016)

Tenor, but what the countertenor can do is nothing short of amazing.​


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Jermaine said:


> Tenor, but what the countertenor can do is nothing short of amazing.​


I think countertenors are 100% garbage. I don't understand the appeal. IMO singing that way is easier than singing normally.


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## Jermaine (Apr 23, 2016)

Bonetan said:


> I think countertenors are 100% garbage. I don't understand the appeal. IMO singing that way is easier than singing normally.


To each his own, but I don't think there is anything "easy" about the countertenor voice. Most countertenors have an extremely unpleasant tone, but when the tone is right, I think there's nothing quite like it.​


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bonetan said:


> I think countertenors are 100% garbage. I don't understand the appeal. IMO singing that way is easier than singing normally.


It's becoming more cult then art :devil:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

If a guy has a really high voice (counter tenor or soprano) and wants to sing, it is not for me to stop him, but for sure I don't want to listen. Occasionally I have to put up with one in an opera, but if they die in opera it is of some relief. My advice to counter tenors and male sopranos is, rather than a singing career, they go into accounting. If they must sing, try a choir where the unnatural voice will blend in to the point of obscurity.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Baritone. Ezio Pinza.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Bonetan said:


> How can you list countertenor & not bass baritone???


I wanted to make people decide between tenor and bass in the hopes that one of them will beat out tenor


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Yeah, countertenors are a poor imitation of the real thing. We need to bring back child castration.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Jermaine said:


> Tenor, but what the countertenor can do is nothing short of amazing.​


Apparently the sopranist is a freak of nature, someone whose voice failed to break for some reason. I don't think he could be compared with a castrato who would have had the enlarged chest which led to their phenomenal breath control.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Then there's the falsettist:


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## SoleilCouchant (May 4, 2017)

I tend to like tenors, though I agree that overall a good voice is a good voice no matter which type. I don't like tenors that are too "shallow" or tinny sounding, though.

As for countertenors, y'all harsh! That singing style doesn't appeal to me, either, but if that's what they do and they have an audience, good for them...


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Yeah, countertenors are a poor imitation of the real thing. We need to bring back child castration.


Ouch............


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

On balance, the baritone voice is my favorite. I find it to be the most versatile and even, in a sense, the most communicative.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Pugg said:


> Tenor : Bergonzi.
> ( soft spot for Milnes and Keenlyside)


Two of my favorite baritones!

I don't dislike the countertenor voice; it's great for certain roles/pieces. It's not a voice type I can listen to extensively, though.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bellinilover said:


> Two of my favorite baritones!
> 
> I don't dislike the countertenor voice; it's great for certain roles/pieces. It's not a voice type I can listen to extensively, though.


I do, just tried Rodelinda again with Scholl, my goodness, give me waterboarding instead and I confess all.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Pugg said:


> I do, just tried Rodelinda again with Scholl, my goodness, give me waterboarding instead and I confess all.


It looks as if you've already confessed. Don't worry. It bestows immunity from prosecution.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> It looks as if you've already confessed. Don't worry. It bestows immunity from prosecution.


Feeling better all ready, thank you.


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## VladaNS (May 24, 2017)

Baritone, especially when they have huge dark voices.
George London God of them all


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

VladaNS said:


> Baritone, especially when they have huge dark voices.
> George London God of them all


He's a bass baritone though! Still mad they didn't get a category lol


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

VladaNS said:


> Baritone, especially when they have huge dark voices.
> George London God of them all


Firm statement Vlada.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Baritone. Ezio Pinza.


Ezio Pinza was a bass lol


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## Elvira0518 (Mar 1, 2021)

Bass. Or at very least a bass-baritone.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I mean Franco Corelli, of course (in voting for tenor)


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

Woodduck said:


> Yeah, countertenors are a poor imitation of the real thing. We need to bring back child castration.


I agree. If a poor impoverished family with no other options _consents_ to have the procedure on their infant son, then where's the ethical problem? Darn leftists ruin everything good in life.

All that being said, I get the dislike for countertenors in more dramatic roles, but the voice type has its merits, especially in sacred music.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

I don’t understand the sometimes virulent dislike for countertenors around here. I’ll admit that, when they are under par, I can’t abide them - I can’t stand the squawky, bleaty ones that sound like they are trying hard to force above their natural range (listen to Sytse Buwalda if you dare) and some of the highest voices, like Derek Lee Ragin, honestly sound kind of spooky to me - but there have been some highly skilled artists in that voice type from whose singing I derive great pleasure. Try Paul Esswood and David Daniels if you’re skeptical; they could easily be mistaken for contraltos.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

BachIsBest said:


> I agree. If a poor impoverished family with no other options _consents_ to have the procedure on their infant son, then where's the ethical problem? Darn leftists ruin everything good in life.
> 
> All that being said, I get the dislike for countertenors in more dramatic roles, but the voice type has its merits, especially in sacred music.


I know sarcasm doesn't transfer well over the internet, but my goodness I hope you're joking.


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

adriesba said:


> I know sarcasm doesn't transfer well over the internet, but my goodness I hope you're joking.


Your hope is well-founded. Unless you're referring to the countertenor part, which was serious.

I have run into a Poe's law scenario on this forum before spoofing critics of Herbert von Karjan. I hoped this time I would be obvious enough.


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> I don't understand the sometimes virulent dislike for countertenors around here. I'll admit that, when they are under par, I can't abide them - I can't stand the squawky, bleaty ones that sound like they are trying hard to force above their natural range (listen to Sytse Buwalda if you dare) and some of the highest voices, like Derek Lee Ragin, honestly sound kind of spooky to me - but there have been some highly skilled artists in that voice type from whose singing I derive great pleasure. Try Paul Esswood and David Daniels if you're skeptical; they could easily be mistaken for contraltos.


I am not a huge fan of countertenors. I should mention that my favourite tenor subtype is heldentenor, which is almost the opposite of countertenor - this said, I might be a bit biased. The thing with countertenors is that I often get a sensation of deliberate effort to sound high, which makes the singing sometimes sound unnatural - it doesn't sound as if the person is actually comfortable singing that way. I feel that contraltos can often utilise their chest voice better and more naturally, making their singing sound deeper and more powerful. So, for me, it's not a question of the higher register as much as about the lower one.

But I haven't listened to overly much of Baroque vocal music, so, I'll give a listen to your recommendations  !


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