# Suitable roles for an opera singer



## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Today we have lyrical and dramatic tenors. We have coloratura sopranos. Long time ago you were just a tenor or a soprano, but of course even then you sing the material that suited you or transposed it to suit. But I'm not interested in this thread to discuss should we do that or not. But should lyrical singers sing dramatic roles and vice versa. To many singers that is natural progression when they get older and perhaps can't sing the really high notes that lyrical roles have. Some singers just want to sing different material than they really should. And some just sing everything right from the start.

For recordings my opinion is the same as Nicolai Gedda's who didn't mind recording heavier roles, because doing a recording is not that bad for the voice. And if people want to listen that is fine. Live performances are a different thing all together. If you sing roles that don't suit your voice for too long bad things will happen. I think singers should be allowed to do that, but only to a certain point. I mean Di Stefano once sung Otello. Too much is too much. Then there are singers like Gigli that can sing anything and not sound strained or unbelievable.

Its normal for lyrical singers to switch to dramatic roles, but what about the other way around. Would you like to see Del Monaco doing Lucia Di Lammermoor?

What is your opinion of the matter?

I don't want this thread to go video crazy, but here is Franco Corelli singing A te, O cara from I Puritani. Personally I think he does a good job.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

I have nothing against experiments on record but they should stay just that, experiments. Generally, the wisest thing to do for a tenor is not to turn against his vocal destiny. Rolando Villazon is the most notable recent example of what happens otherwise. When tenors sing roles that are way beyond their repertory I dislike it for similar reason that I dislike a lot of _Regietheater_ directors; they think (at least subconsciously) that they are smarter than the composer who wrote the music instead of serving his vision. Puccini had the voice of Lauri Volpi in his head as he was composing Turandot, Verdi imagined a heroic voice for Otello and they knew perfectly what they were doing.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I think it must be difficult, knowing what your limits are. I suspect most singers, even the greatest, have taken on roles wrong for them - usually too big for them, since everyone wants to do the most dramatic parts. As Beverly Sills said, "I was born with the mind of Birgit Nilsson and the voice of Beverly Sills." But she also said " Better ten years as Callas than twenty as anyone else." Whether Callas herself should have attempted everything she did in her twenties is debatable; at least she gave up most of her heaviest roles fairly early. The fact that you _can _sing a role is not in itself proof that you _should,_ at least with regularity. You have to be able to sense when things are not quite right with the voice in performance and say: this won't work for me. You also have to solicit the judgment of trusted listeners, who will tell you whether you sound convincing or whether they hear signs of stress.

I believe also that a singer has an obligation to the audience not to offer a distorted presentation of a role or a work. If you're a dramatic soprano with a dark timbre, you might be a fine Tosca but an incongruous Mimi. If you're a bright lyric soprano with meagre chest tones, you won't convince as Aida or Carmen. You need to be more than musically accurate and audible in a part to presume to present it publicly.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

worst offenders
1) Roberto Alagna
2) Jose Carreras 
3) Giuseppe di Stefano
....come to think of it, it's tenors who sing the _correct_ kinds of music for their voice who are the exception, so I will move on to sopranos lol 
4) Edita Gruberova (she has a lovely timbre below high C and would done well in French or light Mozart soprano rep, but her attempts at singing "dramatic" coloratura and the way she swallows her high notes....gracious lol. she is about as dramatic coloratura as Anna Moffo is contralto)
5) Renata Scotto 
6) Angela Gheorghiu

some singers have more versatile voices (Caballe, Verrett, Gencer) and can sing a wider variety if they play it smart, but most would do well to stick to rep in their own fach and branch out more cautiously. Renee Fleming is a good example of this. not everything she sang sounded great on her voice, but she explored neighboring fachs prudently and has maintained most of her vocal freshness into her 50s. she is a good role model for those wanting to select slightly less conservative repertoire without being stupid about it.



Diminuendo said:


> Its normal for lyrical singers to switch to dramatic roles, but what about the other way around. Would you like to see Del Monaco doing Lucia Di Lammermoor?


occasionally, dramatic singers attempt to sing more lyrical pieces and it sounds kind of...weird. for example

the sound itself is quite beautiful, but it sounds like a Valkyrie trying to sing the part of a smitten teenage girl 





this one sounds labored, steely, overly serious (compare to Peter Mattei, who has a much more relaxed, tastefully comedic presentation). 





occasionally, it can be quite nice though. honestly, I prefer Hans Hotter's lieder singing to his Wagner


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> this one sounds labored, steely, overly serious (compare to Peter Mattei, who has a much more relaxed, tastefully comedic presentation).


Tenors really are the worst offenders! I have to disagree on Gobbi, since I really love him as Figaro. But I like Mattei too. Gobbi said that every baritone should sing Largo al factotum for flexibility for their voice.

And here is a bit different Figaro


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Diminuendo said:


> Tenors really are the worst offenders! I have to disagree on Gobbi, since I really love him as Figaro. But I like Mattei too. Gobbi said that every baritone should sing Largo al factotum for flexibility for their voice.
> 
> And here is a bit different Figaro


I'd agree that Gobbi was a superb Figaro. Figaro is not the nice, jovial fellow he is often presented as. He has more than a touch of venality and Gobbi brought this out superbly. It doesn't make such comfortable listening, but it's closer to the character.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Gedda is an example of a tenor who chose wisely. He once attempted Lohengrin, but decided it definitely wasn't for him, so never returned to the role. He had a very long career, and, though he sang a wide range of music and roles, he remained aware of his own limitations.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> Gedda is an example of a tenor who chose wisely. He once attempted Lohengrin, but decided it definitely wasn't for him, so never returned to the role. He had a very long career, and, though he sang a wide range of music and roles, he remained aware of his own limitations.


I was JUST about to mention him as a counterpart to Renee Fleming as a tenor who chose his music wisely without being too conservative. despite being able to call upon formidable weight and resonance when he needed to (there are a few times he even beats out Sutherland on a high C!) he was essentially a lighter voice and was careful not to overdo it.


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