Mezzo-soprano
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Mezzo-soprano (plural mezzo-sopranos, in Switzerland also mezzo-prairies; from Italian mezzosoprano "half-soprano", French bas-dessus; derived from Italian mezzo, "middle") is the name given to a voice range of women or boys which lies between alto and soprano and differs from the soprano in having a darker timbre and a slightly lower vocal range (approximately a to f''). The fullness of the notes in the middle register is particularly characteristic of the mezzo-soprano.
Just as the baritone comes in two very different timbres (tenor and bass-baritone), depending on whether it is closer to one or the other vocal genre, so too the mezzo-soprano has either soprano or alto timbre and its range extends either more towards the high or more towards the low.
A singer of this voice range is called a mezzo-soprano or simply "mezzo-soprano".
A frequent task for mezzo-sopranos are so-called trouser roles, i.e. the portrayal of a (usually young) man (see the following examples).
Typical mezzo-soprano parts are:
- Georges Bizet, Carmen - title role (voice: lyric mezzo-soprano)
- W. A. Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro - Cherubino (Lyrical Mezzo Soprano)
- Giuseppe Verdi, Il trovatore - Azucena (dramatic mezzo-soprano)
- Richard Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier - Octavian (Lyrical mezzo-soprano)
- Richard Strauss, Ariadne auf Naxos - Composer (Lyrical Mezzo-Soprano)
- Engelbert Humperdinck, Hansel and Gretel - Hansel (Lyrical mezzo-soprano)
- Giuseppe Verdi, Aida - Amneris (dramatic mezzo-soprano)
A number of important mezzo-sopranos are included in the list of famous singers of classical music.
