A bass-baritone is a high-lying

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

or low-lying "classical"

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

voice type A voice type is a classification of the human singing voice into perceivable categories or groups. Particular human singing human voice, voices are identified as having certain qualities or characteristics of vocal range, vocal weight, tessitura ...

which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the title role in '' Der fliegende Holländer'', Wotan/Der Wanderer in the '' Ring Cycle'' and Hans Sachs in '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg''. Wagner labelled these roles as ''Hoher Bass'' ("high bass")—see fach for more details. The bass-baritone voice is distinguished by two attributes. First, it must be capable of singing comfortably in a baritonal

tessitura In music, tessitura ( , , ; ; ) is the most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer (or, less frequently, musical instrument). It is the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding (or characteristic) tim ...

. Secondly, however, it needs to have the ripely resonant lower range typically associated with the bass voice. For example, the role of Wotan in '' Die Walküre'' covers the range from F₂ (the F at the bottom of the bass clef) to F₄ (the F above middle C), but only infrequently descends beyond C₃ (the C below middle C). Bass-baritones are typically divided into two separate categories: lyric bass-baritone and dramatic bass-baritone. Bass-baritones should not be confused with their vocal cousin—the so-called Verdi baritone. This type of Italianate baritone voice has a brighter tone colour and sings at a slightly higher tessitura than that possessed by the bass-baritone. In addition to the operas of

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

, its natural home is to be found in operatic music composed after about 1830 by the likes of Donizetti, Ponchielli, Massenet, Puccini and the verismo composers. The term bass-baritone is roughly synonymous with the Italian vocal classification basso cantante; for example, in the Verdian repertoire, Philip II in '' Don Carlos'' is usually taken by a bass-baritone, while Ferrando in '' Il trovatore'' is sung by a true bass, though the two roles' ranges are very similar. In Debussy's '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' the role of Golaud, created by Hector Dufranne, sits between Pelléas (high baritone) and Arkel (bass). Some of the classical

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

baritone roles such as

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

, Count Almaviva, and Gugliemo—composed before the term "baritone" gained currency—are occasionally played by a bass-baritone. Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas usually featured a comic bass-baritone character, created to make use of D'Oyly Carte company member Richard Temple. In short: the ''bass-baritone'' is a voice that has the resonant low notes of the typical bass allied with the ability to sing in a baritonal tessitura. Colloquially, it refers to a voice with a range and tone somewhere between a

and a

. The bass-baritone's required range can vary tremendously based on the role, with some less demanding than others. Many bass-baritones have ventured into the baritone repertoire, including (among others) Leopold Demuth,

Georges Baklanoff Georgy Andreyevich Baklanoff, known as Georges Baklanoff (sometimes spelled Baklanov; 6 December 1938) was a Russian operatic baritone who had an active international career from 1903 until his death in 1938. Possessing a powerful and flexible v ...

, Rudolf Bockelmann, George London, Thomas Quasthoff, Thomas Stewart, James Morris, and Bryn Terfel.

Repertoire

The following operatic parts are performed by bass-baritones but sometimes by high basses: * Don Pizarro, ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

'' by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

* Golaud, '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' by

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

* Olin Blitch, '' Susannah'' by Floyd * Méphistophélès, '' Faust'' by Gounod * Leporello, ''

'' by

* Don Alfonso, ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' by Mozart * Figaro, '' The Marriage of Figaro'' by Mozart Core bass-baritone operatic parts: * Escamillo, '' Carmen'' by Bizet * Igor^*, '' Prince Igor'' by Borodin * Porgy, ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...

'' by Gershwin * The 4 Villains, '' The Tales of Hoffmann'' by Offenbach * Scarpia^*, '' Tosca'' by Puccini * Dutchman, '' Der fliegende Holländer'' by Wagner * Hans Sachs, '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' by Wagner * Wotan, ''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...

'' by Wagner * Amfortas, '' Parsifal'' by Wagner Bass-baritone parts in Gilbert and Sullivan works: * ''

Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used ...

'': Usher * '' The Sorcerer'': Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre * '' H.M.S. Pinafore'': Dick Deadeye * '' The Pirates of Penzance'': The Pirate King * ''

Patience or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect ...

'': Colonel Calverley * '' Iolanthe'': Lord Mountararat * '' Princess Ida'': King Hildebrand * ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'': The Mikado of Japan * '' Ruddigore'': Sir Roderic Murgatroyd * '' The Yeomen of the Guard'': Sergeant Meryll * '' The Gondoliers'': Don Alhambra del Bolero Other bass-baritone parts: * ''Roméo et Juliette'' by Berlioz * Symphony No.15 by Langgaard * ''Cantabile'', symphonic suite by Magle * ''

Gurre-Lieder ' (''Songs of Gurre Castle, Gurre'') is a tripartite oratorio followed by a Melodrama, melodramatic epilogue for five vocal soloists, narrator, three choruses, and grand orchestra. The work, which is based on an early song cycle for soprano, te ...

'' by Schoenberg ^* A role also sung by 'standard' baritones

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass-Baritone Voice types Opera terminology Pitch (music)

Repertoire

See also

References