The Russian funeral hymn "vyechnaya pamyat'" showed me what octavists were. You might not hear the note but for some reason, everything about you is slowly vibrating.
I was raised in the Greek Orthodox church, but I actually also had the privvilege to hear, see, and feel a few Oktavists and Bassos Profondos singing hymns deeply, loudly, and resonantly just a few meters, maybe centimiters from me, right to my face
I have a couple of CDs of Russian religious music that I really enjoy. When the octavists get to work, I always think that someone ought to look for scattered body parts. I'm certain that that deep growl is capable of shaking apart the human body.
One of my best memories as a chorister was singing the Rachmaninov Vespers with the LA Master Chorale. We had a few okaivists in the back row. They got their own ovation.
The "young deep-voiced male tired of everyone being surprised every time they open their mouth" was definitely me. One of the reasons I got into opera was....there was nothing else for me to sing (like....seriously. How many deep voiced males are there really in popular music? People's idea of a "deep male voice" today is like Josh Groban who isn't even a baritone).
Maybe Rammstein? That's metal though. But yeah I get it. I am mostly a musical theatre nerd. I could hardly think of any male character with bass range. Maybe some of Sondheim's shows. Sweeney Todd is usually played by a bass baritone, such as Bryn Terfel. But even that requires a G4 flat, which might be a little bit high for bass? Maybe you could try Emile De Becque in South Pacific. The highest note is E4 I think?
That's indeed why I also got into classical music. There's a more diverse variety of singers in classical music than in pop music I believe. Also, there are plenty of deeper voices in non-classical music, plenty of them with even deeper voices than Josh Groban, just not specifically within the genre of pop music in most cases.
Gorgeously done and may I say, as a choir nerd forever, THANK YOU for giving a choral example at the end, and thank you even MORE for making it such a delightful treat. There really is something special and magic and primordial about Basso Profundo. I am absolutely a sucker for the lowest of low notes, and that example is just luscious. I honestly think maybe it's evolution or something like that, true bass voices just really make me happy in ways that are...haha, probably not wise to say in a public comment! But they're amazing and I love them.
I already mentioned Geoff Castellucci in another comment so it's obvious I'm a huge fangirl, but if you haven't heard him please find his channel, I hope it makes you as "happy" as it does me. (He's easy on the eyes too) 😁
@@joyfulyes Yes he IS! He's the second or maybe third bass vocalist I followed here on TH-cam. The first was Avi Kaplan, ha! Geoff's voice is just -chefskiss-
***OMG, phenomenal VIDEO! Thank yo so much for this stunning survey, very thoughtfully done! I love your associations and metaphors that explain each FACH! I also have a similar style in my own teaching of languages. Keep it up soul sister!! :) ***
The biggest missed examples in this video would be Ettore Bastianini as the standard for Verdi Baritones, and Franco Corelli for Spinto Tenors. Both of them have such a big cutting voice they pretty much set the standard for their roles.
Bastianini is a good example. His Verdi repertoire is superb. Bryan Terfel is a bass baritone. Franco Corelli is more like a dramatic tenor, so is Lauri Volpi. They are usually classified as spinto but I usually put them on the dramatic side. Spinto is a type of lyric tenor. Singers like Corelli sounds a little bit too much in some lyric repertoires. Placido Domingo is just a textbook spinto when he’s younger.
@@ey8767 Unlike Corelli, Lauri Volpi is not a dramatic tenor. He could pull of Raoul in "Les Huguenots" and do justice to the style, unlike Corelli, whose voice is way too heavy for that.
@ I agree with you but I don’t think Corelli’s voice was too “heavy” for that role. Corelli’s voice is unique. There’s always this sadness in it, which makes him perfect for tragic roles such as Carvaradossi, etc. But when he tried to sing Duca’s arias… lol This would offend many Corelli’s fans, but I would say singers like Lauri-Volpi, Gigli, Carlo Bergonzi were just musically better and more versatile than Corelli.
@@ey8767 I used to be an unconditional fan of Corelli's until I heard him sing Werther. My favourite Italian tenor in my favourite French opera... well, that went south. I couldn't get past the first act because it was causing me so much emotional distress.
@@ey8767 Corelli had a huge voice and a technique that was perfect for heavy Italian stuff of the late 19th and early 20th century (much of which he didn't sing, like Mascagni's "Parisina" or Zandonai's "Francesca da Rimini", or sang only once in his early career, like Zandonai's "Giulietta e Romeo", maybe also Giordano's "Fedora" - I don't remember exactly). His singing was very direct and passional, with a torrential sound, but not very nuanced. Also, the 19th-century French style, especially the high notes, requires a technique that Corelli did not possess or, at least, apply. That is not really what you need for either Werther or Raoul de Nangis (with the possible exception of the aria at the beginning of the 5th act, which used to be cut in the past). And, last but not least, Corelli was not very gifted when it comes to the pronunciation of languages other than Italian. His French in the studio recording of "Roméo et Juliette" is just so-so and even Mirella Freni, whose French is way better than Corelli's, stands out in an otherwise Francophone cast.
What a fantastic video. Really informative, and very funny. Your description of the profundo - "if the earth could speak, like a fossil" summed it up beautifully. Who doesn't love a Russian bass?
I didn’t know anything about opera - at all! - and you’ve now opened a new door of enjoyment in my life. Your videos are really interesting and well done; thank you!
That Nintendo version of "The Magic Flute" - what perfect timing - while we are going through our second full version of "The Magic Flute" in my 7th grade class - after this second viewing, I show pieces of other versions to teach the range and universality of the opera. The students are going to love to see pieces of this version - which I will save to the end!! I really enjoyed the breakdown of these Fuchs - such great comparisons! (I watched the female voices first...expecting to watch a few minutes and pick it up later...and here I am - hopefully their is no PST timestamp)
The best production of the Magic Flute I ever saw was at the Met in NYC, scenery and costumes by Maurice Sendak. Like Where the Wild Things Are come to life.
I can also recommend Vox's video titled "How an opera gets made", it's super interesting and it's featuring the behind the scenes of this opera at MET, with Roth Costanzo
I was just about to make the same comment about Satie, but then I thought better of it and checked the comments. Sure enough, someone else had noticed too ^_^ (It's at 13:17 btw)
Absolutely tremendous tutorial! I've just watched the second one and I've never seen this so well done, or so enjoyably presented. And your speaking voice is none too hard on the ears as well!
This video is fantastic in it's explanation of fachs! As a baritone I did notice a couple issues in that section though. First I just noticed that your example for the cantabile/kavalier baritone was Samuel Ramey, who is a bass. I know you want to make it clear that fachs are roles, but his voice might not give the right impression of that fach, especially considering he did not and could not sing any of the other roles you listed for that fach.
Agreed, roles like Marcello, Don Giovanni, Dr. Malatesta or Sharpless are far better examples for a Kavalier baritone than Escamillo (who is honestly something in between bass-baritone and kavalierbariton).
I remember you from a masterclass with Gerard finley you were amazing so excited to see you again. I would have made a distinctiom between dramatic and helden tenor. In terms of roles, They are not the same because the dramatic tenor is Italianate and typically a higher tesstitura, (Othello and la traviata - alfredo have the same tessit) and massive high notes. Heldentenor have huge voice but spend a majority of singing in a baritone range. Their middle voices are required to be larger than the dramatic tenor. And I'm not talking about singers but rather the roles.
@ yes, tessitura means where the bulk on the range of the role happens. So while otello has low notes, the primary range is similar in tessitura to Alfredo.
@@Tye_silvertenor Otello has a bigger range than Alfredo, both in terms of highest and lowest notes. However, Otello makes strong demands on the low register, so I would say that, in comparison to Alfredo, the bulk of the notes is distributed across a wider range.
@ like I said range and tessitura are not the same thing. They have a difference in extreme range and volume. Placido Domingo and other tenors I that have done both said to me, they have the same tessitura.
I love that you used the Elixer of Love for some of these examples. It was my Grandmother’s favorite opera of all time, one we watched together often. She passed away earlier this year and this was a wonderful way to feel connected with her 💕
I was trying to pick a favorite among these voices, liking many of them, and then...then I heard the stones sing that F0 and I started to cry. That's it. That's the most beautiful deep voice to me.
I know many young basses. They hate being uncommon and pushed to sound less bass-like because basses aren’t common in their age. I don’t see why one should push a young singer to sound younger than they sound naturally. A classical singer should always sound DARK and LOUD
Also, a singer who can sing lyric baritone and cavaliere baritone is most likely not able to sing Verdibaritone and vice versa. I know a young bass-baritone, who will most likely also sing some full-dramatic baritone-repertoire in the future, but never Papageno or Figaro.
There's really only one kind of baritone. All the old ones sang everything north of Wotan, and the Italians that did sing Wotan still sang in La favorite.@@mathildehb0076
@@JackInABeanstalk98 «How is “many young basses” more contradictory than “many young tenors”?! They aren’t as common and many of them start off as baritones. “Young” as in their 20s. They often mature faster than tenors do. Also well trained young baritones struggle less with the high G than tenors do with the high C. But tenors still need the C more often than the baritones and basses need the G. This often leads to teachers misvoicing their students at a relatively young age and giving them harmful repertoire. “You are probably just a wagnerian tenor”. This has happened too often, and they get short careers, and lose their voice in the end. This is why young singers should study more art song than opera and gradually learn more operatic repertoire when they are in their mid 20s.
and of course the countertenor I know, Mitch from Pentatonix. But maannnnnn that Ahknaten dude gave me chills. Thanks for sharing again (and teaching me!)
Thank you very much for the video! I came here to figure out exactly what kind of bass I would be now and (I'm 18, so this can change of course but) I got my answer. And unsurprisingly I'm a young bass right now.😂 Maybe a tiny bit lower. So thank you, this was really informative. However, by the way, just a quick correction: the last clip was C2-F1 - so C1 is the double low C and F0 would be off the keyboard of the piano (however there actually IS a clip of Mikhail Zlatopolsky audibly singing a double low C with such power that you can clearly hear it even though if I'm not mistaken there must have been at least 10 people singing higher notes along with him, so these things combined are like... barely humanly possible). But he did it. Because oktavists...
Hi, thanks for the breakdown. That was very easy to understand. As a German, I have to point out that the plural of "Fach" is not "Fachs" but "Fächer". I work as a prompter in an opera and during the video I assigned all of our singers to the Fächet ^^ but I also noticed that none of our singers restrict themselves to a single Fuch, but can all sing roles from other Fächer. So the transitions here seem to be very fluid.
Okay I was getting really excited to hear some really low notes cause I love them! But Damn!! That last one was wild😅 Thank you for the great video! Super informative👍❤
I wish I had had this in music school, but the internet wasnt evolved yet. Might still be singing today as it would have boosted confidence to know my type. My vocal coach was pushing me into mid-second tenor range so I think he was trying to set me up to get work… shoulda stuck with it. Oh well. I did more musical theater and “Bring him home” from Les Mis was one he had me learning. (First time my wife heard me sing it she was… well, let’s just say it was a good night.) Thanks for this. Loved it!
i think that in the tenor is missing the light tenor (even if you said Almaviva). For me Florez is a light tenor while pavarotti is a lyric (or lirico leggero but not light)
I am such a big fan of spinto tenors and heldentenors because their heroic high notes are exciting. Same goes for dramatic tenors too. I also find the lyric tenors to be adorable by the way they sound when they sing amazing phrases especially in the Donizetti aria Florez sang. However Florez was considered a leggero tenor than a lyric tenor even though he is my favorite singer.
They each have their own quality though. Look around TH-cam - there is a Pavarotti making an absolute meal of "O mon ame" (the aria Florez slays) while Florez cannot drown out the backing in the climax of "Nessun dorma" (Pavarotti's renowned party piece). Its about the type of voice the song is written for - ie the fach.
Thank you for the lesson(s)...my father was the first, first leading baritone of the RCM after WW2 before it became the COC in the 50's - he always wanted me to sing😊.
Such a great tutorial for opera lovers and potential opera lovers. However, I wish you could provide another soprano to illustrate the Turandot. The one you used was flat on the high notes in an opera where hitting the high notes on pitch is the apex of the aria. Please keep up the good work. Jill in Texas.
Interesting to think about the history of the fach system itself- starting during the late 19th C. Post war “purist” singers often advocated to abandon the system.
Somehow the countertenor voice is better suited for the modern opera roles since the 1950s with Britten and thereafter, than the Baroque ones because though they have developed A LOT to fit a match for the castrato roles of then, their voices are kinda more naturally fitted for female singers in pants-roles, and the countertenors kinda got a mixed-reaction on between how they look and how they sing on those parts, whereas the modern opera ones were already written on for themselves since EVER the very beginning of the roles on themselves, henceforth Akenathen is very uniquely done by a countertenor, wheras Orpheus and Giulio Cesare kinda have some ambiguity when actually the female singers might be doing kinda a more "realistic" stronger tune-performance on their voice singing and acting qualities than the countertenor voice for the same roles. (Oddily a female mezzo or contralto does a more "masculine" role than countertenors on that, it´s odd and contradictory but it kinda does happens, and well, henceforth why a total substitution on them instead of pants roles might not ever happen in all)
I'm Orthodox, and mostly in Russian music choirs. I knew one basso profundo. O my Lord! When he let loose, the altos damn near slipped outta their chairs!!!
Cait-wow! I listened to the men's and women's versions of the Opera Fach System. You are a brilliant teacher. I learned so much. Thank you. Strangely I am *not* an opera fan. I just happen to go to see operas. I was just in Turin and saw Manon Lescaut (Puccini), Manon Lescaut (Auber), and Manon (Massenet). Yeah, a triple-header of Manon. I still don't *get* opera. I am a musician. I love music. But I don't have the opera gene. I love opera houses and the spectacle. I am planning to see operas at all the great opera house of Europe. I think I will appreciate opera all the more for your discussion.
Gulielmo, Papageno, Belcore are lyric baritones?! Those roles are more for bass-baritone. All Mozart's low male voice roles (exept of low bass roles like Sarastro and Osmin) are written for bass-baritone. And many of belcanto baritone roles is pretty low. And Onegin is typically lyric baritone role. Russians often call lyric baritone onegish (Onegine-like). And Escamillo is 100% bass-baritone role (that voice called "barytone basse" in French and that type of voice appears often in French opera).
Well put. When you look at the tessituras of characters like Figaro and Guglielmo in the ensembles and finales, you learn what Mozart's real entention was for vocal casting in his operas. Guglielmo is a bass (Don Alfonso always has the middle line), as is Figaro. Papageno shouldn't even be discussed here as the role was written expressly for Schikaneder's limited vocal range.
@@vcaus Of course originally Mozart's Figaro is written for bass. He must sing lowest line in sexstet (after judgement) and an otional low F. And Guglielmo is similar. But they are not as low as Osmin or Sarastro and bass-baritone can sing it easely. For me the best choice for Figaro is voice like Cesare Siepi.
I’m definitely not an opera singer, but I did sing bass in a church choir once upon a time. I actually can’t read music very well, but they tell me I have a good ear and a good voice. This video explains a comment the choir director once made when I was having a good day. I can usually hit the basso profondo range with some time to warm up, but on my good days I can get the volume as well. The incident in question was the first time I heard of basso profondo, but at the time she said she thought I could hit the “Russian” bass with some work. She used to sing in a Russian choir years ago. Watching this though finally put all the pieces together for me. For the record, having heard it, I think on the few times a year when I have no kind of sinus drainage at all, I can hit some of notes in that oktavist sample. I think my old choir director was a little optimistic.
And for heldenbaritone the best example is Wotan from Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" or the Hollander from "Fliegende Hollander". Jago and Macbeth are more for dramatic baritone, bat those roles still are Verdi baritone roles. And heldenbaritone is not really baritone, it's huge, ringing bass-baritone. And in many classifications bass-baritone is classified as highest bass voice type.
I'm myself right between Spinto Tenor & Heldentenor. I've sometimes sung lyric baritone pieces, usually duets with sopranos or Mezzo. My teacher once started me on Tamino, but stopped, saying "Nobody could believe YOU fainting at the sight of a big snake!"
A "Fach" in German is a domain, an area of expertise. It can also mean a specific drawer or one shelf of many. And then there is a great word for people who only have knowledge in a very limited domain, especially if they go on bragging about it : "Fachidiot". I think translation is superfluous.
Once again, great video, your analogies clearly convey the essence of each role. As i commented on the female roles video, i don't like sopranos, so rarely listen to opera. What does draw me to opera are the baritone & bass roles & i absolutely adore how a basso profondo gets you literally in the gut. Womens' roles are just too high for me & come across as shrieking more than singing. If they made operas without women, i'd listen to one from time to time. 😄
Nice Video, I would just add a little detail, maybe other poeple did this comment, but it sounds weird to me to hear about fach without talking about passagio. I know that the range is important but to classify with the passaggio is so much healthier for a male voice. I saw many poeple finding his good repertoire too late... because they consider the range and the colour instead of the passaggio...And the Fach can be a person as in Germany there are institutions that deliver contracts based on the Fach of the singer. That's not a great thing but it exists
THANKYOU, exactly like that: Passaggio is more important then everything, more then range. Passaggio is what define the voice category and from that the Fächer you chose to sing. Self experience, I was always wrong classified. Because nobody looked at my Passaggio. Now I’m writing a master thesis about it. About the voice category bass-baritone. When she says that the role could be baritone or bass, she is clearly speaking about the Fächer that are in fact for bass-baritones. Bass-baritone is a voice category too. :) I recommend the Richard Miller’s book: securing bass, bass-baritone and baritone voices.
I enjoyed this video and you took on some very difficult subjects which are almost impossible to clearly define. Having said that, I was very surprised by the roles you chose for examples of basso profundo roles. Bartolo in Barber of Seville is the epitome of a basso buffo role and is occasionally but rarely sung by a profundo. His aria can be challengingly high even for seasoned bass-baritones. There is nothing low in this role for a bass, and while it is usually performed by bass-baritones and basso cantantes, it is not unusual for it to be performed by a baritone. The Commentaore is not particularly low and while profundos occasionally sing it, it is usually handled by large voiced “regular basses.” I am surprised you did not pick the most obvious profundo roles: Sarastro in Magic Flute, Osmin in Abduction and Baron Ochs in Rosencavalier. 0:10
Again, this is a great access to roles. Florez in "Una furtiva lagrima" I damn near caused an accident listening to Florez on the radio. That's when I ripped out my radio. It's really James Morris, not James Morries. Props for Blitch! We should talk. A low F for the basso profundo. When I was in college in the 70s, there were 7 of us with notes below that F. Later in my live I have sung tenor II for opera chorus and Lord Chancellor in IOLANTHE, Jailor in TOSCA, and Frederick in ALNM.
Sore unstitched: I must respectfully disagree with your range assignments for the various Fach categories. In German, the term Fach refers to a craft or specialty. Within the broader art of music-specifically in opera and opera seria-a Fach represents a specialization, much like a craftsman may specialize in restoration, new builds, or specific types of repairs. Similarly, within the opera genre, there are distinct Fach categories (apologies for the perhaps tedious lesson on taxonomy). Regarding the ranges you’ve listed, I believe they may be incorrect. While pursuing my Master’s Degree in music at the Mozarteum in Austria (a few bubs ago), I trained as a Korrepetitor (vocal coach). Unless I missed something significant during my studies, I do not recall any aria in the repertoire extending to a double-high C (C6) in the treble range. Typically, the upper limit for most male voices (including Countertenor) tends to be around C5 (maybe E5 but you showed a C6 in the background). A note like C6 is rare in male operatic roles unless we are talking about exceptionally high (bespoke) ranges not within a "standard" Fach - it would be like saying an analog (Swiss) watchmaker can also fix atomic clocks........😛
As regards MONOSTATOS in DIE ZAUBERFLOTE I was once in a production where this character was easily sung by a baritone which shows that the so called FACH system is sometimes a rather narrow one indeed. I wonder how Mozart really considered the character vocally.
Many of the small low-lying Charaktertenor roles can technically be sung by baritones, some even by basses. Having tenors sing these roles makes them sound less serious, as most of these roles are rather ridiculous characters. But depending on what the producer is going for, you sometimes see e.g. monostatos,yamadori,Altoum played by baritones.
Hi, Again late to the party, sorry. I find the whole seeing the fach as types of roles you sing, very interesting. I've never heard that before, and I need to think about that and compare it with all other stuff I've heard about it. This will take some time. Thank you for making me think. Yours, Ann
In voice class, required to perform an Italian Art Song, well, I wish I'd had you there to guide me in my choice. Thank you. Love your presentation style. I subscribed.
I dozed off on the couch and woke up to this video. I know absolutely nothing about opera, and I found it quite entertaining.
Callas was a natural mezzosoprano... just think about it!
The Russian funeral hymn "vyechnaya pamyat'" showed me what octavists were. You might not hear the note but for some reason, everything about you is slowly vibrating.
I was raised in the Greek Orthodox church, but I actually also had the privvilege to hear, see, and feel a few Oktavists and Bassos Profondos singing hymns deeply, loudly, and resonantly just a few meters, maybe centimiters from me, right to my face
wow that must ve been an experience you wont lightly forget!
Some of the oktavists don't even sound human.
I have a couple of CDs of Russian religious music that I really enjoy. When the octavists get to work, I always think that someone ought to look for scattered body parts. I'm certain that that deep growl is capable of shaking apart the human body.
F0!? I can't even burp that low.
One of my best memories as a chorister was singing the Rachmaninov Vespers with the LA Master Chorale. We had a few okaivists in the back row. They got their own ovation.
Great that you include the snip of the score with each example of voice.
The "young deep-voiced male tired of everyone being surprised every time they open their mouth" was definitely me. One of the reasons I got into opera was....there was nothing else for me to sing (like....seriously. How many deep voiced males are there really in popular music? People's idea of a "deep male voice" today is like Josh Groban who isn't even a baritone).
Check out someone like Geoff Castellucci.
Maybe Rammstein? That's metal though.
But yeah I get it. I am mostly a musical theatre nerd. I could hardly think of any male character with bass range. Maybe some of Sondheim's shows. Sweeney Todd is usually played by a bass baritone, such as Bryn Terfel. But even that requires a G4 flat, which might be a little bit high for bass? Maybe you could try Emile De Becque in South Pacific. The highest note is E4 I think?
Why are bass voices not valued?
That's indeed why I also got into classical music. There's a more diverse variety of singers in classical music than in pop music I believe. Also, there are plenty of deeper voices in non-classical music, plenty of them with even deeper voices than Josh Groban, just not specifically within the genre of pop music in most cases.
Even for that they hire opera singers.@@ey8767
omg the singer you used for character tenor was my voice teacher! Go Robert Norman!
13:17 My brain was fully expecting Gymnopédie No.1 to follow these two notes
Saaaaaame
I went through it in my head.
Yep... totally had that vibe.
I went to the timestamp to listen and when I went back to where I was, I got an ad for a piano app… in which that song was being played 😂
@@MellowMaternityit did not only have the vibe, it was the exact interval and pitch of the opening notes
Gorgeously done and may I say, as a choir nerd forever, THANK YOU for giving a choral example at the end, and thank you even MORE for making it such a delightful treat. There really is something special and magic and primordial about Basso Profundo. I am absolutely a sucker for the lowest of low notes, and that example is just luscious. I honestly think maybe it's evolution or something like that, true bass voices just really make me happy in ways that are...haha, probably not wise to say in a public comment! But they're amazing and I love them.
Hahaha, I know exactly what you mean. I don't care how tall a guy is, I only care how deep his voice is when he tells me his height. 🙈
I already mentioned Geoff Castellucci in another comment so it's obvious I'm a huge fangirl, but if you haven't heard him please find his channel, I hope it makes you as "happy" as it does me. (He's easy on the eyes too) 😁
@@joyfulyes Yes he IS! He's the second or maybe third bass vocalist I followed here on TH-cam. The first was Avi Kaplan, ha! Geoff's voice is just -chefskiss-
@@ScoresUnstitched RIGHT?
@@joyfulyes I only heard of this guy yesterday, singing Carol of the Bells. He sounded amplified, so I wonder if he has the chops for opera.
@11:41 Scarpia's name abbreviated as Scar in the score. *chef's kiss*
***OMG, phenomenal VIDEO! Thank yo so much for this stunning survey, very thoughtfully done! I love your associations and metaphors that explain each FACH! I also have a similar style in my own teaching of languages. Keep it up soul sister!! :) ***
the feeling of pure delight upon hearing that basso profundo! incredible
Basso = Italian word
Profundo = Spanish word
What are we doin here, folks?
The biggest missed examples in this video would be Ettore Bastianini as the standard for Verdi Baritones, and Franco Corelli for Spinto Tenors. Both of them have such a big cutting voice they pretty much set the standard for their roles.
Bastianini is a good example. His Verdi repertoire is superb. Bryan Terfel is a bass baritone. Franco Corelli is more like a dramatic tenor, so is Lauri Volpi. They are usually classified as spinto but I usually put them on the dramatic side. Spinto is a type of lyric tenor. Singers like Corelli sounds a little bit too much in some lyric repertoires. Placido Domingo is just a textbook spinto when he’s younger.
@@ey8767 Unlike Corelli, Lauri Volpi is not a dramatic tenor. He could pull of Raoul in "Les Huguenots" and do justice to the style, unlike Corelli, whose voice is way too heavy for that.
@ I agree with you but I don’t think Corelli’s voice was too “heavy” for that role. Corelli’s voice is unique. There’s always this sadness in it, which makes him perfect for tragic roles such as Carvaradossi, etc. But when he tried to sing Duca’s arias… lol
This would offend many Corelli’s fans, but I would say singers like Lauri-Volpi, Gigli, Carlo Bergonzi were just musically better and more versatile than Corelli.
@@ey8767 I used to be an unconditional fan of Corelli's until I heard him sing Werther. My favourite Italian tenor in my favourite French opera... well, that went south. I couldn't get past the first act because it was causing me so much emotional distress.
@@ey8767 Corelli had a huge voice and a technique that was perfect for heavy Italian stuff of the late 19th and early 20th century (much of which he didn't sing, like Mascagni's "Parisina" or Zandonai's "Francesca da Rimini", or sang only once in his early career, like Zandonai's "Giulietta e Romeo", maybe also Giordano's "Fedora" - I don't remember exactly). His singing was very direct and passional, with a torrential sound, but not very nuanced. Also, the 19th-century French style, especially the high notes, requires a technique that Corelli did not possess or, at least, apply. That is not really what you need for either Werther or Raoul de Nangis (with the possible exception of the aria at the beginning of the 5th act, which used to be cut in the past). And, last but not least, Corelli was not very gifted when it comes to the pronunciation of languages other than Italian. His French in the studio recording of "Roméo et Juliette" is just so-so and even Mirella Freni, whose French is way better than Corelli's, stands out in an otherwise Francophone cast.
dang those metaphors for the basso profondo really went into chills territory
Thank you! Enjoyable and competent presentation.
What a fantastic video. Really informative, and very funny. Your description of the profundo - "if the earth could speak, like a fossil" summed it up beautifully. Who doesn't love a Russian bass?
The last few notes of this video were spectacular! Great series.
That F1 at the end gave me goosebumps!
I didn’t know anything about opera - at all! - and you’ve now opened a new door of enjoyment in my life. Your videos are really interesting and well done; thank you!
Your intro in the beginning - I was looking all wrong at vocal fachs, thank you for explaining 🤯❤
That Nintendo version of "The Magic Flute" - what perfect timing - while we are going through our second full version of "The Magic Flute" in my 7th grade class - after this second viewing, I show pieces of other versions to teach the range and universality of the opera. The students are going to love to see pieces of this version - which I will save to the end!! I really enjoyed the breakdown of these Fuchs - such great comparisons! (I watched the female voices first...expecting to watch a few minutes and pick it up later...and here I am - hopefully their is no PST timestamp)
The best production of the Magic Flute I ever saw was at the Met in NYC, scenery and costumes by Maurice Sendak. Like Where the Wild Things Are come to life.
@@Geoplanetjane I just looked that up- THAT looks fun!
I love to sing and hear countertenor stuff, going to listen to Akhnaten now. Thanks!
This is on my short list now. I had no idea there was an opera about this pharaoh
If you can see the Met's production, DO SO! It is phenomenal.
I can also recommend Vox's video titled "How an opera gets made", it's super interesting and it's featuring the behind the scenes of this opera at MET, with Roth Costanzo
God, I love Terfel and Hvorostovsky...also whenever you play that g to f sharp range saties gymnopedie comes to mind
I was just about to make the same comment about Satie, but then I thought better of it and checked the comments. Sure enough, someone else had noticed too ^_^
(It's at 13:17 btw)
Yes, I was glad to see both of them.
Absolutely tremendous tutorial! I've just watched the second one and I've never seen this so well done, or so enjoyably presented. And your speaking voice is none too hard on the ears as well!
Love this video. This should be required listening for all singers!
Thank you for including Dmitri
This video is fantastic in it's explanation of fachs! As a baritone I did notice a couple issues in that section though. First I just noticed that your example for the cantabile/kavalier baritone was Samuel Ramey, who is a bass. I know you want to make it clear that fachs are roles, but his voice might not give the right impression of that fach, especially considering he did not and could not sing any of the other roles you listed for that fach.
Agreed, roles like Marcello, Don Giovanni, Dr. Malatesta or Sharpless are far better examples for a Kavalier baritone than Escamillo (who is honestly something in between bass-baritone and kavalierbariton).
I was literally about to comment the same thing but luckily I saw your comment otherwise there would be a duplicate opinion
I agree with you that Samuel Ramey wouldn't be the best case to educate people on the Kavalier baritone fach.
Yes this was a tragic mistake…😢
Ramey sings Escamillo one tone lower than what is written in the score displayed !!!
I remember how Thomas Hampton was introduced at the Met’s silver anniversary gala “One of our brightest young stars…” he was at least 40.
Magnificent vídeo!. Thank you so much for sharing the knowledge!
I remember you from a masterclass with Gerard finley you were amazing so excited to see you again. I would have made a distinctiom between dramatic and helden tenor. In terms of roles, They are not the same because the dramatic tenor is Italianate and typically a higher tesstitura, (Othello and la traviata - alfredo have the same tessit) and massive high notes. Heldentenor have huge voice but spend a majority of singing in a baritone range. Their middle voices are required to be larger than the dramatic tenor. And I'm not talking about singers but rather the roles.
Otello on several occasions requires some low notes that Alfredo doesn't.
@ yes, tessitura means where the bulk on the range of the role happens. So while otello has low notes, the primary range is similar in tessitura to Alfredo.
@@Tye_silvertenor Otello has a bigger range than Alfredo, both in terms of highest and lowest notes. However, Otello makes strong demands on the low register, so I would say that, in comparison to Alfredo, the bulk of the notes is distributed across a wider range.
@ like I said range and tessitura are not the same thing. They have a difference in extreme range and volume. Placido Domingo and other tenors I that have done both said to me, they have the same tessitura.
I love that you used the Elixer of Love for some of these examples. It was my Grandmother’s favorite opera of all time, one we watched together often. She passed away earlier this year and this was a wonderful way to feel connected with her 💕
I was trying to pick a favorite among these voices, liking many of them, and then...then I heard the stones sing that F0 and I started to cry. That's it. That's the most beautiful deep voice to me.
I know many young basses. They hate being uncommon and pushed to sound less bass-like because basses aren’t common in their age. I don’t see why one should push a young singer to sound younger than they sound naturally. A classical singer should always sound DARK and LOUD
Also, a singer who can sing lyric baritone and cavaliere baritone is most likely not able to sing Verdibaritone and vice versa. I know a young bass-baritone, who will most likely also sing some full-dramatic baritone-repertoire in the future, but never Papageno or Figaro.
@@mathildehb0076 And that's okay because we're all different :)
There's really only one kind of baritone. All the old ones sang everything north of Wotan, and the Italians that did sing Wotan still sang in La favorite.@@mathildehb0076
many young basses seems contradictory
@@JackInABeanstalk98 «How is “many young basses” more contradictory than “many young tenors”?! They aren’t as common and many of them start off as baritones.
“Young” as in their 20s. They often mature faster than tenors do. Also well trained young baritones struggle less with the high G than tenors do with the high C. But tenors still need the C more often than the baritones and basses need the G. This often leads to teachers misvoicing their students at a relatively young age and giving them harmful repertoire. “You are probably just a wagnerian tenor”. This has happened too often, and they get short careers, and lose their voice in the end.
This is why young singers should study more art song than opera and gradually learn more operatic repertoire when they are in their mid 20s.
Found myself singing along to some of these.
it was fun to hear the explanation and example of each fachs
I have loved both of your videos on this topic! Such a beautifully accessible explanation and a great reminder of role vs. person ❤
Fantastic video! Well edited too 👌👌
Very interesting! Greatly done!
I love all your examples, great selections. And the effort to put the score up!! I know how much time it will need to take! Thank you!
With the female fachs video - the best here on TH-cam! Love it, thank you very much and looking forward to another videos ❤
Very useful, thank you!
Congratulations! You made a very esoteric subject clear and amusing! A work of considerable genius 👏👏👏
and of course the countertenor I know, Mitch from Pentatonix. But maannnnnn that Ahknaten dude gave me chills. Thanks for sharing again (and teaching me!)
The Ahkenaten was HAUNTING, like the recording I heard of the actual last castrati.
@@LittleGreenSoldier I've heard that too! Very... different. I thought of it like a boy soprano with adult lung power.
Anthony Roth Costanzo is phenomenal as Akhnaten. If you can find the Met's production, def. give it a watch!
Thank you very much for the video! I came here to figure out exactly what kind of bass I would be now and (I'm 18, so this can change of course but) I got my answer. And unsurprisingly I'm a young bass right now.😂 Maybe a tiny bit lower. So thank you, this was really informative.
However, by the way, just a quick correction: the last clip was C2-F1 - so C1 is the double low C and F0 would be off the keyboard of the piano (however there actually IS a clip of Mikhail Zlatopolsky audibly singing a double low C with such power that you can clearly hear it even though if I'm not mistaken there must have been at least 10 people singing higher notes along with him, so these things combined are like... barely humanly possible). But he did it. Because oktavists...
Thank you... Was about to correct the "C1-F0" mistake but lo and behold (no puns teehee) someone else got it taken care of.
That was EXCELLENT. Thank you!
Just a quick correction the last note is around F1 I think, not F0.
Yep. As a bass who can't quite hit a C2 except early mornings, I know the sound of a C2 very well from trying
True can’t sing an F0 but can get that note
Yeah. An F0 not in vocal fry is literally impossible. The modern data suggest that the theorytical limit for human chest voice is around Bb0
@@dmytrotsvyntarnyi799 Sounds reasonable and I think Glenn Miller has such a note (Bb0) in chest voice.
Hi, thanks for the breakdown. That was very easy to understand. As a German, I have to point out that the plural of "Fach" is not "Fachs" but "Fächer". I work as a prompter in an opera and during the video I assigned all of our singers to the Fächet ^^ but I also noticed that none of our singers restrict themselves to a single Fuch, but can all sing roles from other Fächer. So the transitions here seem to be very fluid.
Okay I was getting really excited to hear some really low notes cause I love them! But Damn!!
That last one was wild😅
Thank you for the great video! Super informative👍❤
Very informative and helpful. Thanks.
I wish I had had this in music school, but the internet wasnt evolved yet. Might still be singing today as it would have boosted confidence to know my type.
My vocal coach was pushing me into mid-second tenor range so I think he was trying to set me up to get work… shoulda stuck with it. Oh well. I did more musical theater and “Bring him home” from Les Mis was one he had me learning. (First time my wife heard me sing it she was… well, let’s just say it was a good night.)
Thanks for this. Loved it!
In this video and the previous, I found your comparisons very helpful.
That last piece just made me happy. There’s nothing like an awesome base section.
Girl i learned so much and you are funny af.
i think that in the tenor is missing the light tenor (even if you said Almaviva). For me Florez is a light tenor while pavarotti is a lyric (or lirico leggero but not light)
Leggiero is Italian for light. And again she is talking about fachs here, not singers.
@@richard_perry I'd consider there to be a higher tenor fach than the lyric, with many roles containing notes above the high C.
@@ianheckman6655 Correct. Florez is actually a Leggiero tenor, with excellent agility, singing above high C easily.
I know this is a long time ago, fach is also the word for 'subject'. It's awesome to listen to these roles broken down! :)
Alexander Alyabyev;s Cherubic Hymn is going on my playlist! Thanks for the introduction to this work.
Thank you for this video!!! Love it.
I am such a big fan of spinto tenors and heldentenors because their heroic high notes are exciting. Same goes for dramatic tenors too. I also find the lyric tenors to be adorable by the way they sound when they sing amazing phrases especially in the Donizetti aria Florez sang. However Florez was considered a leggero tenor than a lyric tenor even though he is my favorite singer.
Indeed I agree that the heavier tenor voices are amazing. But yes Florez is usually considered a leggero tenor.
They each have their own quality though. Look around TH-cam - there is a Pavarotti making an absolute meal of "O mon ame" (the aria Florez slays) while Florez cannot drown out the backing in the climax of "Nessun dorma" (Pavarotti's renowned party piece). Its about the type of voice the song is written for - ie the fach.
Thank you for the lesson(s)...my father was the first, first leading baritone of the RCM after WW2 before it became the COC in the 50's - he always wanted me to sing😊.
Such a great tutorial for opera lovers and potential opera lovers. However, I wish you could provide another soprano to illustrate the Turandot. The one you used was flat on the high notes in an opera where hitting the high notes on pitch is the apex of the aria. Please keep up the good work. Jill in Texas.
Fun and informative. Thank you!
Yay! Akhnaten mentioned!
Just awesome!! Thanks!!
Interesting to think about the history of the fach system itself- starting during the late 19th C. Post war “purist” singers often advocated to abandon the system.
This is great! Helps demystify the differences - although still mysterious, especially to people in the United State.
Somehow the countertenor voice is better suited for the modern opera roles since the 1950s with Britten and thereafter, than the Baroque ones because though they have developed A LOT to fit a match for the castrato roles of then, their voices are kinda more naturally fitted for female singers in pants-roles, and the countertenors kinda got a mixed-reaction on between how they look and how they sing on those parts, whereas the modern opera ones were already written on for themselves since EVER the very beginning of the roles on themselves, henceforth Akenathen is very uniquely done by a countertenor, wheras Orpheus and Giulio Cesare kinda have some ambiguity when actually the female singers might be doing kinda a more "realistic" stronger tune-performance on their voice singing and acting qualities than the countertenor voice for the same roles. (Oddily a female mezzo or contralto does a more "masculine" role than countertenors on that, it´s odd and contradictory but it kinda does happens, and well, henceforth why a total substitution on them instead of pants roles might not ever happen in all)
I'm Orthodox, and mostly in Russian music choirs. I knew one basso profundo. O my Lord! When he let loose, the altos damn near slipped outta their chairs!!!
Cait-wow! I listened to the men's and women's versions of the Opera Fach System. You are a brilliant teacher. I learned so much. Thank you. Strangely I am *not* an opera fan. I just happen to go to see operas. I was just in Turin and saw Manon Lescaut (Puccini), Manon Lescaut (Auber), and Manon (Massenet). Yeah, a triple-header of Manon. I still don't *get* opera. I am a musician. I love music. But I don't have the opera gene. I love opera houses and the spectacle. I am planning to see operas at all the great opera house of Europe. I think I will appreciate opera all the more for your discussion.
Gulielmo, Papageno, Belcore are lyric baritones?! Those roles are more for bass-baritone. All Mozart's low male voice roles (exept of low bass roles like Sarastro and Osmin) are written for bass-baritone. And many of belcanto baritone roles is pretty low. And Onegin is typically lyric baritone role. Russians often call lyric baritone onegish (Onegine-like).
And Escamillo is 100% bass-baritone role (that voice called "barytone basse" in French and that type of voice appears often in French opera).
Well put. When you look at the tessituras of characters like Figaro and Guglielmo in the ensembles and finales, you learn what Mozart's real entention was for vocal casting in his operas. Guglielmo is a bass (Don Alfonso always has the middle line), as is Figaro. Papageno shouldn't even be discussed here as the role was written expressly for Schikaneder's limited vocal range.
@@vcaus Of course originally Mozart's Figaro is written for bass. He must sing lowest line in sexstet (after judgement) and an otional low F. And Guglielmo is similar. But they are not as low as Osmin or Sarastro and bass-baritone can sing it easely. For me the best choice for Figaro is voice like Cesare Siepi.
I agree! Escamillo is bass-baritone. And besides of Osmin and Zarastro, the basses mozart roles are bass-baritone roles.
I’m definitely not an opera singer, but I did sing bass in a church choir once upon a time. I actually can’t read music very well, but they tell me I have a good ear and a good voice. This video explains a comment the choir director once made when I was having a good day. I can usually hit the basso profondo range with some time to warm up, but on my good days I can get the volume as well. The incident in question was the first time I heard of basso profondo, but at the time she said she thought I could hit the “Russian” bass with some work. She used to sing in a Russian choir years ago. Watching this though finally put all the pieces together for me.
For the record, having heard it, I think on the few times a year when I have no kind of sinus drainage at all, I can hit some of notes in that oktavist sample. I think my old choir director was a little optimistic.
15:14 If "Gladiator" was an opera, this would be Maximus Decimus Meridius.
And for heldenbaritone the best example is Wotan from Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" or the Hollander from "Fliegende Hollander". Jago and Macbeth are more for dramatic baritone, bat those roles still are Verdi baritone roles. And heldenbaritone is not really baritone, it's huge, ringing bass-baritone. And in many classifications bass-baritone is classified as highest bass voice type.
I am 11 years old just starting middle school and my range is G2-G3 I sound like a giant
🤣🤣🤣
Really great! I knew nothing about it all and now I am an expert!
I'm myself right between Spinto Tenor & Heldentenor. I've sometimes sung lyric baritone pieces, usually duets with sopranos or Mezzo. My teacher once started me on Tamino, but stopped, saying "Nobody could believe YOU fainting at the sight of a big snake!"
I love learning new things about voice. Thanks!
As a tenor who sometimes sings alto parts (choir, not opera), hearing a countertenor for the first time was a revelation!
i joined an opera group literally because i'm a bass. there's nothing else for me to sing and no musical theatre roles cater to us lmao
A "Fach" in German is a domain, an area of expertise. It can also mean a specific drawer or one shelf of many. And then there is a great word for people who only have knowledge in a very limited domain, especially if they go on bragging about it : "Fachidiot". I think translation is superfluous.
"Fach" is a word that can mean many things, depending on context. Love your example of "Fachidiot".
Once again, great video, your analogies clearly convey the essence of each role.
As i commented on the female roles video, i don't like sopranos, so rarely listen to opera. What does draw me to opera are the baritone & bass roles & i absolutely adore how a basso profondo gets you literally in the gut. Womens' roles are just too high for me & come across as shrieking more than singing. If they made operas without women, i'd listen to one from time to time. 😄
16:23 THIS EXACTLY. Also the C-F was C2-F1. I'm probably not the first person to point that out but yeah lol. Great video though!!
The counter tenor was glorious!
Thanks! Great work!
Awesome video!
Nice Video, I would just add a little detail, maybe other poeple did this comment, but it sounds weird to me to hear about fach without talking about passagio. I know that the range is important but to classify with the passaggio is so much healthier for a male voice. I saw many poeple finding his good repertoire too late... because they consider the range and the colour instead of the passaggio...And the Fach can be a person as in Germany there are institutions that deliver contracts based on the Fach of the singer. That's not a great thing but it exists
THANKYOU, exactly like that: Passaggio is more important then everything, more then range. Passaggio is what define the voice category and from that the Fächer you chose to sing. Self experience, I was always wrong classified. Because nobody looked at my Passaggio. Now I’m writing a master thesis about it. About the voice category bass-baritone. When she says that the role could be baritone or bass, she is clearly speaking about the Fächer that are in fact for bass-baritones. Bass-baritone is a voice category too. :)
I recommend the Richard Miller’s book: securing bass, bass-baritone and baritone voices.
I enjoyed this video and you took on some very difficult subjects which are almost impossible to clearly define. Having said that, I was very surprised by the roles you chose for examples of basso profundo roles. Bartolo in Barber of Seville is the epitome of a basso buffo role and is occasionally but rarely sung by a profundo. His aria can be challengingly high even for seasoned bass-baritones. There is nothing low in this role for a bass, and while it is usually performed by bass-baritones and basso cantantes, it is not unusual for it to be performed by a baritone. The Commentaore is not particularly low and while profundos occasionally sing it, it is usually handled by large voiced “regular basses.” I am surprised you did not pick the most obvious profundo roles: Sarastro in Magic Flute, Osmin in Abduction and Baron Ochs in Rosencavalier. 0:10
OMG. The oktavist. My life is complete.
I'm going through a massive countertenor phase. If it ain't Baroque, fix it!
Again, this is a great access to roles. Florez in "Una furtiva lagrima" I damn near caused an accident listening to Florez on the radio. That's when I ripped out my radio. It's really James Morris, not James Morries. Props for Blitch! We should talk. A low F for the basso profundo. When I was in college in the 70s, there were 7 of us with notes below that F. Later in my live I have sung tenor II for opera chorus and Lord Chancellor in IOLANTHE, Jailor in TOSCA, and Frederick in ALNM.
Thank you for this
Susannah!!!!! One of my favorites. I was lucky enough to sing Elder Ott in a production.
many thanks very informative ❤❤
Sore unstitched: I must respectfully disagree with your range assignments for the various Fach categories. In German, the term Fach refers to a craft or specialty. Within the broader art of music-specifically in opera and opera seria-a Fach represents a specialization, much like a craftsman may specialize in restoration, new builds, or specific types of repairs. Similarly, within the opera genre, there are distinct Fach categories (apologies for the perhaps tedious lesson on taxonomy). Regarding the ranges you’ve listed, I believe they may be incorrect.
While pursuing my Master’s Degree in music at the Mozarteum in Austria (a few bubs ago), I trained as a Korrepetitor (vocal coach). Unless I missed something significant during my studies, I do not recall any aria in the repertoire extending to a double-high C (C6) in the treble range. Typically, the upper limit for most male voices (including Countertenor) tends to be around C5 (maybe E5 but you showed a C6 in the background). A note like C6 is rare in male operatic roles unless we are talking about exceptionally high (bespoke) ranges not within a "standard" Fach - it would be like saying an analog (Swiss) watchmaker can also fix atomic clocks........😛
Thank you for this video
Hello! Loving the video! I wanted t ask, would you make like "an extension" talking about Tenore di grazia/ tenore leggerio?
As regards MONOSTATOS in DIE ZAUBERFLOTE I was once in a production where this character was easily sung by a baritone which shows that the so called FACH system is sometimes a rather narrow one indeed. I wonder how Mozart really considered the character vocally.
Many of the small low-lying Charaktertenor roles can technically be sung by baritones, some even by basses. Having tenors sing these roles makes them sound less serious, as most of these roles are rather ridiculous characters.
But depending on what the producer is going for, you sometimes see e.g. monostatos,yamadori,Altoum played by baritones.
Hi, Again late to the party, sorry. I find the whole seeing the fach as types of roles you sing, very interesting. I've never heard that before, and I need to think about that and compare it with all other stuff I've heard about it. This will take some time. Thank you for making me think. Yours, Ann
Wow, really interesting! Thank you! :-)
Now I watched the Nintendo-version of The Magic Flute, thanks for making me waware of that, it's hilarious! :D
In voice class, required to perform an Italian Art Song, well, I wish I'd had you there to guide me in my choice. Thank you. Love your presentation style. I subscribed.
Nice video, but I had wished you had chosen an actual low bass opera excerpt rather than a choir piece where the low bass is barely audible
Range-wise I'm closest to a Helden baritone, but I'm not trained in opera so I'll stick to Irish folk ballads
Dang, that's one hair-raising Danny Boy. 😂👏
Range-wise.....? What about timbre- wise and volume-wise?....
@ No idea