A 'mezzo-soprano' (meaning "medium" or "middle" "soprano" in
Italian) is a female
singer whose range lies between the soprano and the
contralto, usually extending from the A below
middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A
3-A
5 in
scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C
4). While mezzo-sopranos generally have a heavier, darker tone than sopranos, the mezzo-soprano voice resonates in a higher range than that of a contralto. The terms ''
Dugazon'' and ''
Galli-Marié'' are sometimes used to refer to light mezzo-sopranos, after the names of famous singers. A
castrato with a mezzo-soprano range was also called a ''mezzo-soprano castrato'' or ''mezzista''.
Mezzo-sopranos typically sing secondary roles in operas, with the protagonist in
Bizet's ''
Carmen'' and Rosina in
Rossini's ''
Barber of Seville'' as the most notable exceptions. Typical roles for mezzo-sopranos include witches, nurses, and wise women such as Azucena in Verdi's
Il trovatore;
trouser role (male characters played by female singers) such as Cherubino in Mozart's ''
Le nozze di Figaro''; and villains and seductresses such as Amneris in Verdi's ''
Aida''. Mezzo-sopranos are also well represented in
baroque music,
early music and
baroque opera, they are sometimes cast in
soubrette roles if a more dramatic sound is desired, and some of the lower-tessitura
soprano roles can be sung by mezzos as well. In current operatic practice,
contraltos are also counted as mezzo-sopranos. For the different types of mezzo-sopranos, see
voice type.
Some roles designated for lighter
soubrette sopranos are sung by mezzo sopranos, who often provide a fuller, more dramatic quality. Such roles include Despina in Mozart's ''
Così fan tutte'' and Zerlina in Mozart's ''
Don Giovanni''. Mezzos also sometimes play dramatic soprano roles such as Santuzza in Mascagni's ''
Cavalleria rusticana'', Lady Macbeth in Verdi's ''
Macbeth'', and Kundry in Wagner's ''
Parsifal''.
Mezzo-soprano roles in operas
The following are examples of mezzo-soprano roles in the popular operatic repertoire. Many mezzo-sopranos also sing designated
alto roles, and some sing
soprano roles as well.
Mezzo-soprano lead roles in operas
★ Carmen, ''
Carmen'' (
Bizet)
★ Cenerentola, ''
La Cenerentola'' (
Rossini)
★ Charlotte, ''
Werther'' (
Massenet)
★ Dalila, ''
Samson et Dalila'' (
Saint-Saëns)
★ Dido, ''
Les Troyens'' (
Berlioz)
★ Hänsel, ''
Hänsel und Gretel'' (
Humperdinck) --
trouser role
★ Judith, ''
Bluebeard's Castle'' (
Bartók)
★ Rosina, ''
Il barbiere di Siviglia'' (
Rossini)
★ Mignon, ''
Mignon'' (
Ambroise Thomas)
Other mezzo-soprano roles in operas
★ Adalgisa, ''
Norma'' (
Bellini)
★ Amneris, ''
Aïda'' (
Verdi)
★ Azucena, ''
Il trovatore'' (
Verdi)
★ Brangäne, ''
Tristan und Isolde'' (
Wagner)
★ The Countess, ''
The Queen of Spades'' (
Tchaikovsky)
★ Dorabella, ''
Così fan tutte'' (
Mozart)
★ Fricka, ''
Das Rheingold,
Die Walküre'' (
Wagner)
★ Herodias, ''
Salome'' (
Richard Strauss)
★ Klytemnästra, ''
Elektra'' (
Richard Strauss)
★ Laura, ''
La Gioconda'' (
Ponchielli)
★ Mallika, ''
Lakmé'' (
Leo Delibes)
★ Marina, ''
Boris Godunov'' (
Mussorgsky)
★ Olga, ''
Eugene Onegin'' (
Tchaikovsky)
★ Ortrud, ''
Lohengrin'' (
Wagner)
★ Preziosilla, ''
La forza del destino'' (
Verdi)
★ Princess Eboli, ''
Don Carlos'' (
Verdi)
★ Venus, ''
Tannhäuser'' (
Wagner) -- Sometimes performed by the
soprano who sings Elisabeth.
★ The Witch, ''
Hänsel und Gretel'' (
Humperdinck)
===Mezzo-soprano
trouser roles in operas===
★ Cherubino, ''
Le nozze di Figaro'' (
Mozart)
★ Idamante, ''
Idomeneo'' (
Mozart)
★ Nicklausse, ''
Les contes d'Hoffmann'' (
Offenbach) -- though he is the (female) Muse in disguise
★ Octavian, ''
Der Rosenkavalier'' (
Richard Strauss)
★ Ratmir, ''
Ruslan and Lyudmila'' - designated as a contralto part
★ Siebel, ''
Faust'' (
Gounod)
Mezzo-soprano roles in operettas
Each of the
Gilbert and Sullivan operas has a prominent mezzo-soprano role. They are not listed here.
★ Orlofsky (''
Die Fledermaus'')
Mezzo-soprano roles in musicals
Many modern
musicals have one or more "belt" roles that generally fall within the range of mezzo-soprano, some of which are listed below, but these examples are too numerous to list.
★ Anna Leonowens (''
The King and I'')
★ Adelaide (''
Guys and Dolls'')
★ Ado Annie ''(
Oklahoma!)''
★ Belle (''
Beauty and the Beast'')
★ Deena Jones (''
Dreamgirls'')
★ Dinah (''
Starlight Express'')
★ Ellen Scott (''
Miss Saigon'')
★ Elphaba (''
Wicked'')
★ Eponine (''
Les Misérables'')
★ Eva Peron (''
Evita'')
★ Grizabella (''
Cats'')
★ Helena Landless (''
The Mystery of Edwin Drood'')
★ Kim (''
Miss Saigon'')
★ Lucy (''
Jekyll & Hyde'')
★ Madame Giry (
The Phantom of the Opera)
★ Magenta (''
The Rocky Horror Show'')
★ Margaret (''
The Light in the Piazza)
★ Maureen Johnson (''
Rent'')
★ Meg Giry (
The Phantom of the Opera)
★ Mei Li (''
Flower Drum Song'')
★ Mimi Marquez (''
Rent'')
★ Miss Hannigan (''
Annie'')
★ Mother (
Ragtime)
★ Mrs. Lovett (''
Sweeney Todd'')
★ Nellie Forbush (''
South Pacific'')
★ Nessarose (''
Wicked'')
★ Nettie Fowler (''
Carousel'')
★ Roxie Hart (''
Chicago'')
★ Tracy Turnblad (
Hairspray (musical))
★ The Lady of the Lake (''
Monty Python's Spamalot'')
★ The Witch (''
Into the Woods'')
★ Ulla (''
The Producers'')
Notable mezzo-sopranos
Classical and operatic mezzo-sopranos
Classical and operatic singers are singers who have regularly performed unamplified classical or operatic music in concert halls and/or opera houses.
Contemporary and crossover mezzo-sopranos
★
Alicia Keys
★
Beyonce
★
Cassie
★
Debbie Harry of
Blondie (band)
★
Joan Jett
★
Jennifer Lopez
★
Jewel
★
Sarah McLachlan
★
Idina Menzel
★
Selena
★
Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas of
TLC (band)
See also
★
Opera
★
Voice type
★
Fach
★
External links
★
Aria database
★
Mezzo-soprano voices with video examples
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