Fach

The German Fach (pl. Fächer, literally "compartment") (pronounced|ˈfax, IPA| [ˈfɛçəɐ] ) system is a method of classifying singers, primarily opera singers, by the range, weight, and color of their voices. It is primarily used in Europe, especially in German-speaking countries and in repertory opera houses.

The Fach system is a convenience for singers and opera houses. A singer who is identified as being of a certain Fach will usually be asked to sing only roles that belong to that Fach. This prevents a singer from being asked to sing roles which he or she is incapable of performing. Opera houses keep lists of available singers by Fach so that when they are casting roles for an upcoming production, they do not inadvertently contact performers who would be inappropriate for the part.

Below is a list of Fächer, their ranges as written on sheet music, and their common roles. When two names for the Fach are given, the first is in more common use today. Where possible, an English equivalent of each Fach is listed, however not all Fächer have ready English equivalents. Note that some roles can be sung by more than one Fach and that many singers do not easily fit into a fach: for instance some sopranos may sing both Koloratursopran and Dramatischer Koloratursopran roles. In addition, roles traditionally more difficult to cast may be given to a voice other than the traditional fach. For instance, the "Queen of the Night" is more traditionally a dramatic coloratura role, but it is difficult to find enough dramatic coloraturas to sing it (particularly given the extreme range). Therefore, the role is often sung by Lyric Coloraturas.

Soprano "Fächer"

Lyrischer Koloratursopran / Koloratursoubrette

*English equivalent: Coloratura soprano or Lyric Coloratura soprano
*Range: From about middle C to the F two-and-a-half octaves above middle C (F6)
*Description: Usually (but not always) a light soprano who has a high voice. Can often have small voices lacking the richness and resonance of a dramatic soprano. Must be able to do fast acrobatics with easy high notes. Many have extremely high ranges (with notes above the F of the "Queen of the Night", but there are also singers in this fach who do not regularly sing higher than the high E flat. Often, women who sing Dramatic coloratura roles have the ability to cross over to the more Lyrics roles (and vice versa) such as Anna Netrebko and Natalie Dessay.
*Roles:
**Oscar, "Un ballo in maschera" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Tytania, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (Benjamin Britten)
**Zerbinetta, "Ariadne auf Naxos" (Richard Strauss)
**Olympia, "Les contes d'Hoffman" (Jacques Offenbach)
**Adele, " Die Fledermaus" (Johann Strauss Jr.)
**Adina, "L'elisir d'amore" (Gaetano Donizetti)
**Marie, "La fille du régiment" (Gaetano Donizetti)
**Amina, "La sonnambula" (Vincenzo Bellini)
**Amenaide, "Tancredi" (Giacchino Rossini)
**Elvira, "I puritani" (Vincenzo Bellini)
*Singers:
**Elizabeth Futral
**Natalie Dessay
**Lily Pons
**Lucia Popp
**Mado Robin
**Erna Sack
**Beverly Sills
**Rita Streich
**Laura Claycomb
**Sumi Jo

Dramatischer Koloratursopran

*English equivalent: Dramatic coloratura soprano
*Range: From about middle C to the F two-and-a-half octaves above middle C
*Description: The same as above, only with a more dramatic, rich voice. Often heavier and more lyrical than a coloratura soprano. Must also be able to do fast vocal acrobatics and reach high notes, such as the F6 of the "Queen of the Night". Some of the best examples of this voice type are Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, and June Anderson. This is a very rare vocal fach, as thick vocal cords are needed to produce the large, dramatic notes, which usually lessens the flexibility and acrobatic abilities of the voice.
*Roles:
**Donna Anna, "Don Giovanni" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**The Queen of the Night, "Die Zauberflöte" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Konstanze, "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Semiramide, "Semiramide" (Gioacchino Rossini)
**Lucia, "Lucia di Lammermoor" (Gaetano Donizetti)
**Fioridiligi, "Cosi fan tutte" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Imogene, "Il pirata" (Vincenzo Bellini)
**Norma, "Norma" (Vincenzo Bellini)
**Leonora, "Il trovatore" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Violetta, "La traviata" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Maria, "Maria Stuarda" (Gaetano Donizetti)
**Lady Macbeth, "Macbeth" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Odabella, "Atilla" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Abigalle, "Nabucco" (Giuseppe Verdi)
*Singers
**Maria Callas
**Edita Gruberova
**Joan Sutherland
**June Anderson
**Cristina Deutekom
**Edda Moser
**Nelly Miricioiu
**Diana Damrau

Deutsche Soubrette / Charaktersopran

*English equivalent: Soubrette
*Range: From about A below middle C to the C two octaves above middle C
*Description: a beautiful, sweet light lyric voice usually capable of executing florid passages similarly to that of a coloratura. The range is usually intermediate between that of a coloratura and lyric soprano.
*Roles:
**Despina, "Cosi fan tutte" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Susanna, "Le nozze di Figaro" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Zerlina, "Don Giovanni" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Belinda, "Dido and Aeneas" (Henry Purcell)
**Adele, "Die Fledermaus" (Johann Strauss)
**Sophie, "Der Rosenkavalier" (Richard Strauss)
**Ännchen, "Der Freischütz" (Carl Maria von Weber)
*Singers:
**Kathleen Battle
**Barbara Bonney
**Elisabeth Schumann
**Dawn Upshaw

Lyrischer Sopran

*English equivalent: Full Lyric Soprano
*Range: From about middle C to the C two octaves above middle C
*Description: a more supple-sounding soprano, capable of legato, portamento, and some agility; generally has a more soulful and sensuous quality than a soubrette, who tends to be largely flirtatious and somewhat tweety. The voice is very common and purity of sound within it is essential. It's the "basic" soprano voice in that it's not found at either extreme of the soprano spectrum of voices; nor is it known for having particular vocal attributes such as power, stamina, technical prowess or agility. However, there are several lyric sopranos that possess many of these vocal attributes, thus allowing them to sing a broader variety of roles. Nevertheless, the core of the true fundamentally lyric voice does not encompass such traits. Innocence, vulnerability and pathos are usually conveyed in the music written for the characters portrayed by the lyric soprano because of this endearing simplicity.
*Roles:
**Mimì, "La bohème" (Giacomo Puccini)
**Magda, "La rondine" (Giacomo Puccini)
**Lauretta, "Gianni Schicchi " (Giacomo Puccini)
**Liù, "Turandot" (Giacomo Puccini)
**Pamina, "Die Zauberflöte" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Micaela, "Carmen" (Georges Bizet)
**Marguerite, "Faust" (Charles Gounod)
**Manon, "Manon" (Jules Massenet)
**Antonia, " Les contes d'Hoffmann" (Jacques Offenbach)
**La Contessa, "Le nozze di Figaro" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Amelia Grimaldi, "Simon Boccanegra" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Thaïs, "Thaïs" (Jules Massenet)
**Rusalka, " Rusalka" (Antonín Dvořák)
**Tatyana, " Eugene Onegin" (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
*Singers:
**Lisa della Casa
**Angela Gheorghiu
**Renee Fleming
**Kiri Te Kanawa
**Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
**Mirella Freni
**Anna Netrebko
**Victoria de los Angeles
**Montserrat Caballe
**Licia Albanese
**Renata Scotto

Jugendlich Dramatischer Sopran

*English equivalent: Light dramatic soprano
*Range: From about middle C to the C two octaves above middle C
*Description: The Italian version of this fach is the "spinto", which literally means pushed. Thus, a light dramatic soprano must generally push her basically lyric instrument to create big sounds that can cut through an orchestral or choral climax. This voice is sometimes referred to as a "young" or "youthful" dramatic soprano although this term doesn't necessarily refer to the singer's age but rather to the tonal quality of the voice. Depending on the singer, however, this voice type can be more versatile, as it lies at neither extreme of the soprano spectrum. Spintos are occasionally able to take on lighter mezzo roles, or, conversely, lyric and even coloratura roles. Spinto sopranos are known to be especially well suited to art song and operas in English.
*Roles:
**Madama Butterfly, "Madama Butterfly" (Giacomo Puccini)
**Manon Lescaut, "Manon Lescaut" (Giacomo Puccini)
**Suor Angelica "Suor Angelica" (Giacomo Puccini)
**Elizabeth de Valois, "Don Carlo" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Leonora "La forza del destino" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Amelia "Un ballo in maschera" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Marschallin "Der Rosenkavalier" (Richard Strauss)
**Elsa, "Lohengrin" (Richard Wagner)
**Susannah, "Susannah" (Carlisle Floyd)
**Donna Elvira "Don Giovanni" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Aida "Aida" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Liza "The Queen of Spades" (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
**Floria Tosca "Tosca" (Giacomo Puccini)
*Singers:
**Gundula Janowitz
**Leontyne Price
**Barbara Frittoli
**Renata Tebaldi
**Michèle Crider
**Aprile Millo
**Adrianne Pieczonka

Dramatischer Sopran

*English equivalent: Full dramatic soprano
*Range: From about the B below middle C to the C two octaves above middle C
*Description: Characterized by their rich, full sounding voices, dramatic sopranos are expected to project across large orchestras, a feat that requires a powerful sound. Dramatic sopranos are not expected to have the vocal flexibility of the lighter fachs. Although most dramatic sopranos have a darker more robust quality to the voice, there are some that possess a lighter lyrical tone. In these instances, however, the substantial amount of volume and endurance normally associated with the dramatic soprano voice is still present. The darker voiced dramatic soprano may even make a foray into the dramatic mezzo-soprano territory with great success.
*Roles:
**Senta, "Der fliegende Holländer" (Richard Wagner)
**Leonore, "Fidelio" (Ludwig van Beethoven)
**Ariadne, "Ariadne auf Naxos" (Richard Strauss)
**Magda Sorel, "The Consul" (Gian Carlo Menotti)
**Gioconda, "La Gioconda" (Amilcare Ponchielli)
**Santuzza, "Cavalleria Rusticana" (Pietro Mascagni)
*Singers:
**Hildegard Behrens
**Helga Dernesch
**Jane Eaglen
**Andrea Gruber
**Lotte Lehmann
**Karita Mattila
**Zinka Milanov
**Leonie Rysanek
**Rosa Ponselle
**Deborah Voigt
**Ghena Dimitrova
**Jessye Norman
**Regine Crespin
**Sylvia Sass
**Eva Marton
**Florence Austral
**Germaine Lubin
**Giannina Arangi-Lombardi
**Gina Cigna

Hochdramatischer Sopran

*English equivalent: Wagnerian soprano
*Range: From about the F below middle C to the C two octaves above middle C
*Description: A voice equal to the demands of operas of Wagner's maturity. Basically, a full dramatic soprano voice taken to the next dimension. The voice is substantial, very powerful, and even throughout the registers. It's immense, stentorian and even larger than that of the voice possessed by the "normal" dramatic soprano. Although the two voices are comparable and are sometimes hard to distinguish between, this voice has even greater stamina, endurance and volume than the former. Successful "hochdramatischer" are rare, only one or two appear in a generation.

*Roles:
**Turandot, "Turandot" (Giacomo Puccini)
**Elektra, "Elektra (opera)" (Richard Strauss)
**Salome, "Salome" (Richard Strauss)
**Brunnhilde, "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (Richard Wagner)
**Kundry, "Parsifal" (Richard Wagner)
**Isolde, "Tristan und Isolde" (Richard Wagner)
**Dyer's Wife, "Die Frau ohne Schatten" (Richard Strauss)

*Singers:
**Audrey Stottler
**Birgit Nilsson
**Kirsten Flagstad
**Helen Traubel
**Gwyneth Jones
**Deborah Polaski
**Frida Leider
**Eva Turner

Mezzo-soprano and Contralto "Fächer"

Koloratur-Mezzosopran

*English equivalent: Coloratura mezzo-soprano
*Range: From about the G below middle C to the B two octaves above middle C
*Description: Found especially in Rossini's operas, these roles were written originally for altos with agility and secure top notes. Today they are often played by mezzo-sopranos and sometimes even by sopranos. At times a lyric or full lyric soprano with a flexible voice will assume the roles as written while a true coloratura soprano will sing the same music transposed upwardly to a higher key.
*Roles:
**Rosina "Il barbiere di Siviglia" (Gioacchino Rossini)
**Angelina "La Cenerentola" (Gioacchino Rossini)
**Romeo "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" (Vincenzo Bellini)
**Orsini "Lucrezia Borgia" (Gaetano Donizetti)

*Singers:
**Cecilia Bartoli
**Teresa Berganza
**Vivica Genaux
**Conchita Supervía
**Marilyn Horne

Lyrischer Mezzosopran / Spielalt

*Range: From about the G below middle C to the B two octaves above middle C
*English equivalent: Lyric mezzo-soprano
*Description: a lyric soprano's instrument in a lower range; the resulting sound is less piercing, more lachrymose and kind of sensitive. The voices are so similar in fact that many lyric mezzos with strong extensions to their upper vocal registers make the transition to singing as sopranos at some point in their careers.
*Roles:
**Cherubino "Le nozze di Figaro" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Octavian "Der Rosenkavalier" (Richard Strauss)
**The Composer "Ariadne auf Naxos" (Richard Strauss)
**Arianna "Arianna" (Claudio Monteverdi)
**Dorabella "Così fan tutte" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Carmen "Carmen" (Georges Bizet)
**Dido "Dido and Aeneas" (Henry Purcell)
**Sesto "La Clemenza di Tito" (Wolgang Amadeus Mozart)

*Singers:
**Christa Ludwig
**Janet Baker
**Susan Graham
**Risë Stevens
**Anne-Sofie von Otter
**Frederica Von Stade
**Tatiana Troyanos

Dramatischer Mezzosopran

*English equivalent: Dramatic mezzo-soprano
*Range: From about the G below middle C to the B two octaves above middle C
*Description: Dramatic mezzo-sopranos have ranges very similar to a dramatic soprano. The main difference is the endurance and ease in which the two voice-types sing - a mezzo will concentrate singing most of the time in her middle and low registers and will go up to notes like high B-flat only at the dramatic climax. Consequently, many dramatic mezzo-sopranos have success in singing some dramatic sopranos roles that are written with a lower tessitura.
*Roles:
**The Sorceress, "Dido and Aeneas" (Henry Purcell)
**Dalila, "Samson et Dalila" (Camille Saint-Saëns)
**Amneris, "Aida" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Eboli, "Don Carlo" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Azucena, "Il trovatore" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Ortrud, "Lohengrin" (Richard Wagner)
**Fricka, "Das Rheingold", "Die Walküre" (Richard Wagner)

*Singers
**Grace Bumbry
**Shirley Verrett
**Fiorenza Cossotto
**Fedora Barbieri
**Ebe Stignani
**Dolora Zajick
**Denyce Graves

Dramatischer Alt

*English equivalent: Dramatic Contralto
*Range: From about the G below middle C to the B two octaves above
*Description: Stylistically similar to the dramatic mezzo, just lower. Sings usually around the break between the chest-voice and middle-voice. Many mezzos tried their luck in these roles, yet real altos fare better. A deep, penetrating low female voice. This is a very rare voice type with a darker, richer sound than that of a typical alto.
*Roles:
**Erda in "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (Richard Wagner)
**Ulrica in "Un ballo in maschera" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Florence in "Albert Herring" (Benjamin Britten)
**Olga in "Eugene Onegin" (Tchaikovsky)
**Marfa in "Khovanshchina" (Mussorgsky)
*Singers:
**Marian Anderson
**Lili Chookasian
**Ewa Podles

Tiefer Alt

*English equivalent: Low Contralto.
*Range: From about the F below middle C to the A two octaves above
*Description: A low female voice. This is one of the two voice types, along with the Basso Profundo, in which a bad wobble is all too often, unfortunately, the defining feature.
*Roles:
**Genevève, "Pelléas et Mélisande" (Claude Debussy)
**Die Kranke, "Moses und Aron" (Arnold Schoenberg)
*Singers:
**Clara Butt
**Kathleen Ferrier
**Ernestine Schumann-Heink

Tenor "Fächer"

Spieltenor / Tenor Buffo

*English equivalent: (Lyric) comic tenor. It is quite possible for a young Spieltenor to eventually work into the lighter Lyrischertenor category; the deciding factor will be the beauty of voice.
*Range: From about low C to the B an octave above middle C (C to b')
*Roles:
**Pedrillo, "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Monostatos, "Die Zauberflöte" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**King Kaspar, "Amahl and the Night Visitors" (Gian Carlo Menotti)
**Mime, "Das Rheingold" (Richard Wagner)
**Monsieur Triquet, "Eugene Onegin" (Tchaikovsky)
*Singers:
**Peter Klein [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Klein_(Tenor) German Wiki page]

Charaktertenor

*English equivalent: Character tenor. Must have good acting abilities.
*Range: From about the B below low C to the C an octave above middle C (B to c')
*Roles:
**Mime, "Siegfried" (Richard Wagner)
*Singers:
** Peter Klein [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Klein_(Tenor) German Wiki page]
**Gerhard Stolze
**Robert Tear

Lyrischer Tenor

*English equivalent: Lyric tenor
*Range: From about low C to the C-F an octave above middle C (C to c')
*Roles:
**Tamino "Die Zauberflöte" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Belmonte "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Rodolfo "La bohème" (Giacomo Puccini)
**Ferrando "Cosi fan tutte" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Almaviva "Il barbiere di Siviglia" (Giacchino Rossini)
**Arturo "I puritani" (Vincenzo Bellini)
**Elvino "La Sonnambula" (Vincenzo Bellini)
**Ramiro "La Cenerentola" (Giacchino Rossini)
**Nemorino "L'elisir d'amore" (Gaetano Donizetti)
**Alfredo "La traviata" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Il Duca "Rigoletto" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Don Ottavio "Don Giovanni" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Faust "Faust" (Charles-Francois Gounod)

*Singers:
**Luigi Alva
**Alfredo Kraus
**Juan Diego Florez
**Nicolai Gedda
**Ian Bostridge
**Jan Peerce
**Fritz Wunderlich
**Leopold Simoneau
**Luciano Pavarotti
**Peter Pears
**Roberto Alagna
**Marcelo Alvarez
**Francisco Araiza
**Carlo Bergonzi
**Jose Carreras
**Jerry Hadley
**Anton Dermota
**Giuseppe Di Stefano
**Beniamino Gigli

Jugendlicher Heldentenor

*English equivalent: Light dramatic tenor
*Range: From about low C to the C an octave above middle C (C to c')
*Description: A tenor with a dramatic extended upper range with the necessary brightness to come through the orchestra's texture.
*Roles:
**Don José, "Carmen" (Georges Bizet)
**Lohengrin, "Lohengrin" (Richard Wagner)
**Siegmund, "Die Walküre" (Richard Wagner)
**Radames, "Aida" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Manrico, "Il trovatore" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Idomeneo, "Idomeneo" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Calaf, "Turandot" (Giacomo Puccini)
**Cavaradossi, "Tosca" (Giacomo Puccini)
**Florestan, "Fidelio" (Ludwig van Beethoven)
**Canio "Pagliacci" (Ruggero Leoncavallo)
**Don Alvaro La forza del destino(Giuseppe Verdi)
**Max "Der Freischutz" (Carl Maria von Weber)
**Dick Johnson La fanciulla del West (Giacomo Puccini)

*Singers:
**Plácido Domingo
**Georges Thill
**Jose Cura
**Richard Tucker
**Jussi Bjorling
**Enrico Caruso
**Giovanni Martinelli
**Franco Corelli
**Giuseppe Giacomini
**Peter Hofmann
**Jonas Kaufmann
**James King
**Sandor Konya
**James McCracken
**Julius Patzak

Heldentenor

*English equivalent: Heroic Tenor
*Range: From about the B below low C to the C above middle C (B to c²)
*Description: A full dramatic tenor with baritonal facility in the middle range and the brightness necessary to pierce a thick orchestral texture.
*Roles:
**Othello, "Otello (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Siegfried, "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (Richard Wagner)
**Parsifal, "Parsifal" (Richard Wagner)
**Tristan, "Tristan und Isolde" (Richard Wagner)
**Walther von Stolzig Die Meistersinger (Richard Wagner)
*Singers:
**Wolfgang Windgassen
**Lauritz Melchior
**James King
**Jon Vickers
**Rudolf Schock
**Mario Del Monaco
**Ben Heppner
**Stig Fogh Andersen
**Franco Bonisolli
**Ramon Vinay
**Siegfried Jerusalem
**Max Lorenz
**Alberto Remedios

Baritone "Fächer"

Lyrischer Bariton / Spielbariton

*English equivalent: Lyric baritone
*Range: From about the B below low C to the G above middle C (B to g')
*Description: A sweeter, milder sounding baritone voice, lacking harshness.
*Roles:
**Conte Almaviva, "Le nozze di Figaro" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Guglielmo, "Cosi fan Tutte" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Marcello, "La bohème" (Giacomo Puccini)
**Papageno, "Die Zauberflöte" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Onegin, "Eugene Onegin" (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
**Albert, "Werther" (Massanet)
**Billy Budd, "Billy Budd" (Britten)
**Figaro, "Il barbiere di Siviglia" (Rossini)
*Singers:
**Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
**Gerhard Hüsch
**Hermann Prey
**Simon Keenlyside

Kavalierbariton

*English equivalent: A metallic voice, that can sing both lyric and dramatic phrases, a manly noble baritonal color, with good looks. Not quite as powerful as the Verdi baritone or Charakter bariton who is expected to have a powerful appearance on stage, perhaps muscular or physically large.
*Range: From about the A below low C to the G# above middle C (A to g#' )
*Description: Harsher, more pronounced than the Lyric baritone.
*Roles:
**Don Giovanni, "Don Giovanni" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
**Tonio, "Pagliacci" (Ruggiero Leoncavallo)
**Di Luna, "Il trovatore" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Iago, "Otello" (Giuseppe Verdi)
**Count, "Capriccio" (Richard Strauss) (Range: c-ab' - does not require A2-B2 part of range)cite book
author=John Warrack
coauthors=Ewan West
title=The Oxford Dictionary of Opera
year=1992
publisher=Oxford University Press
location=USA
isbn=0-19-869164-5 ]
*Singers:
**Thomas Hampson
**Dmitri Hvorostovsky
**Eberhard Wächter
**Sherrill Milnes

Charakterbariton

*English equivalent: Verdi Baritone.
*Range: From about the A below low C to the G# above middle C (A to g#')
*Description: A voice particularly effective with passages in its higher reaches. A high tessitura vis-a-vis the range extremes.
*Roles:
**"Wozzeck" (Alban Berg)
**Germont, "La traviata" (Giuseppe Verdi)
*Singers:
**Piero Cappuccilli
**Ettore Bastianini
**Renato Bruson
**Leonard Warren
**Robert Merrill

Heldenbariton

*Range: From about the G below low C to the F# above middle C (G to f#')
*Description: Means ‘heroic baritone’. In the German opera houses a true Heldenbariton is a prized possession: a singer with exciting power at command and a brightly resonant quality.
*Roles:
**Telramund, "Lohengrin" (Wagner)
**Count di Luna, "Il trovatore" (Giuseppe Verdi)
*Examples:
** Leonard Warren
** Thomas Stewart
** Titta Ruffo

Lyric Bassbariton/Low Lyric Baritone

*English equivalent: Lyric Bass-baritone.
*Range: From about the G below low C to the F# above middle C (G to f#')*Description: The Bass-baritone's required range can vary tremendously based on the role, with some less demanding than others. Some bass-baritones are baritones, like Friedrich Schorr, George London, and Bryn Terfel; while others are basses, like Hans Hotter, Alexander Kipnis and Samuel Ramey.
*Roles:
** Don Pizarro "Fidelio" by Ludwig van Beethoven
** Escamillo "Carmen" by Georges Bizet
** Golaud "Pelléas et Mélisande" by Claude Debussy
** Méphistophélès, "Faust" by Charles Gounod
** Don Alfonso, "Cosi fan tutte" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
** Figaro, "The Marriage of Figaro" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
*Example:
** Thomas Quasthoff

Dramatic Bassbariton/Low DramaticBaritone

*English equivalent: Lyric Bass-baritone.
*Range: From about the G below low C to the F# above middle C (G to f#')
* Igor, "Prince Igor" by Alexander Borodin
* Scarpia, "Tosca" by Giacomo Puccini
* Dutchman "The Flying Dutchman" by Richard Wagner
* Hans Sachs "Die Meistersinger" by Richard Wagner
* Wotan "Der Ring des Nibelungen" by Richard Wagner
* Amfortas "Parsifal" by Richard Wagner
*Examples:
** Friedrich Schorr
** George London

Bass Fächer

Basso Cantante/Lyric Bassbariton/High Lyric Bass

*English equivalent: Lyric Bass-baritone.
* "Basso Cantante" means 'singing bass'. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/cardiffsinger01/guide.shtml?bass Bass Guide] , BBC Wales] "Basso cantante" is a Some bass-baritones are basses, like Hans Hotter, Alexander Kipnis and Samuel Ramey.
*Roles:
** Duke Bluebeard "Bluebeard's Castle" by Bela Bartok
** Don Pizarro, "Fidelio" by Ludwig van Beethoven
** Count Rodolfo, "La Sonnambula" by Bellini
** Blitch, "Susannah" by Carlisle Floyd
** Méphistophélès, "Faust" by Charles Gounod
** Don Alfonso, "Cosi fan tutte" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
** Leporello,and Don Giovanni, "Don Giovanni" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
** Figaro, "The Marriage of Figaro" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
** Boris, Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgsky
** Don Basilio "Il barbiere di Siviglia" by Gioachino Rossini
** Silva, "Ernani" by Giuseppe Verdi
** Philip II, "Don Carlos" by Giuseppe Verdi
** Count Walter, "Luisa Miller" by Giuseppe Verdi
** Zaccaria, "Nabucco" by Giuseppe Verdi
*Singers:
** Feodor Chaliapin
** Ezio Pinza
** Ruggero Raimondi
** Samuel Ramey
** Cesare Siepi
** José Van Dam

Hoherbass/Dramatic Bassbariton/High Dramatic Bass

*English equivalent: Dramatic Bass-baritone.
*Roles:
** Igor, "Prince Igor" by Alexander Borodin
** Boris, and Varlaam, Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgsky
** Klingsor, "Parsifal" by Richard Wagner
** Wotan "Der Ring des Nibelungen" by Richard Wagner
** Caspar, "Der Freischütz" by Carl Maria von Weber
*Singers:
* Theo Adam
* Hans Hotter
* Alexander Kipnis

Jugendlicher Bass

*English equivalent: young bass
*Range: *Range: From about the E below low C to the F above middle C (E to f')
*Description: A young man (regardless of the age of the singer).
*Roles:
** Leporello, Masetto, "Don Giovanni" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
** Figaro, "The Marriage of Figaro" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
** Varlaam, "Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgsky
** Colline, "La bohème" (Giacomo Puccini)

Spielbass/Bassbuffo/Lyric Buffo

*English equivalent: Lyric comic bass
*Range: From about the E half an octave below low C to the F above middle C (E to f')
*Roles:
** Don Pasquale, "Don Pasquale" (Gaetano Donizetti)
** Dottor Dulcamara, "L'elisir d'amore" by Gaetano Donizetti
** Don Bartolo, "The Barber of Seville" by Gioachino Rossini
** Don Basilio, "The Barber of Seville" by Gioachino Rossini
** Don Magnifico, "La Cenerentola" by Gioachino Rossini
** Méphistophélès, "Faust" by Charles Gounod
** Don Alfonso, "Cosi fan tutte" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
** Leporello, "Don Giovanni" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

*Singers:
**Luigi Lablache
**Fernando Corena

Schwerer Spielbass/Dramatic Buffo

*English equivalent: Dramatic comic bass
*Range: From about the C one octave below low C to the F above middle C (C to f')
*Roles:
** Khan Konchak, "Prince Igor" by Alexander Borodin
** Baculus, "Der Wildschütz" by Albert Lortzing
** Ferrando, "Il trovatore" by Giuseppe Verdi
** Daland, "Der fliegende Holländer" by Richard Wagner
** Pogner, "Die Meistersinger" by Richard Wagner
** Hunding, "Die Walküre" by Richard Wagner

Lyric Seriöser Bass

*English equivalent: Low bass. Italian: Basso Profundo.
* "Basso profundo", is the lowest bass voice type. According to J. B. Steane in "voices Singers & Citics," the basso profundo voice "derives from a method of tone-production that eliminates the more Italian quick vibrato. In its place is a kind of tonal solidity, a wall-like front, which may nevertheless prove susceptible to the other kind of vibrato, the slow beat or dreaded wobble."
*Roles:
** Rocco, "Fidelio" by Ludwig von Beethoven
** Osmin, "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
** Sarastro, "Die Zauberflöte" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
** Pimen, "Boris Godunov" by (Modest Mussorgsky)
*Singers:
**Matti Salminen

Dramatic Seriöser Bass

*English equivalent: Dramatic low bass. Dramatic Basso Profundo is a powerful basso profundo voice.
* Roles:
** Vladimir Yaroslavich, "Prince Igor" by Alexander Borodin
** Hagen, "Götterdämmerung" by Richard Wagner
** Heinrich, "Lohengrin" by Richard Wagner
** Gurnemanz, "Parsifal" by Richard Wagner
** Fafner, "Das Rheingold" and "Siegfried" by Richard Wagner
** Marke, "Tristan und Isolde" by Richard Wagner
** Hunding, "Die Walküre" by Richard Wagner

*Singers:
**Gottlob Frick
**Kurt Moll
**Martti Talvela

References

*Rudolf Kloiber, Wulf Konold and Robert Maschka: "Handbuch der Oper", 9. Auflage, Kassel (Bärenreiter) 2002, ISBN 3-7618-1605-7
*Steane, J B: "Fach" in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7