A bass (or basso in Italian) is a male singer who sings in the deepest vocal range of the human voice. According to Grove Music Online, a bass has a range extending from around the F below low C to the E above middle C (i.e., F2–E4).^[1] The Harvard Dictionary of Music defines the range as being from the E below low C to middle C (i.e. E2–C4).^[2] According to Singing for Dummies, bass range is normally F2 to E4 but can be as wide as Eb2 to F4. According to its author, Pamelia S. Phillips, the bass changes from chest voice into middle voice around A3 or Ab3 below middle C and changes into head voice around D4 or C#4 above Middle C. Phillips states that the bass's low voice is his strength, and the bass's high voice is his weakness. Phillips also states that the bass's voice is the deepest, darkest, and heaviest of the male voices.^[3]

It is also common for men who are classified as "basses" (and have a full bass choral range) to have a speaking voice which may sound much higher than would be expected. Most seasoned basses also can train a very versatile falsetto, making their usefulness in a choral arrangement even greater.

Bass roles in opera

Common vocal ranges represented on a musical keyboard

Soprano Alto Tenor Bass

In classical music, and particularly in opera, the following distinctions are often made among different kinds of bass voices:

Basso Profondo

• Basso profondo in English, is a particularly deep male voice. It may reach the D, C or even B flat below the bass clef, but is most distinguished by its dark and cavernous timbre. The Male Choir of St. Petersburg has seven bassi profondi out of its 22 total basses who are capable of easily reaching G1 (two octaves and a fourth below Middle C).^[4]
• Roles:
  • Sarastro, The Magic Flute / Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart^[5]
  • Grand Inquisitor, Don Carlos by Giuseppe Verdi^[5]
  • Osmin, Die Entführung aus dem Serail by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart^[5]
  • Hagen, Götterdämmerung by Wagner^[5]

Basso Buffo / Bel Canto Bass

• Buffo, literally "funny," basses are lyrical roles but demand a solid coloratura technique. They are usually the antagonist or the comic relief in Bel Canto operas.
• Roles:
  • 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
  • Dottor Dulcamara, L'elisir d'amore by Gaetano Donizetti
  • title role, Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti
  • Leporello, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Basso Cantante

• Basso Cantante means 'singing bass'.^[5] Basso cantante is a more lyrical voice.
• Roles:
  • Boris, Boris Godunov by Musorgsky^[5]
  • Prince Gremin, Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Tchaikovsky
  • Count Rodolfo, La Sonnambula by Bellini^[5]
  • Philip II, Don Carlos by Verdi^[5]
  • Mephistopheles, Faust by Charles Gounod^{[citation needed]}

Dramatic Bass

• Khan Konchak, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
• Vladimir Yaroslavich, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
• König Marke, Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner
• Banquo, Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi
• The Commendatore, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Bass roles in operettas

• The Mikado of Japan (The Mikado)
• Sergeant of Police (The Pirates of Penzance)
• Old Adam Goodheart (Ruddigore)
• Private Willis (Iolanthe)
• Carpenter's mate (HMS Pinafore)

Bass roles in musicals

• Audrey II (The Plant) (Little Shop of Horrors) (must belt to high G, and can be played by baritone with dark tone as well)
• Caiaphas (Jesus Christ Superstar)
• High Priests (Jesus Christ Superstar)
• Emile de Becque (South Pacific)
• Stewpot (South Pacific)
• Joe (Show Boat)
• Judge Turpin (Sweeney Todd)
• Major Holmes (The Secret Garden)
• Leon Czolgosz & The Proprietor (Assassins)
• Mack Sennett (Mack and Mabel)
• Old Deuteronomy (Cats)
• Corny Collins (Hairspray) (was played by bass singer Lance Bass in its Broadway production)

Prominent bass singers

• Feodor Chaliapin
• Boris Christoff
• Nicolai Ghiaurov
• Robert Lloyd
• Mark Reizen
• Matti Salminen
• Martti Talvela
• Sir John Tomlinson
• Thurl Ravenscroft

See also

• Category of Operatic Basses

References

External links

• Guide to the singing voice, BBC Wales
• Basses in Bach’s vocal works
• Typical ranges, Yale University Library Archive

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