What is a countertenor in opera?

What is a countertenor in opera?

A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a specific kind of countertenor) may match the soprano’s range of around C4 to …

Is a countertenor rare?

A countertenor is a male singer who can sing as high as a soprano or mezzo-soprano. The countertenor is the rarest of all voice types.

What is a Helden tenor?

Definition of heldentenor : a tenor with a powerful, dramatic voice well suited to heroic roles (as in Wagnerian operas)

Are countertenors real?

Countertenors are still quite rare, though. How did you realise this was your voice type? There are very very few countertenors around, it’s not a voice that, in inverted commas, is natural. When boys’ voices break the voice they tend to sing with is their speaking voice.

Is the counter tenor a natural voice?

countertenor, also spelled Contra Tenor, in music, adult male alto voice, either natural or falsetto. In England the word generally refers to a falsetto alto rather than a high tenor. Some writers reserve the term countertenor for a naturally produced voice, terming the falsetto voice a male alto.

Is the weeknd a countertenor?

You’ll hear him sing higher though, using what’s called his ‘head voice’. Here he can rise out of his natural range and belt out high, resonant notes within the fifth octave – territory usually reserved for countertenors and sopranos.

What is Kirstin Maldonado vocal range?

Kirstin Maldonado, the group’s mezzo-soprano and only female member, has a range similar in length to Hoying’s at about four octaves wide.

Did Elvis have a great voice?

Elvis Presley’s three-octave vocal range was exceptional, ‘very narrowly all at once a tenor, baritone, and bass’. A 1987 article in the Village Voice included an assessment of his voice in classical terms, categorizing it as a ‘lyric baritone [but with] unexpectedly rich low [notes] and astounding high notes’.

What is A leggiero tenor?

Tenore di grazia, also called leggero tenor (graceful, light, and lightweight tenor, respectively), is a lightweight, flexible tenor voice type.

What is A Spieltenor?

A Tenor buffo or spieltenor is a tenor with good acting ability, and the ability to create distinct voices for his characters. This voice specializes in smaller comic roles. The range of the tenor buffo is from the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5).

How high can a countertenor sing?

Countertenor is a male voice of unusually high range, broadly equivalent to a female contralto or mezzo-soprano. In terms of pitch notation, it generally extends from around G3 to D5 or E5, that is from the note G one octave below middle C (or C4) up to the D or E an octave above middle C.