Which singer best represents each fach?

15909 Views 50 Replies 24 Participants Last post by Bonetan, Apr 1, 2018

BalalaikaBoy

Discussion Starter · Feb 28, 2015

not necessarily your favorite singer of each fach, or even the one you feel is the "best", but the one which represents said fach the best

imo
lyric coloratura soprano: Ingeborg Hallstein
light lyric soprano: Barbara Bonney
dramatic coloratura soprano: Joan Sutherland
full lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
spinto soprano: Martina Arroyo (Price comes to mind immediately, but I feel like Martina Arroyo's timbre is more typical of a spinto soprano)
dramatic soprano: Ghena Dimitrova
Wagnerian soprano: Kirsten Flagstad

lyric mezzo: Jennifer Larmore
dramatic mezzo: Elena Obraztsova

contralto: Ewa Podles

countertenor: ???
tenor leggiero: Juan Diego Flores
lyric tenor: Jussi Bjorling
spinto tenor: Franco Corelli
dramatic tenor: Giuseppe Giacomini
heldentenor: Loritz Melchior

lyric baritone: Herman Prey (I would say Robert Merrill, but imo, he was more "spinto baritone" than lyric)
Verdi baritone: Sherrill Milnes
dramatic baritone: Titto Gobbi
bass-baritone: Willard White

basso cantante: Samuel Ramey
basso profondo: Paul Robeson

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MoonlightSonata

· #2 · Feb 28, 2015

The first name that comes to mind is Natalie Dessay for coloratura soprano.

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Woodduck

· #3 · Mar 1, 2015 (Edited)

Despite my dislike of dividing voices into distinct "fachs," and the impossibilty of choosing just one singer to represent each of these fuzzy categories, this looks like an interesting challenge which will make me do some listening and thinking. So here goes nothing.

lyric coloratura soprano: Luisa Tetrazzini

light lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schumann

dramatic coloratura soprano: Maria Callas

full lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

lyric-dramatic (jugendliche-dramatische) soprano: Lotte Lehmann

dramatic soprano: Rosa Ponselle

hochdramatische sopran: Kirsten Flagstad

lyric mezzo: Janet Baker

dramatic mezzo: Irina Arkhipova

coloratura mezzo: Marilyn Horne

All-purpose mezzo: Christa Ludwig

contralto: Sigrid Onegin

countertenor: whoever

tenore leggiero: Fernando de Lucia

lyric tenor: Jussi Bjorling

lyric-dramatic tenor: Enrico Caruso

dramatic tenor: Jon Vickers

heldentenor: Lauritz Melchior

lyric baritone: Maurice Renaud

lyric-dramatic baritone: Mattia Battistini

"Verdi" baritone: Riccardo Stracciari

dramatic baritone: Titta Ruffo

bass-baritone: Friedrich Schorr

basso cantante: Pol Plancon

basso profondo: Boris Shtokolov

basso all-purposo: Ezio Pinza

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Marschallin Blair

· #4 · Mar 1, 2015

Woodduck said:
Despite my dislike of dividing voices into distinct "fachs," and the impossibilty of choosing just one singer to represent each of these fuzzy categories, this looks like an interesting challenge which will make me do some listening and thinking. So here goes nothing.

lyric coloratura soprano: Luisa Tetrazzini

light lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schumann

dramatic coloratura soprano: Maria Callas

full lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

lyric-dramatic (jugendliche-dramatische) soprano: Lotte Lehmann

dramatic soprano: Rosa Ponselle

hochdramatische sopran: Kirsten Flagstad

lyric mezzo: Janet Baker

dramatic mezzo: Irina Arkhipova

coloratura mezzo: Marilyn Horne

All-purpose mezzo: Christa Ludwig

contralto: Sigrid Onegin

countertenor: whoever

tenore leggiero: Fernando de Lucia

lyric tenor: Jussi Bjorling

lyric-dramatic tenor: Enrico Caruso

dramatic tenor: Jon Vickers

heldentenor: Lauritz Melchior

lyric baritone: Maurice Renaud

lyric-dramatic baritone: Mattia Battistini

"Verdi" baritone: Riccardo Stracciari

dramatic baritone: Titta Ruffo

bass-baritone: Friedrich Schorr

basso cantante: Pol Plancon

basso profondo: Boris Shtokolov

basso all-purposo: Ezio Pinza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7cwjbO4zaM&index=8&list=RD-ZM_80gcfRQ

I love the thought and the time that went into this.

- Thank you.

;D

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DavidA

· #5 · Mar 1, 2015

For lyric tenors it would certainly have to be Pavorotti
All purpose tenor Domingo - astonishing versatility.
Contralto - Ferrier

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Tsaraslondon

· #6 · Mar 1, 2015

Woodduck said:
Despite my dislike of dividing voices into distinct "fachs," and the impossibilty of choosing just one singer to represent each of these fuzzy categories, this looks like an interesting challenge which will make me do some listening and thinking. So here goes nothing.

lyric coloratura soprano: Luisa Tetrazzini

light lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schumann

dramatic coloratura soprano: Maria Callas

full lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

lyric-dramatic (jugendliche-dramatische) soprano: Lotte Lehmann

dramatic soprano: Rosa Ponselle

hochdramatische sopran: Kirsten Flagstad

lyric mezzo: Janet Baker

dramatic mezzo: Irina Arkhipova

coloratura mezzo: Marilyn Horne

All-purpose mezzo: Christa Ludwig

contralto: Sigrid Onegin

countertenor: whoever

tenore leggiero: Fernando de Lucia

lyric tenor: Jussi Bjorling

lyric-dramatic tenor: Enrico Caruso

dramatic tenor: Jon Vickers

heldentenor: Lauritz Melchior

lyric baritone: Maurice Renaud

lyric-dramatic baritone: Mattia Battistini

"Verdi" baritone: Riccardo Stracciari

dramatic baritone: Titta Ruffo

bass-baritone: Friedrich Schorr

basso cantante: Pol Plancon

basso profondo: Boris Shtokolov

basso all-purposo: Ezio Pinza

Extremely impressive. This must have taken you hours.

I'll just add my vote for a countertenor.

David Daniels

Reactions: 3

Woodduck

· #7 · Mar 1, 2015

GregMitchell said:
Extremely impressive. This must have taken you hours.

I'll just add my vote for a countertenor.

David Daniels

It did. Hours well-spent, getting re-acquainted with some of the best of the best.

I was counting on you to bring DD to the party. That cutie is always welcome (and he sings good too).

Reactions: 4

BalalaikaBoy

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 1, 2015

Woodduck, thank you for your extensive list! I've listening to them now =P

in the same fashion, I think I'll include some clips for the list I posted in the OP
lyric coloratura soprano: Ingeborg Hallstein

light lyric soprano: Barbara Bonney

dramatic coloratura soprano: Joan Sutherland

full lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

spinto soprano: Martina Arroyo

dramatic soprano: Ghena Dimitrova

Wagnerian soprano: Kirsten Flagstad

lyric mezzo: Jennifer Larmore

dramatic mezzo: Elena Obraztsova

contralto: Ewa Podles

countertenor: ???
tenor leggiero: Juan Diego Flores

lyric tenor: Jussi Bjorling

spinto tenor: Franco Corelli

dramatic tenor: Giuseppe Giacomini

heldentenor: Loritz Melchior

lyric baritone: Herman Prey

Verdi baritone: Sherrill Milnes

dramatic baritone: Titto Gobbi

bass-baritone: Willard White

basso cantante: Samuel Ramey

basso profondo: Paul Robeson

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Seattleoperafan

· #9 · Mar 3, 2015

Woodduck said:
Despite my dislike of dividing voices into distinct "fachs," and the impossibilty of choosing just one singer to represent each of these fuzzy categories, this looks like an interesting challenge which will make me do some listening and thinking. So here goes nothing.

lyric coloratura soprano: Luisa Tetrazzini

light lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schumann

dramatic coloratura soprano: Maria Callas

full lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

lyric-dramatic (jugendliche-dramatische) soprano: Lotte Lehmann

dramatic soprano: Rosa Ponselle

hochdramatische sopran: Kirsten Flagstad

lyric mezzo: Janet Baker

dramatic mezzo: Irina Arkhipova

coloratura mezzo: Marilyn Horne

All-purpose mezzo: Christa Ludwig

contralto: Sigrid Onegin

countertenor: whoever

tenore leggiero: Fernando de Lucia

lyric tenor: Jussi Bjorling

lyric-dramatic tenor: Enrico Caruso

dramatic tenor: Jon Vickers

heldentenor: Lauritz Melchior

lyric baritone: Maurice Renaud

lyric-dramatic baritone: Mattia Battistini

"Verdi" baritone: Riccardo Stracciari

dramatic baritone: Titta Ruffo

bass-baritone: Friedrich Schorr

basso cantante: Pol Plancon

basso profondo: Boris Shtokolov

basso all-purposo: Ezio Pinza

I was not familiar with Irina A. as a mezzo. Gorgeous, gorgeous voice. I would have chosen Stignani. I also would have wanted a tie between Early Callas and Sutherland as Dramatic Coloratura Soprano. Other than that, a perfect list.

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Albert7

· #10 · Mar 3, 2015

I don't know the fachs specifically very well but add

Jonas Kaufmann, Elena Garanca, Anna Moffo to my stew.

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MAuer

· #11 · Mar 3, 2015

Fritz Wunderlich would be my choice for the lyric tenor Fach, and Jonas Kaufmann the pick for the lirico-spinto/jugendlich dramatische category. But I can think of so many wonderful singers, both from the past and from the present day, that it would be difficult to restrict my choices in most of the other Fächer to just one individual.

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Bellinilover

· #12 · Mar 4, 2015

Balalaikaboy: I agree with you about Sherrill Milnes being the quintessential Verdi baritone. From recordings I think it's pretty evident that Leonard Warren had a "fatter" voice and probably greater natural vocal resources (sort of the Joan Sutherland of baritones) and that Tito Gobbi was a more subtle actor with the voice, but there are three reasons why Milnes strikes me as having been "born to sing" Verdi. First was his brilliant upper register, so essential for those roles. Second was that his voice could handle both "declamatory" and "lyrical" passages equally well, and arias that alternate between the two extremes are all over the place in Verdi: think of "Pari siamo," "Cortigiani," and "Pieta, rispetto, amore" for starters. I feel Milnes was much better at declamation than the more strictly lyrical Robert Merrill. Third, Milnes' temperament seemed exceptionally well-suited to the kinds of emotions those Verdi baritone characters feel, the fathers especially. Examples: as Germont (on the Carlos Kleiber TRAVIATA) he conveys sympathy where some would find only sternness, and as Rigoletto he's much more loving and concerned than nasty. So, yeah, I feel he was an ideal Verdi baritone if not the ideal Verdi baritone. But I've always been a big Milnes fan, anyway, so perhaps I'm biased.

As for other singers, Juan Diego Florez always comes to mind the minute I hear "Rossini tenor." His voice just seems to have been made for all that fancy filigree work. Also, when I think "full lyric soprano" I tend to think "Mirella Freni." Both Deborah Voigt and Karita Mattila are "Strauss sopranos."

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Woodduck

· #13 · Mar 4, 2015 (Edited)

If we're talking about Verdi baritones, an excellent test aria is "Eri tu" from Un Ballo in Maschera. It requires everything in a baritone's arsenal but coloratura - declamatory force, smooth cantilena, range, power of emotional expression - and will show up any flaws or weaknesses in voice, technique, or style.

Here, in my estimation, is a Verdi baritone for the ages. No one in the last 70 years, at least, can touch Riccardo Stracciari (1875-1955):

This has everything: a splendid vocal instrument, powerful, vibrant, secure, completely supported and evenly produced throughout a wide range; a seamless legato and an understanding of how to use it with feeling and taste; a technical freedom and quickness of movement that allows easy, spontaneous expression in every part of the voice with no need to distort the musical line with overemphatic "pointing"; and a perfect sense of style.

Let's compare four late 20th-century baritones, moving backward in time.

Here's Sherrill Milnes (1935- ):

This is, compared with Stracciari, not at all good. The vocal production is terribly inconsistent, the legato poor, the upper range pushed and splayed. He has to "apply" expression because the lack of technical freedom doesn't allow it to emerge naturally, and the effort fills his phrasing with lumps and bulges. The general effect is forced. I hope he sang this piece better on other occasions.

Ettore Bastianini (1922-1967) isn't really much better vocally, and musically he's hopelessly crude (as usual):

Robert Merrill (1917-2004) is a little better, having at least heard of legato:

Leonard Warren (1911-1960) is vocally still better, his voice consistently rich and with little technical adjustment needed at the top, but rather square and unimaginative: ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WM8A87dHlY

Now if we want to go back a generation, we can get closer to the real deal. Here's Lawrence Tibbett (1896-1960):

Farther back, the great Titta Ruffo (1977-1953) in 1915:

No difficulties at all here. A bit monochromatic, but not brutal like Bastianini. A fantastic instrument and very solid singing.

And here is Pasquale Amato (1878-1942) in 1914:

This is classic. A wonderful ability to color the voice, varying the expression with no loss of tonal consistency or legato line.

I'm not going to speculate here as to why the quality of singing tends to improve as we move backward in time, but it's hard to deny that it does.

The best contemporary version I've found is by Dmitri Hvorostovsky (1962- ):

Not up to Amato or Stracciari, but actually showing some sense of good old-fashioned legato and an ability to let emotion emerge through the voice rather than distort the musical line. Ironic, isn't it, that Hvorostovsky isn't considered a "Verdi baritone" by many people?

But let's conclude with the earliest of them all, Mattia Battistini (1856-1928). Would his brilliant, flexible, high baritone be considered a "Verdi baritone" today? Listen to his style and technique, as recorded in 1907, at age 51:

We are here in another world, vocally, from the likes of Milnes and Bastianini!

Our assumptions about singing - about technique, style, and fach - are easily upset by just a bit of listening. Now who are the "Verdi baritones" of today?

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Albert7

· #14 · Mar 4, 2015

I gotta add in Mara Zampieri as a legend for all time. Chalk her under dramatic soprano.

Bellinilover

· #15 · Mar 5, 2015

Woodduck said:
If we're talking about Verdi baritones, an excellent test aria is "Eri tu" from Un Ballo in Maschera. It requires everything in a baritone's arsenal but coloratura - declamatory force, smooth cantilena, range, power of emotional expression - and will show up any flaws or weaknesses in voice, technique, or style.

Here, in my estimation, is a Verdi baritone for the ages. No one in the last 70 years, at least, can touch Riccardo Stracciari (1875-1955):

This has everything: a splendid vocal instrument, powerful, vibrant, secure, completely supported and evenly produced throughout a wide range; a seamless legato and an understanding of how to use it with expression and taste; a technical freedom that allows easy, spontaneous expression in every part of the voice with no need to distort the musical line with overemphatic "pointing"; and a perfect sense of style.

Let's compare four late 20th-century baritones, moving backward in time.

Here's Sherrill Milnes (1935- ):

His vocal production is terribly inconsistent, his legato poor, his upper range strong but pushed and splayed. He has to "apply" expression because the lack of technical freedom doesn't allow it to emerge naturally, and the effort fills his phrasing with lumps and bulges. The general effect is forced. I can only hope he sang the piece better than this on other occasions.

Ettore Bastianini (1922-1967) isn't really much better vocally, and musically he's hopelessly crude (as usual):

Robert Merrill (1917-2004) is a little better, having at least heard of legato:

Leonard Warren (1911-1960) is vocally still better, his voice consistently rich and with little technical adjustment needed at the top, but rather square and unimaginative: ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WM8A87dHlY

Now if we want to go back a generation, we can get closer to the real deal. Here's Lawrence Tibbett (1896-1960):

Farther back, the great Titta Ruffo (1977-1953) in 1915:

And Pasquale Amato (1878-1942) in this classic of 1914:

The best contemporary version I've found is by Dmitri Hvorostovsky (1962- ):

Not up to Amato or Stracciari, but actually showing some sense of good old-fashioned legato and an ability to let emotion emerge through the voice rather than distort the musical line. Ironic, isn't it, that Hvorostovsky isn't considered a "Verdi baritone" by many people?

But let's conclude with the earliest of them all, Mattia Battistini (1856-1928). Would his brilliant, flexible, high baritone be considered a "Verdi baritone" today? Listen to his style and technique, as recorded in 1907, at age 51:

We are here in another world, vocally, from the likes of Milnes and Bastianini!

Our assumptions about singing - about technique, style, and fach - are easily upset by just a bit of listening. Now who are the "Verdi baritones" of today?

Okay, then...It must be that my "palette" is not sufficiently refined to hear the faults in all of the artists denigrated above; my tastes must need to be "educated up" to the standards of 80+ years ago, when truly great singing was the norm. And the same must be true of the highly respected J.B. Steane (certainly no stranger to the recordings of the "Golden Age," and anything but hostile to them) and his colleagues, all of whom had much praise and little criticism for the singing (and not just the "dramatic abilities" or the "personalities") of Merrill, Milnes, etc. If you don't believe me, read the books The Grand Tradition, Opera on Record, or any of the numerous columns and reviews in back issues of The Gramophone magazine. It must be, too, that we'd all be delusional if we were to think today's Quinn Kelsey an outstanding Verdi baritone.

I think I'm going to bow out of this thread. However, my post above still stands; I wouldn't change a word of it.

Woodduck

· #16 · Mar 5, 2015 (Edited)

Bellinilover said:
Okay, then...It must be that my "palette" is not sufficiently refined to hear the faults in all of the artists denigrated above; my tastes must need to be "educated up" to the standards of 80+ years ago, when truly great singing was the norm. And the same must be true of the highly respected J.B. Steane (certainly no stranger to the recordings of the "Golden Age," and anything but hostile to them) and his colleagues, all of whom had much praise and little criticism for the singing (and not just the "dramatic abilities" or the "personalities") of Merrill, Milnes, etc. If you don't believe me, read the books The Grand Tradition, Opera on Record, or any of the numerous columns and reviews in back issues of The Gramophone magazine. It must be, too, that we'd all be delusional if we were to think today's Quinn Kelsey an outstanding Verdi baritone.

I think I'm going to bow out of this thread. However, my post above still stands; I wouldn't change a word of it.

Thanks for drawing my attention to Quinn Kelsey. In the little I find of him on the internet, I hear a very attractive instrument of firm tonal quality if not great brilliance or ring. It's a young voice, and the all-out singing I hear him doing in the heavy arias of Verdi and verismo, effective though it may be at the moment, makes me worry that he's working too hard. There's no strain, but neither is there much subtlety, dynamic give and take, or coloration of the sound. Milnes started out with a more charismatic sound, and his top began losing freedom and resonance rather early. Verdi is rough on baritones, and I hope Kelsey is working on his Mozart and Handel as well. I'll believe in him when I hear him execute a good diminuendo!

I'm grateful to Conrad Osborne, a critic who knew singing and could speak about it more eloquently and graphically than anyone I know, for opening my ears almost 50 years ago to the technical possibilities of the human voice and to its capacity to make music with freedom and eloquence. He, more than anyone, directed me to some of the greatest singers on record, and pointed out to me in graphic and eloquent terms what to listen for. I have an opportunity here to try to pass some of what I've learned along to others. The "Verdi baritones" in my post have all been principal singers of the composer's music in their day. I think that one of the interesting aspects of making these comparisons, with respect to this thread, is the way in which it challenges our notions of "fach" by showing the variety of singers who have exemplified a given repertoire over time. I thought it best to let the singers' work speak largely for itself, but I've supplemented their recordings with a few indications of what I find notable about what they do. Some may find this enlightening, or at least suggestive and interesting, may want to investigate further, and may find their perceptions changing as a result, much as mine did years ago. Others may find no reason to alter their present perspectives on the subject, while still others may for whatever reason actively resist doing so. Whatever anyone's reaction to my efforts may be, those efforts are offered, not with the intention of "denigrating" anyone, but with the hope of providing a perspective on a subject which can only be understood when sometimes unflattering comparisons are drawn.

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Figleaf

· #17 · Mar 5, 2015 (Edited)

Woodduck, what a fantastic post on different baritones singing 'Eri tu'! I'm not going to complain that you didn't include my favourite- a Frenchman singing in French would stretch most people's idea of a 'Verdi baritone'- but here's Leon Melchissedec's fine recording for anyone who may be interested:

What authority and smoothness and grace! Aged 64 in 1907, the highest and lowest notes are perhaps no longer beautiful, but what a singer! I find it quite difficult to choose between him and Battistini in this aria.

Edited to add: sorry, this post is a bit off-topic. I mostly just wanted to thank Woodduck for his writing. As a non-singer I don't have much understanding of technical questions such as Fach, so I probably don't have a lot to contribute. Fascinating thread, though! :tiphat:

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GioCar

· #18 · Mar 5, 2015

Would be nice to see a similar list for living and active singers.

Does anyone want to try? I'm not so expert...

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Figleaf

· #19 · Mar 5, 2015

GioCar said:
Would be nice to see a similar list for living and active singers.

Does anyone want to try? I'm not so expert...

Me neither. I think some Fächer might have merged or disappeared. At least countertenors are well represented these days: among those mentioned on this thread, I believe ???, Whoever, and David Daniels are still very much active.

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Azol

· #20 · Mar 5, 2015

Woodduck said:
Despite my dislike of dividing voices into distinct "fachs," and the impossibilty of choosing just one singer to represent each of these fuzzy categories, this looks like an interesting challenge which will make me do some listening and thinking. So here goes nothing.

lyric coloratura soprano: Luisa Tetrazzini

light lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schumann

dramatic coloratura soprano: Maria Callas

full lyric soprano: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

lyric-dramatic (jugendliche-dramatische) soprano: Lotte Lehmann

dramatic soprano: Rosa Ponselle

hochdramatische sopran: Kirsten Flagstad

lyric mezzo: Janet Baker

dramatic mezzo: Irina Arkhipova

coloratura mezzo: Marilyn Horne

All-purpose mezzo: Christa Ludwig

contralto: Sigrid Onegin

countertenor: whoever

tenore leggiero: Fernando de Lucia

lyric tenor: Jussi Bjorling

lyric-dramatic tenor: Enrico Caruso

dramatic tenor: Jon Vickers

heldentenor: Lauritz Melchior

lyric baritone: Maurice Renaud

lyric-dramatic baritone: Mattia Battistini

"Verdi" baritone: Riccardo Stracciari

dramatic baritone: Titta Ruffo

bass-baritone: Friedrich Schorr

basso cantante: Pol Plancon

basso profondo: Boris Shtokolov

basso all-purposo: Ezio Pinza

Awesome list!

Still, I would swap in Francisco Araiza, Samuel Ramey, Nicolai Gedda, Tito Gobbi and Birgit Nilsson (IMO of course)

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