Bass-baritone
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A bass-baritone is a singing voice that shares certain qualities of both the baritone and the bass. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing Wagnerian bass roles like Wotan (in the Ring Cycle) and Hans Sachs (in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg). Wagner wrote those roles for what he called Hoher Bass ("high bass").
The bass-baritone voice is distinguished by two attributes. First, it must be capable of singing comfortably in a baritonal tessitura. It must also, however, have the resonant lower range typically associated with the bass. For example, the role of Wotan in Die Walküre covers the range from the F# above middle C to the F below the bass clef but only infrequently descends beyond the C below middle C.
The term is also used to refer to a singer who possesses such a singing voice.
Bass-baritone roles in operas
- Doctor Bartolo (Il barbiere di Siviglia)
- Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia)
- Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni)
- Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola)
- Escamillo (Carmen)
- Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro)
- Méphistophélès (La Damnation de Faust)
- Porgy (Porgy and Bess)
- Wotan (Das Rheingold, Siegfried, Die Walküre)
- The Dutchman (Der fliegende Holländer)
- Wolfram von Eschenbach (Tannhauser)
Bass-baritone roles in operettas and musicals
- Dick Deadeye (HMS Pinafore)
- The Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance)
- Scar (The Lion King)
- Sir Despard Murgatroyd (Ruddigore)
- Sergeant Meryll (The Yeomen of the Guard)
- The Bishop of Digne (Les Miserables)
- Bill Sykes (Oliver!)
- Benjamin Franklin (1776)
- Porgy (Porgy and Bess)
- Sweeney Todd (Sweeney Todd)
- Jud Fry (Oklahoma!)
Famous bass-baritones
Classical music
- Theo Adam
- Walter Berry
- Hans Hotter
- James Morris
- Laurentiu Rotaru
- Thomas Quasthoff
- Samuel Ramey
- Friedrich Schorr
- Bryn Terfel
- José Van Dam
- Bobby Farrell
Popular music
- Nick Garrett -Semi Classical
- Pierre Garand, also known as Garou
- Lech Janerka
- Krzysztof Kiljański
- Mark Knopfler
- Haydn Rawlings
- Chris Rea
- Brad Roberts
- Paul Robeson
- Scatman John
- Peter Steele
- Josh Turner
- Tom Waits
- Mark Lanegan
See also
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