Mezzo-soprano
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A mezzo-soprano (meaning "half soprano" in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3-A5, middle C = C4). Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or richer) vocal tone than sopranos, and their voice type sits between the soprano and the contralto. The terms Dugazon and Galli-Marié are sometimes used to refer to light mezzo-sopranos, after the names of famous singers. A castrato with a mezzo-soprano range was called a mezzo-soprano castrato.
Mezzo-sopranos typically sing secondary roles in operas, with Bizet's Carmen and Rosina (in Rossini's Barber of Seville) as the most notable exceptions. Typical roles for mezzo-sopranos include "witches, bitches, and breeches", a common expression that summarizes their function in opera. Witches are the old hags, nurses, and wise women, such as Azucena and Ulrica (which can also be performed by contraltos); breeches are male roles sung by female singers, such as Cherubino; and bitches are villains and seducers, such as Amneris or Eboli.
Some roles designated for soubrette sopranos are also often sung by mezzo sopranos. This gives the roles a fuller and more dramatic quality, which often suits them well. Such roles include Despina in Così fan tutte and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Other roles designated for dramatic sopranos walk a fine line between soprano and mezzo territory. Mezzos quite often play Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana, Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth, and even Isolde in Tristan und Isolde. These examples are simply proof that the line between soprano and mezzo soprano is not clearly defined.
In soul music, a person will sometimes be classified mezzo-soprano, if she can sing both contralto and soprano. To earn this classification however, she must be able to reach the D and even E above Soprano C, as well as the corresponding note below Middle C, thus possessing a three-octave range.
Mezzo-soprano roles in operas
- Zweite Dame (2nd Lady) (Die Zauberflöte)
- Dritte Dame (3rd Lady) (Die Zauberflöte)
- Alisa (Lucia di Lammermoor)
- Amneris (Aida)
- Baba the Turk (The Rake's Progress)
- Berta (Il Barbiere di Siviglia)
- Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde)
- Carmen (Carmen)
- Cenerentola (La Cenerentola)
- Charlotte (Werther)
- Dalila (Samson et Dalila)
- Dido (Dido and Aeneas)
- Dorabella (Così fan tutte)
- Emilia (Otello)
- Erika (Vanessa)
- Flora (La traviata)
- Fricka (Das Rheingold, Die Walküre)
- Gertrude (Hamlet)
- Isabella (L'italiana in Algeri)
- Laura (La Gioconda)
- La Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica)
- Leonora (La favorite)
- Lola (Cavalleria rusticana)
- Maddalena (Rigoletto)
- Mallika (Lakmé)
- Marcellina (Le Nozze di Figaro)
- Marguerite (Le Damnation de Faust)
- Meg Page (Falstaff)
- Mercedes (Carmen)
- Mignon (Mignon)
- Olga (Eugene Onegin)
- Ortrud (Lohengrin)
- Ottavia (L'incoronazione di Poppea)
- Pauline (The Queen of Spades)
- Preziosilla (La forza del destino)
- Princess Eboli (Don Carlos)
- Rosina (The Barber of Seville)
- Suzuki (Madama Butterfly)
- Sonyetka (Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District)
- The Countess (The Queen of Spades)
- Venus (Tannhäuser)
Mezzo-soprano pants roles in operas
- Adriano (Rienzi)
- Annius (La clemenza di Tito)
- Caecilius (Lucio Silla)
- Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro)
- Idamantes (Idomeneo)
- Nicklausse (Tales of Hoffmann) - though he is the Muse in disguise
- Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier)
- Orfeo (Orfeo ed Euridice)
- Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus)
- Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi)
- Serse (Serse)
- Sesto (La clemenza di Tito)
- Siebel (Faust)
- Stephano (Romeo et Juliette)
- The Composer (Ariadne auf Naxos)
- Tancredi (Tancredi)
- Urbain (Les Huguenots)
Mezzo-soprano roles in operettas and musicals
- Adelaide (Guys and Dolls)
- Anna Leonowens (The King And I)
- Anne Catherick (The Woman in White)
- Cleo Wellington (Glamorous Night)
- Cousin Hebe (HMS Pinafore)
- Dinah (Trouble in Tahiti)
- Edith (The Pirates of Penzance)
- Iolanthe
- Eponine (Les Misérables) (Could be performed by an alto)
- Eva Peron (Evita)
- Ellen Scott (Miss Saigon)
- Fantine (Les Misérables)
- Grizabella (Cats)
- Helena Landless (The Mystery of Edwin Drood)
- Kate (The Pirates of Penzance)
- Kim (Miss Saigon)
- Leona Samish (Do I Hear A Waltz?)
- Linda (Lost in the Stars)
- Lisa ([[Pirates: a Romeo and Juliet Story]])
- Liza Elliot (Lady in the Dark)
- Lucy (Jekyll and Hyde) (Could be played by a soprano)
- Madame Giry (The Phantom of the Opera)
- Madame Thénardier (Les Misérables) - Could conceivably be played by a soprano, but a mezzo-soprano would do better in the role.
- Mad Margaret (Ruddigore)
- Magenta (The Rocky Horror Show)
- Marian Halcombe (''The Woman in White)
- Marguerite (''The Scarlet Pimpernel)
- Maureen Johnson (Rent)
- Meg Giry (The Phantom of the Opera)
- Mei Li (Flower Drum Song)
- Miss Hannigan (Annie)
- Mother (Ragtime)
- Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd)
- Mrs. Potts (Beauty and the Beast)
- Nellie Forbush (South Pacific)
- Nessarose (Wicked)
- Nettie Fowler (Carousel)
- The Old Lady (Candide)
- Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus)
- Peep-Bo (The Mikado)
- Phoebe Meryll (The Yeomen of the Guard)
- Pitti-Sing (The Mikado)
- Red Riding Hood (Into the Woods)
- Rosemary (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying)
- Rose Maurrant (Street Scene)
- Tessa (The Gondoliers)
- The Lady of the Lake (Monty Python's Spamalot) (Can also be played by an Alto)
- The Narrator (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) (Can be played by a soprano with a decent belt capability)
- The Witch (Into the Woods)
- Ulla (The Producers)
- Vera (King's Rhapsody)
Famous mezzo-sopranos
Classical music
- Patricia Adkins-Chiti
- Marian Anderson
- Janet Baker
- Agnes Baltsa
- Fedora Barbieri
- Cecilia Bartoli
- Cathy Berberian
- Teresa Berganza
- Olga Borodina
- Grace Bumbry
- Emma Calvé
- Fiorenza Cossotto
- Annette Daniels
- Barbara Dever
- Asa Dornbusch
- Margreta Elkins
- Brigitte Fassbaender
- Elina Garanca
- Maria Gay
- Vivica Genaux
- Rita Gorr
- Susan Graham
- Denyce Graves
- Mary Gayle Greene
- Monica Groop
- Marilyn Horne
- Vesselina Kasarova
- Magdalena Kožená
- Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
- Marjana Lipovšek
- Christa Ludwig
- Carla Maffioletti
- Waltraud Meier
- Nan Merriman
- Ann Murray
- Elena Obraztsova
- Ewa Podles
- Nell Rankin
- Regina Resnik
- Gabriela Scherer
- Rinat Shaham
- Giulietta Simionato
- Risë Stevens
- Conchita Supervia
- Salli Terri
- Tatiana Troyanos
- Jard van Nes
- Shirley Verrett
- Anne Sofie von Otter
- Frederica von Stade
- Carolyn Watkinson
- Dolora Zajick
Popular and crossover music
NOTE: In most cases, it is not possible to find a reputable source for the vocal range of pop singers. It seems most names were listed here on an empirical basis. It must be noted that in the pop world, the vocal range of a singer is often artificially enhanced.
- Simone Simons
- Anneke van Giersbergen
- Cindy Birdsong
- Mary J. Blige
- Stephanie J. Block - E3-E6 (as per Block)
- Nicole Bogner
- Carol Burnett
- Kate Bush
- Jesse Carpenter
- Belinda Carlisle
- Natalie Cole
- Aretha Franklin
- Judy Garland
- Debbie Gravitte
- Beyoncé Knowles
- Katherine Jenkins - Semi classical
- Lynda Laurence
- Amy Lee
- Patti LuPone
- Katie Melua
- Idina Menzel
- Ethel Merman
- Bette Midler
- Jane Olivor
- Édith Piaf
- Kelly Rowland
- Sandie Shaw
- Selena
- Donna Summer
- Bert McCracken
- Tina Turner
- Carrie Underwood
- Tsakane Valentine
- Violetta Villas
- Mary Wilson
- Keke Wyatt
See also
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