Baritone

This is an article on the voice type. For information about the musical instrument commonly referred to as a Baritone, see Baritone horn. For other instruments, see Baritone instruments.

Types

The baritone voice is commonly subdivided as follows:

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• Dramatic baritone is a voice with a somewhat heavier, darker quality. A typical role for dramatic baritones in opera is a villainous role, like Pizarro in Beethoven's Fidelio.
• Lyric baritone is a voice that is lighter and perhaps mellower than the dramatic baritone. It is probably the most common of the baritone voice types. A typical role for a lyric baritone in opera is a comical role, like Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.
• Verdi baritone is a more specialized voice category, referring to a voice capable of singing consistently and with ease in the highest part of the baritone range, perhaps even up to the A above middle C. A typical role in opera for Verdi bartiones is similar to the dramatic baritone: a cold-blooded villain, like Germont in Verdi's La Traviata, or Scarpia in Tosca.