Tenor

:This article is about Tenor in music. For other meanings see Tenor (disambiguation).

Types

In opera, distinctions are made between different types of tenor:

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• Tenore drammatico, di forza or robusto: a powerful, rich, heroic tenor (Verdi's Otello)
• Heldentenor: the German equivalent of the tenore drammatico, however with a more baritonal quality; the typical Wagnerian protagonist (Lohengrin, Siegfried, Siegmund, Parsifal)
• Tenore leggero: a light, flexible tenor, specializing in the Mozartean repertoire, but also in the operas of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini, and sometimes specializing in Baroque repertoire or in comical roles
• Tenore Buffo: a relatively weak voice with certain limitations, with a timbre that is not entirely appealing. Specializes in comic roles such as Don Basilio in Mozart's "Le Nozze Di Figaro" or Monostatos in Mozart's "Die Zauberflote"
• Tenore lirico or di grazia: a lightweight, graceful, lyric tenor (the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto; Rodolfo in La Boheme)
• Tenore (lirico) spinto: a lyric tenor with more "punch", therefore able to play more heroic roles (Radamès in Aida)
• Trial: a high, thin, nasal tenor, used for character roles. Named after Antoine Trial (1736-1792), a singer at the Opéra Comique.
• Baritenor, a lyric dark tenor, or one with a strong baritonic lower register, but tops out only a A or B above middle C.