Fach

The German system (; literally "compartment" or "subject of study", here in the sense of "vocal specialization") is a method of classifying singers, primarily opera singers, according to the range, weight, and color of their voices. It is used worldwide, but primarily in Europe, especially in German-speaking countries and by repertory opera houses.

The system is a convenience for singers and opera houses. It prevents singers from being asked to sing roles which they are incapable of performing, or roles for which their vocal timbre is dramatically unsuited. Opera companies keep lists of available singers by so that when they are casting roles for an upcoming production, they do not inadvertently contact performers who would be inappropriate for the part.

Below is a list of (), their ranges as written on sheet music, and roles generally considered appropriate to each. When two names for the are given, the first is in more common use today. Where possible, an English and/or Italian equivalent of each is listed; however, not all have ready English or Italian equivalents.

Note that some roles can be sung by more than one and that many singers do not easily fit into a : for instance some sopranos may sing both and roles. In addition, roles traditionally more difficult to cast may be given to a voice other than the traditional . For instance, the "Queen of the Night" and "Violetta" are more traditionally dramatic coloratura roles, but it is difficult to find a dramatic coloratura to sing it (particularly given the extreme range). Therefore, these roles are often sung by a lyric coloratura.

Soprano

English equivalent: coloratura soprano or lyric coloratura soprano Range: From about middle C (C4) to the F two-and-a-half octaves above middle C (F6) Description: Usually (but not always) a light soprano who has a high voice. Can often have small voices lacking the richness and resonance of a dramatic soprano. Must be able to do fast acrobatics with easy high notes. Many have extremely high ranges (with notes above the F of the "Queen of the Night"), but there are also singers in this who do not regularly sing higher than the high E6. Roles: Adina, L'elisir d'amore (Gaetano Donizetti) Aminta, Die schweigsame Frau (Richard Strauss) Blonde, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Cunegonde, Candide (Leonard Bernstein) Frasquita, Carmen (Bizet) Juliette, Roméo et Juliette (Gounod) Marie, La fille du régiment (Gaetano Donizetti) Olympia, Les contes d'Hoffman (Jacques Offenbach) Oscar, Un ballo in maschera (Giuseppe Verdi) Zerbinetta, Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss) The woodbird, Siegfried (Richard Wagner)

English equivalent: Dramatic coloratura soprano Range: From about middle C (C4) to the F two and a half octaves above middle C (F6) Description: The same as above, only with a more dramatic, rich voice. Often heavier and more lyrical than a coloratura soprano. Must also be able to do fast vocal acrobatics and reach high notes, such as the F6 of the "Queen of the Night". Roles: Abigalle, Nabucco (Giuseppe Verdi) Donna Anna, Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Elvira, I puritani (Vincenzo Bellini) Fiordiligi, Così fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Gilda, Rigoletto (Giuseppe Verdi) Konstanze, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Leonora, Il trovatore (Giuseppe Verdi) Norma, Norma (Vincenzo Bellini) Odabella, Attila (Giuseppe Verdi) The Queen of the Night, Die Zauberflöte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Violetta, La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)

English equivalent: Soubrette Range: From about middle C (C4) to the C two octaves above middle C (C6) Description: A beautiful, sweet light lyric voice usually capable of executing florid passages similarly to that of a coloratura. The range is usually intermediate between that of a coloratura and lyric soprano. Most sopranos start out as soubrettes, changing fach as the voice matures. Roles: Adele, Die Fledermaus (J. Strauss II) Barbarina, Le nozze di Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Clotilde, Norma (Vincenzo Bellini) Despina, Così fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Echo, Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss) Musetta, La Boheme (Giacomo Puccini) Papagena, Die Zauberflöte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Servilia, La clemenza di Tito (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Sophie, Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss) Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Zerlina, Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)

English equivalent: lyric soprano Range: From about B below middle C (B3) to the C two octaves above middle C (C6) Description: A more supple soprano, capable of legato, portamento, and some agility; generally has a more soulful and sensuous quality than a soubrette, who tends to be largely flirtatious and somewhat tweety. The voice is very common; thus the purity and character of the basic timbre is essential. It is the "basic" soprano voice which is at neither extremes of the soprano range of voices; it is not known for having particular vocal attributes such as power, stamina, technical prowess, or agility. However, there are several lyric sopranos that possess a quantity of many of these vocal attributes, thus allowing them to sing a broader variety of roles. Nevertheless, the core of the true fundamentally lyric voice does not encompass such traits. Innocence, vulnerability and pathos are usually conveyed in the music written for the characters portrayed by the lyric soprano because of this endearing simplicity. This fach is also famous because the voices usually remain especially fresh until advanced age. Roles: Antonia, Les contes d'Hoffman (Jacques Offenbach) Gretel, Hänsel und Gretel (Engelbert Humperdinck) Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi (Giacomo Puccini) Liù, Turandot (Giacomo Puccini) Micaëla, Carmen (Georges Bizet) Pamina, Die Zauberflöte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Rusalka, Rusalka (Antonín Dvořák) Sophie, Werther (Jules Massenet) Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Mimi, La bohème (Giacomo Puccini)

English equivalent: spinto soprano Range: From about A below middle C (A3) to the C two octaves above middle C (C6) Description: The Italian version of this fach is the spinto, which literally translated means pushed. However this is not accurate in terms of these singers' vocal production. A lyric dramatic soprano has a lyric instrument that can also create big sounds, cutting through an orchestral or choral climax. This voice is sometimes referred to as a "young" or "youthful" dramatic soprano although this term doesn't necessarily refer to the singer's age but rather to the tonal quality of the voice. This fach is more clearly delineated in the German system than in the American system. Depending on the singer, however, this voice type can be versatile, as it lies at neither extreme of the soprano spectrum. Spintos are occasionally able to take on lighter mezzo roles or conversely, lyric and even coloratura roles. Roles: Agathe, Der Freischütz (Carl Maria von Weber) Amelia, Un ballo in maschera (Giuseppe Verdi) Chrysothemis, Elektra (Richard Strauss) Cio-Cio San, Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini) Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Elisabeth, Tannhäuser (Richard Wagner) Elsa, Lohengrin (Richard Wagner) Maddalena, Andrea Chénier (Umberto Giordano) Magda Sorel, The Consul (Gian Carlo Menotti) Marie, Wozzeck (Alban Berg) Marie/Marietta, Die tote Stadt (Erich Wolfgang Korngold) Suor Angelica, Suor Angelica (Giacomo Puccini) Eva, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Richard Wagner) Liza, The Queen of Spades (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) Marschallin, Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss) Desdemona, Otello (Giuseppe Verdi) Giulietta, Les contes d'Hoffman (Jacques Offenbach) Salome, Salome (Richard Strauss)

English equivalent: full dramatic soprano Range: From about the A below middle C (A3) to the C two octaves above middle C (C6) Description: Characterized by their rich, full sounding voices, dramatic sopranos are expected to project across large orchestras, a feat that requires a powerful sound. Dramatic sopranos are not expected to have the vocal flexibility of the lighter . Although most dramatic sopranos have a darker, more robust quality to the voice, there are some that possess a lighter lyrical tone. In these instances, however, the substantial amount of volume and endurance normally associated with the dramatic soprano voice is still present. The darker voiced dramatic soprano may even make a foray into the dramatic mezzo-soprano territory with great success. Roles: Ariadne, Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss) Cassandre, Les Troyens (Hector Berlioz) La Gioconda, La Gioconda (Amilcare Ponchielli) Leonore, Fidelio (Ludwig van Beethoven) Minnie, La fanciulla del West (Giacomo Puccini) Santuzza, Cavalleria rusticana (Pietro Mascagni) Sieglinde, Die Walküre (Wagner) Tosca, Tosca (Giacomo Puccini)

English equivalent: High dramatic soprano Range: From about the F below middle C (F3) to the C two octaves above middle C (C6) Description: A voice capable of answering the demands of operas of Wagner's maturity. The voice is substantial, very powerful, and even throughout the registers. It is immense, stentorian and even larger than the voice of the "normal" dramatic soprano. Although the two voices are comparable and are sometimes hard to distinguish between, this voice has even greater stamina, endurance and volume than the former. The top register is very strong, clarion and bright. Successful are rare. Roles: Isolde, Tristan und Isolde (Richard Wagner) Brünnhilde, Der Ring des Nibelungen (Richard Wagner) Turandot, Turandot (Giacomo Puccini) Senta, Der fliegende Holländer (Richard Wagner) Elektra, Elektra (Richard Strauss)

Mezzo-soprano

English equivalent: coloratura mezzo-soprano Range: From about the G below middle C (G3) to the B two octaves above middle C (B5) Description: Found especially in Rossini's operas, these roles were written originally for altos with agility and secure top notes. Today they are often played by mezzo-sopranos and sometimes even by sopranos. At times a lyric or full lyric soprano with a flexible voice will assume the roles as written while a true coloratura soprano will sing the same music transposed to a higher key. Roles: Angelina, La Cenerentola (Gioachino Rossini) Griselda, Griselda (Vivaldi) Isabella, L'italiana in Algeri (Gioachino Rossini) Isolier, Le comte Ory (Rossini) Julius Caesar, Giulio Cesare (Handel) Orsini, Lucrezia Borgia (Donizetti) Romeo, I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Vincenzo Bellini) Ruggiero, Alcina (Handel) Rosina, Il barbiere di Siviglia (Gioachino Rossini) Tancredi, Tancredi (Gioacchino Rossini)

Range: From about the G below middle C (G3) to the B two octaves above middle C (B5) English equivalent: lyric mezzo-soprano Description: A lyric soprano's instrument in a lower range; the resulting sound is less piercing, more lachrymose and rather sensitive. The voices are similar, giving rise to the term 'short soprano' i.e. a soprano without the highest notes. In fact, many lyric mezzos with strong extensions to their upper vocal registers make the transition to singing as sopranos at some point in their careers. Roles: Charlotte, Werther (Massenet) Cherubino, Le nozze di Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Dorabella, Così fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Hänsel, Hänsel und Gretel (Engelbert Humperdinck) Marguerite, La damnation de Faust (Berlioz) Meg, Little Women (Mark Adamo) Mignon, Mignon (Ambroise Thomas) Nicklausse, Les contes d'Hoffman (Offenbach) Mother, Amahl and the Night Visitors (Menotti) Suzuki, Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini)

English equivalent: dramatic mezzo-soprano Range: From about the G below middle C (G3) to the B two octaves above middle C (B5)