basso

1 an adult male singer with the lowest voice [syn: bass]

2 the lowest adult male singing voice [syn: bass, bass voice] [also: bassi (pl)]

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -æsəʊ

Noun

basso

1. A bass singer, especially in opera.
2. An instrumental part written for a bass instrument.

Related terms

• basso continuo
• basso profundo

Finnish

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: bas·so
• /ˈbɑsːo/|lang=fi

Noun

1. bass (voice)
2. A bass guitar

Derived terms

• basisti

Italian

Adjective

it-adj bass

1. low
2. short (in height)
3. narrow, thin
4. In the context of "of water|lang=it}} shallow

This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type.

A bass is a male singer who sings in the lowest vocal range.

According to Grove Music Online, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the F below small C to the E above middle C (i.e., F2–E4), with a tessitura, or comfortable range, normally ranging between the outermost lines of the bass clef.

Variations in bass range

However, cultural influence and individual variation create a wide variation in range and quality of bass singers. Parts for basses have included notes as low as the C two octaves below middle C (i.e. Measure 12 of Ne Imami Iniya Pomoshchi by Pavel Chesnokov), and the Rachmaninov Vespers call for the B-flat a tone below that. Many basses have trouble reaching those notes, and the use of them in works by Slavic composers has led to the colloquial term "Russian bass" for an exceptionally deep-ranged basso profundo that can easily sing these notes.

Basses also have trouble reaching the notes above middle C, according to Grove Music Online; however, many British composers such as Benjamin Britten have written parts for bass that center far higher than the bass tessitura (such as the first movement of his choral work Rejoice in the Lamb). The Harvard Dictionary of Music defines the range as being from the E below low C to middle C (i.e. E2–C4).

In choral music, voices are subdivided into first bass and second bass, no distinction being made between bass and baritone voices, in contrast to the three-fold (tenor-baritone-bass) categorization of solo voices. The exception is in arrangements for male choir (TTBB) and barbershop quartets (TLBB), which sometimes label the lowest two parts baritone and bass.

It is also common for men who are classified as "basses" (and have a full bass choral range) to have a speaking voice which may sound much higher than would be expected.

Bass roles in opera

In classical music, and particularly in opera, the following distinctions are often made among different kinds of bass voices:

Basso Cantante/Lyric High Bass/Lyric Bass-baritone

• Basso Cantante means 'singing bass'. Basso cantante is a higher, more lyrical voice. It is produced by a more Italianate vocal production with a faster vibrato. A lyric bass-baritone. for listings of baritone as well as bass roles.

• Roles:
  • Duke Bluebeard Bluebeard's Castle by Bela Bartok
  • Don Pizarro, Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Count Rodolfo, La Sonnambula by Bellini
  • Blitch, Susannah by Carlisle Floyd
  • Méphistophélès, Faust by Charles Gounod
  • Don Alfonso, Cosi fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Boris, Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky
  • Silva, Ernani by Giuseppe Verdi
  • Philip II, Don Carlos by Giuseppe Verdi
  • Count Walter, Luisa Miller by Giuseppe Verdi
  • Banquo, Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi
  • Zaccaria, Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi
  • Fiesco, Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi
  • Ferrando, Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi
  • Daland, Der fliegende Holländer by Richard Wagner

Bass Bass

Hoherbass/Dramatic High Bass/Dramatic Bass-baritone

• Hoherbass or "high bass" is a dramatic bass-baritone. for listings of baritone as well as bass roles.
• Roles:
  • Igor, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
  • Boris, and Varlaam, Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky
  • Klingsor, Parsifal by Richard Wagner
  • Wotan Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner
  • Caspar, Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber

Jugendlicher Bass

• • Jugendlicher Bass a young man (regardless of the age of the singer).
• Roles:
  • Leporello, Masetto, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Varlaam, Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky
  • Colline, La bohème (Giacomo Puccini)

Basso Buffo/Bel Canto/Lyric Buffo

• Buffo, literally "funny," basses are lyrical roles but demand a solid coloratura technique. They are usually the antagonist or the comic relief in Bel Canto operas.
• Roles:
  • Don Pasquale, Don Pasquale (Gaetano Donizetti)
  • Dottor Dulcamara, L'elisir d'amore by Gaetano Donizetti
  • Don Bartolo, The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini
  • Don Basilio, The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini
  • Don Magnifico, La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini
  • Méphistophélès, Faust by Charles Gounod
  • Don Alfonso, Cosi fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Leporello, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Schwerer Spielbass/Dramatic Buffo

• English equivalent: Dramatic comic bass
• Roles::
  • Khan Konchak, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
  • Baculus, Der Wildschütz (Albert Lortzing)
  • Ferrando, Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi
  • Daland, Der fliegende Holländer by Richard Wagner
  • Pogner, Die Meistersinger by Richard Wagner

Lyric Basso Profundo

• English equivalent: lyric low bass
• Basso profundo, is the lowest bass voice type. According to J. B. Steane in "voices Singers & Citics, the basso profundo voice "derives from a method of tone-production that elimintes the more Italian quick vibrato. In its place is a kind of tonal solidity, a wall-like front, which may nevertheless prove susceptible to the other kind of vibrato, the slow beat or dreaded wobble."
• Roles:
  • Rocco, Fidelio by Ludwig von Beethoven
  • Osmin, Die Entführung aus dem Serail by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Sarastro, Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Pimen, Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky
  • Baron Ochs, Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss

Dramatic Basso Profundo

• English equivalent: Dramatic low bass. Dramatic Basso Profundo is a powerful basso profundo voice.
• Roles:
  • Vladimir Yaroslavich, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
  • Hagen, Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner
  • Heinrich, Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
  • Gurnemanz, Parsifal by Richard Wagner
  • Fafner, Das Rheingold and Siegfried by Richard Wagner
  • Marke, Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner
  • Hunding, Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
  • The Grand Inquisitor, Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi

Bass roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas

• The Mikado of Japan (The Mikado)
• Sergeant of Police (The Pirates of Penzance)
• Old Adam Goodheart, and Sir Roderick (Ruddigore)
• Private Willis (Iolanthe)
• Carpenter's mate (HMS Pinafore)
• Notary (The Sorcerer)

Some prominent operatic basses on disc

• Feodor Chaliapin
• Boris Christoff
• Bonaldo Giaiotti
• Adam Didur
• Gottlob Frick
• Nicolai Ghiaurov
• Carlo Colombara
• Jerome Hines
• Boris Christoff
• Marcel Journet
• Nicolai Ghiuselev
• Alexander Kipnis
• Ferruccio Furlanetto
• Kurt Moll
• René Pape
• Ezio Pinza
• Nazzareno de Angelis
• Samuel Ramey
• Mark Reizen
• Eugeny Nesterenko
• Cesare Siepi
• Martti Talvela
• John Tomlinson
• Ludwig Weber

See also

• Category of operatic basses

External links

• Guide to the singing voice, BBC Wales
• Basses in Bach’s vocal works
• Typical ranges, Yale University Library Archive

Heldentenor, Meistersinger, alto, aria singer, baritenor, baritone, bass, basso buffo, basso cantante, basso profundo, blues singer, canary, cantatrice, cantor, caroler, chanter, chantress, coloratura soprano, comic bass, contralto, countertenor, crooner, deep bass, diva, dramatic soprano, heroic tenor, hymner, improvisator, lead singer, lieder singer, melodist, mezzo-soprano, opera singer, prima donna, psalm singer, rock-and-roll singer, singer, singstress, songbird, songster, songstress, soprano, tenor, torch singer, vocalist, vocalizer, voice, warbler, yodeler