From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baritenor (also rendered in English language sources as bari-tenor^[1] or baritenore^[2]) is a musical term formed by a blend of the words "baritone" and "tenor".^[3] It is used to describe both baritone and tenor voices. In Webster's Third New International Dictionary it is defined as "a baritone singing voice with virtually a tenor range".^[4] However, the term was defined in several late 19th century and early 20th century music dictionaries, such as The American History and Encyclopedia of Music, as "a low tenor voice, almost barytone" [sic].^[5]

In opera

Baritenor Andrea Nozzari as Poliflegante in Simon Mayr's Il sogno di Partenope

Baritenor (or its Italian form, baritenore) is still used today to describe a type of tenor voice which came to particular prominence in Rossini's operas.^[6] It is characterized by a dark, weighty lower octave and a ringing upper one but with sufficient agility for coloratura singing.^[7] Rossini used this type of voice to portray noble (and usually older), leading characters, often in contrast to the higher, lighter voices of the tenore di grazia or the tenore contraltino who portrayed the young, impetuous lovers.^[8] An example of this contrast can be found in his Otello (1816), where the role of Otello was written for a baritenore (Andrea Nozzari), while the role of Rodrigo, his young rival for the affections of Desdemona, was written for a tenore di grazia (Giovanni David). Nozzari and David were paired again in Rossini's Ricciardo e Zoraide (1818), with a similar contrast in characters – Nozzari sang the role of Agorante, King of Nubia, while David portrayed the Christian knight, Ricciardo.

The Italian musicologist, Rodolfo Celletti (d. 2004), proposed that the Rossinian baritenor was nothing new to opera. According to Celletti, the tenor voices used for leading roles in early baroque operas such as Jacopo Peri's Euridice (1600) and Claudio Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (1640) were essentially "baritenor" ones with a range common to both baritone and tenor.^[9] (John Potter in his 2009 book Tenor, History of a voice refers to this type of voice as "tenor-bass".^[10]) This can also be seen in Monteverdi's first opera, L'Orfeo (1607). The title role was created by Francesco Rasi who could sing in both the tenor and bass range.^[11] In modern times, Orfeo has been sung both by tenors such as Anthony Rolfe Johnson^[12] and by lyric baritones, such as Simon Keenlyside.^[13] However, with the rise of the castrato singer in Italian opera, the baritenor voice came to be perceived as "ordinary" or even "vulgar" and was relegated to portraying character roles – villains, grotesques, old men, and even women.^[14] Although there were exceptions, such Dario in Vivaldi's L'incoronazione di Dario (created by the tenor Annibale Pio Fabri),^[15] the leading male roles (and especially that of the romantic lover) in Italian operas of the middle and late baroque era were largely written for the high, exotic voices of the castrati.^[16] In French opera of the same period, the baritenor voice, called the taille (or haute-taille) before the term ténor came into general use, was little used for important solo parts, although possibly more often than in Italian opera. Because of the general dislike for the castrato voice, young lover roles were assigned to the high male voices of hautes-contre^[17]. Today the taille roles are most often performed by baritones.

In vocal pedagogy

Vocal pedagogues such as Richard Miller use the term to refer to a common voice category in young male singers whose tessitura (most comfortable vocal range) lies between that of a baritone and that of a tenor and whose passage zone lies between C4 and F4.^[18] Such singers can evolve, either naturally or through training, into high baritones, suitable for operatic roles such as Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande. Alternatively, they may evolve into spieltenors, suitable for character roles such as Pedrillo in The Abduction from the Seraglio or into heldentenors who sing leading roles such as Siegmund in Die Walküre or Florestan in Fidelio.^[19] In both these types of tenor roles the highest notes of the tenor range are rarely required, and the voice usually has a baritonal weight in the lower notes. Several famous tenors who have sung the heldentenor repertory originally began their careers as baritones, including Lauritz Melchior,^[20] Erik Schmedes,^[21] and Plácido Domingo.^[22]

In musical theatre

Noël Coward, composer of After the Ball and The Girl Who Came to Supper, whose own singing voice has been described as "a distinctive baritenor" ^[23]

Despite being described in Acting the Song: Performance Skills for the Musical Theatre as a term "coined" by "musical theatre vernacular",^[24] the use of baritenor in relation to the operatic voice can be seen in English sources since at least 1835, and French ones since 1829.^[25] Nevertheless, the term is widely used in musical theatre to describe a baritone voice capable of singing notes in the tenor range, and was used as early as 1950 to describe the voice of Eddie Fisher in a variety show at New York's Paramount Theatre.^[26] Deer and Dal Vera have noted that by 2008, the majority of leading roles in rock musicals were being written for baritenors.^[27] Amongst the roles specifiying baritenor voices in casting calls between 2008 and 2009 were: Bob and Tommy (Jersey Boys);^[28] Wizard, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, and Tinman (The Wiz);^[29] Max Bialystock and Leopold Bloom (The Producers);^[30] and Thomas Weaver and Alvin Kelby (The Story of My Life).^[31]

Saltzman and Dési ascribe the rise of the baritenor voice in musical theatre to the introduction of amplification in the second half of the 20th century. Prior to that, the leading roles were predominantly sung by tenors and sopranos with even the baritone characters tending to sing in the upper part of their range. This was due not only to the popular taste of the times, but also to the fact that higher voices were more capable of riding over the orchestra and reaching the furthest seats. The introduction of amplification allowed male leading roles to be assigned to baritones, albeit ones who often had an extension into the tenor range.^[32] David Young also notes that the baritenor voice can be particularly useful for roles such as Marius in Fanny where the character ages significantly during the course of the musical.^[33]

Notes

References

• actorsingers.org, Character Analysis - The Producers, January 2009. Accessed 4 March 2009.
• Badenes, Gonzalo, Voces: (Ritmo, 1987-2000), Universitat de València, 2005. ISBN 8437062551
• Billboard, Vaudeville Reviews, Vol. 62, No. 34. 26 August 1950. ISSN 00062510
• Blier, Steven, "Trading Up", Opera News, August 2003. Accessed 3 March 2009.
• Boytim, Joan Frey, The Private Voice Studio Handbook: A Practical Guide to All Aspects of Teaching, Hal Leonard Corporation, 2002. ISBN 0634047388
• Casaglia, Gherardo, "Annibale Pio Fabri", Almanacco Amadeus, 2005. Accessed 10 January 2010 (in Italian).
• Celletti, Rodolfo, Voce di tenore, IdeaLibri, 1989. ISBN 8870821277
• Celletti, Rodolfo, A History of Bel Canto (translated from the Italian by Frederick Fuller), Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN 0198166419
• Deer, Joe and Dal Vera, Rocco, Acting in Musical Theatre: A Comprehensive Course, Routledge, 2008. ISBN 0415773180
• Elson, Louis Charles, Elson's Music Dictionary: Containing the Definition and Pronunciation of Such Terms and Signs as are Used in Modern Music, O. Ditson Company, 1905.
• Fétis, F. J., (ed.), Revue musicale, Alexander Mesnier, 1829.
• Frisell, Anthony, The Tenor Voice: A Personal Guide to Acquiring a Superior Singing Technique, Branden Books, 2007. ISBN 0828321833
• Heriot, Angus, The Castrati in Opera, Calder and Boyars, 1976. ISBN 0714501530
• Holland, Bernard, "Opera Made Whole With Dance", New York Times, 12 June 1999. Accessed 5 March 2009.‎
• Hubbard, William L., The American History and Encyclopedia of Music, originally published in 1910, republished in facsimile by Kessinger Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1417902000
• Kaufman, Tom, Liner Notes: Hermann Jadlowker - Dramatic Coloratura Tenor, Marston Records, 1998. Accessed 3 March 2009.
• Ludden, William, Pronouncing Musical Dictionary of Technical Words, Phrases and Abbreviations, O. Ditson, 1875.
• Maupin, Elizabeth, "Theater auditions: Broadway's 'Jersey Boys' in Orlando", Orlando Sentinel, 3 March 2009. Accessed 4 March 2009.
• Miller, Richard, Securing Baritone, Bass-Baritone, and Bass Voices, Oxford University Press US, 2008. ISBN 01953226572008
• Milnes, Rodney (ed.), Opera, Vol. 43:7-12, July 1992.
• Minter, Drew, "Vivaldi: Farnace", Opera News, October 2002. Accessed 4 March 2009.
• The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, edited by Stanley Sadie (1992). ISBN 0-333-73432-7 and ISBN 1-56159-228-5
• New York Theatre Guide, The Story of My Life, new musical by Bartram & Hill, aims to bow on Broadway in Jan 2009, 8 April 2008. Accessed 4 March 2009.
• Playbill, "The Wiz - Equity Principal Auditions", March 2009. Accessed 4 March 2009.
• Potter, J., Tenor, History of a voice, Yale University Press, New Haven/London, 2009, ISBN 978-0-300-11873-5
• Rosenthal, H. and Warrack, J., The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, 1979. ISBN 019311321X
• Moore, Tracey and Bergman, Allison, Acting the Song: Performance Skills for the Musical Theatre, Allworth Communications, 2008. ISBN 1581155050
• Salzman, Eric and Dési, Thomas, The New Music Theater: Seeing the Voice, Hearing the Body, Oxford University Press US, 2008. ISBN 0195099362
• Schuberth, Julius, Kleines musikalisches Conversations-lexikon, originally published in 1880, republished in facsimile by Elimont Classics, 2001. ISBN 0543906701
• Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, The Penny Cyclopædia, Charles Knight, 1835.
• Teatro La Fenice, Programma di sala: Maometto II, 2005. Accessed 4 March 2009.
• Tommasini, Anthony, "A Tenor Who Knows No Bounds", New York Times, 27 September 1998. Accessed 3 March 2009.
• Turp, Richard, The Evolution of the Voice, La Scena Musicale, Vol. 6, No.3, November 2000. Accessed 3 March 2009.
• Thurner, Dick, Portmanteau Dictionary: Blend Words in the English Language, McFarland & Co., 1993. ISBN 0899506879
• Traubner, Richard, Coward: Songbook , American Record Guide, January 2003. Accessed 20 March 2009.
• Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged), G. & C. Merriam Company, 1961.
• Whenham, John, Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo, Cambridge University Press, 1986. ISBN 0521284775
• Young, David, How to Direct a Musical: Broadway your Way!, Taylor & Francis, 1995. ISBN 087830052X

External links

• "David Daniels" (Andante, 2002), an interview by Jason Serinus with the American countertenor, David Daniels, who describes his early vocal training and the transition from a baritenor voice to that of a countertenor.
• "Dr. Bennati's Researches on the Mechanism of the Human Voice" (The Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 40, 1833) presents an early 19th century view of the baritenor operatic voice and the vocal problems experienced by two famous baritenors of the day, Domenico Donzelli and Gaetano Crivelli. (Francesco Bennati (1798-1834) was an Italian baritone who later became an eminent physician. Primarily a laryngologist, he was the house physician to the Opéra-Italien in Paris.)