The voice range is mezzo-soprano. Modern singers

In musical terminology, the Italian word mezzo occurs very often, and in our language it is translated as "half, middle or average", that is something that is between something and something.

Central voice - central registers

In this particular case it will be between the contralto and the soprano. All these are female singing voices. The voice in the middle is called mezzo-soprano. A tall female voice is simply called a soprano, and a low one is an alt. Each of the voices is divided into lyrical (upper) and dramatic (lower). Often it is difficult to distinguish soprano from lyrical mezzo-soprano, and dramatic soprano from viola, there is also a coloratura mezzo-soprano. Experts are familiar with the nuances that most often depend on the singing schools. Russian vocal teachers consider mezzo-soprano the most difficult for voice-setting, but also the richest shades of sound. Foreign schools consider the tenor to be the most difficult voice. Since the female singing voice of the mezzo-soprano is in the middle, it acquires the fullness of the sound in the middle register, its main range is the small-second octave, from "la" to "la." Division by sex and range is considered the main, although there are many systems of voice qualifications and manner of execution. Take into account its strength, virtuosity, mobility and distinctness. In men, voices are divided into tenors, baritones and basses.

Domestic stars

Mezzo-soprano is characterized by softness, volume and saturation. Russian singing school, one of the best in the world, is rich in national traditions, brilliant performers, a huge number of unsurpassed operatic parts for every voice. Russian singers with the voice of the mezzo-soprano of the late XIX and early XX century brought Russia worldwide fame. A. Nezhdanova, N. Zabela-Vrubel, U. Tsvetkova, V. Petrova-Zvantseva - pride of the domestic vocal. XX century is rich in names of singers, who have exactly mezzo-soprano. These include Irina Arkhipova and Zara Dolukhanova, Tamara Sinyavskaya and Nadezhda Obukhova, Elena Obraztsova and Lyubov Kazarnovskaya. He treated mezzo-soprano and the voice of Lyudmila Zykina.

Singer bands

Unfortunately, in different sources of voice, some singers are referred to different bands. Maybe it's because they can sing different parts. So, for example, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya, who has a great soprano, performs the Carmen party (this part was originally intended for soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto) and is considered the best performer of this role. This is because singing uncharacteristic for the voice of the party allows the voice range that the actress possesses. The voice of any ordinary person covers one and a half octaves, the singer must take at least a little more than two, and female singing voices often capture about three octaves. The world knows phenomenal voices. Ima Sumak is one of such singers. On the possibilities of her voice are still arguing - the fans claim that she was able to five octaves, including the mezzo-soprano party. The range of Ima Sumak was incredibly wide.

Opera soloists with world names

To modern national soloists, who have a specific mezzo-soprano, are Elena Obraztsova and Larisa Dyadkova singing at the Mariinsky Theater. In addition to domestic opera divas, the following stars of mezzo-soprano are known to the world: Greek singer Agnes Baltsa, kammerzenger (chamber singer, special honorary title) of the Vienna State Opera; Laureate of the Grammy Award, soloist of the Zurich Opera and La Scala, Italian singer Cicillia Bartoli. There are mezzo-soprano singer from Sweden - Anna Sofi von Otter and Malena Ernman. Very popular are American opera divas - Frederica von Stade, Joyce di Donato and Susan Graham. Also it is necessary to mention Elina Garanca from Latvia, Veselina Kazarova from Bulgaria, Angelika Kirshlager from Austria and Waltruda Meyer from Germany.

The best of the best

All the aforementioned singers are stars of the first magnitude on the opera sky.

There are a lot of lists listing the world stars, they are all composed according to a certain feature - the soloists of the theaters, then our contemporaries, And here is the list of singers who have mezzo-soprano, of all times and peoples:

• Elena Obraztsova is a People's Artist of the USSR.
• Nadezhda Obukhova - Honored Artist of the RSFSR, People's Artist of the RSFSR.
• Simona Simons is the lead singer of Epica.
• Tarja Turunen is a Finnish opera and heavy metal singer.
• Tamara Sinyavskaya is a People's Artist of the USSR.

Famous parties

Always all the composers wrote the parts for this amazing voice - mezzo-soprano. These are such classic arias as the Countess from Pyotr Tchaikovsky's opera The Queen of Spades, his Laura in Iolanta and Olga in Eugene Onegin. Giuseppe Verdi wrote in some of his immortal works such parts as Eboli in the opera "Don Carlos", Amneris in "Hades", Finen in "Nabuco" and Azuchena in "Troubadour" - Verdi loved this voice. In Gaetano Donizetti, in his famous opera Lucia de Lammermoor, Alice's part was written for mezzo-soprano. This voice is sung by Delilah in Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saens, Cinderella in the opera of the same name and Rosina in the "Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini, Carmen in the same name of Georges Bizet, Clytemnestra in "Electra" by Richard Strauss. In Mozart's "Wedding of Figaro" the parties of Marcellina and Cherubino - mezzo-soprano. In Wagner and Massenet in the "Ring of the Nibelungen" and "Werther" respectively, the main women's parties are written for this voice. In the Russian famous composers - A. S. Dargomyzhsky in the "Stone Guest" Laura, in N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov in the "Tsar's Bride" Lubasha, in M. P. Mussorgsky in "Boris Godunov" Marina Mnishek - they all sing mezzo -soprano. Singer modern parties in musicals are performed with great pleasure, because they very quickly bring world fame. Parties for mezzo-soprano are in "Cats", "Chicago", "Sounds of Music" and many, many others. Parties for this voice are also present in the operettas of Johann Strauss, Imre Kalman and Jacques Offenbach.

Talented youth

It should be noted young talented singers. Beauty Nino Surguladze has an amazing mezzo-soprano and plus an extraordinarial actor's talent. Soloist of the "New Opera", laureate of several competitions Yulia Minibaeva with brilliance performs all the parties on the stage of this amazingly popular Moscow theater. Anna Sinitsina, also a soloist of the "New Opera", has an amazing, enveloping mezzo-soprano and perfectly performs the part of Cherubino from "The Wedding of Figaro" and the verses of Zibel from "Faust".

In this theater there are a lot of young talented singers, and regularly there are concerts under the name "Mezzo-soprano on the stage of the New Opera". To talented domestic singers can be attributed to Elena Semyakov and Olga De. Most recently, a young American singer, Grammy Award nominee, owner of the beautiful mezzo-soprano Kirsten Gangogston performed in Russia. She performed accompanied by the Omsk Symphony Orchestra at the close of his season.

Carmen Party as a test of the singer's skill

In the end, it is necessary to note one of the most iconic opera parts for this voice - the incomparable Carmen. The opera itself is the culmination of the work of Georges Bizet. Any opera singer dreams of fulfilling Carmen's part. This role becomes an appreciation of creativity. Starting with the first performer, Celestina Galli-Maria, all the following after the opera "Carmen" gained worldwide fame. The opera itself and her heroine were dedicated to many works - she shocked poets and artists. Alexander Blok wrote the following lines: "... and the blood rushes into the cheeks, and tears of happiness smother the chest before the appearance of Carmencita ..." This cycle, called "Carmen" of the poet, was inspired by one of the most beautiful performers of the party Carmen, , Singer Lyubov Aleksandrovna Andreeva-Delmas, the owner of pure fine mezzo-soprano.