What is your FACH? My what?
You might have heard about this term or might have not. Let's establish a definition first.
Fach is a German system which literally means "compartment" or "subject of study" or "vocal specialization". It is a method of classifying classical singers, primarily opera singers, according to the range, weight and color of the voice. It is used worldwide, mostly in Europe, but also pretty useful for North American singers as a way to help classify one’s own voice in order to decide what to sing and how to market oneself.
The Fach system was developed by German opera houses at the end of 19th century and the main reason behind was to create distance categories for all the roles in an opera and to help in auditions and castings. Singers are placed in Fach according to their voice types and they would only study characters that belong in that category.
Most composers had a particular voice type in mind while composing and sometimes even specific singers.
Sopranos
Lyric Coloratura
Very light and bright soprano with a high voice. It can reach extremely high notes, also very flexible.
Vocal range: from about middle C (C4) to F two and a half octaves above the middle C, which is F6
Roles:
Zerbinetta, Ariadne auf Naxos (Strauss)
Norina, Don Pasquale (Donizetti)
Olympia, Tales of Hoffman (Offenbach)
Gilda, Rigoletto (Verdi)
Lucia, Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti)
Lakme, Lakme (Delibes)
Rosina, Barber of Seville (Rossini) there is a soprano version as well in
Olympia, Tales of Hoffman (Offenbach)
Blondchen, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart)
Dramatic Coloratura
The same as the the one above (light, high, but with a more dramatic, dark and rich voice.) It is often heavier than the lyric coloratura voice type. Able also to do fast vocal passagios and reach F6.
Vocal range: C4 - F6
The most popular role for this type of voice is the so popular "Queen of the Night" by Mozart's "The Magic Flute".
Roles:
The Queen of the Night, Die Zauberflöte (Mozart)
Semiramide, Semiramide (Rossini)
Elena, La donna del lago (Rossini)
Violetta, La traviata (Verdi)
Konstanze, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart)
Norma, Norma (Bellini)
Anne Trulove, Rake’s Progress (Stravinsky)
Fiordiligi, Cosi fan tutte (Mozart) (also sung by Spinto)
Cleopatra, Giulio Cesare (Handel)
Lucia, Lucia di Lammermoor, (Donizetti)
Abigalle, Nabucco (Giuseppe Verdi)
Donna Anna, Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Elvira, I puritani (Bellini)
Fiordiligi, Così fan tutte (Mozart)
Gilda, Rigoletto (Verdi)
Konstanze, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart)
Leonora, Il trovatore (Verdi)
Norma, Norma (Bellini)[2]
Odabella, Attila (Verdi)[2]
Violetta, La traviata (Verdi)
Soubrette or Character soprano
Theatrical light lyric young voice capable of executing passages similar to the coloratura ones. The vocal range is between lyric and coloratura soprano (C4-C6 sometimes can reach E6)
Most sopranos who starts out as a soubrettes can change its Fach as the voice matures.
Roles:
Susanna, Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
Despina, Cosi fan tutte (Mozart)
Zerlina, Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Barbarina, Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart)
Adele, Die Fledermaus (Strauss)
Nanetta, Falstaff (Verdi) (also sung by Lyric Soprano)
Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi (Puccini) (also sung by Lyric)
Musetta, La boheme (Puccini) (also sung by Lyric Soprano)
Sesto, Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Handel)
Lyric Soprano
The is the "basic" soprano voice. it is capable of agility. Warm, full and strong lyrical voice, not heavy with a range from middle C (B3) to high C (D6-E6).
Roles:
Micaëla, Carmen (Bizet)
Marie, Daughter of the Regiment (Donizetti)
Mimi, La boheme (Puccini)
Blanche de la Force, Les dialogues des carmelites (Poulenc)
Countess, Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
Antonia, Tales of Hoffman (Offenbach)
Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi (Puccini) (also sung by Soubrette)
Liu, Turandot (Puccini)
Vitellia, La clemenza di Tito (Mozart)
Sophie, Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss)
Manon, Manon
Agathe, Der Freischutz (Weber)
Jenufa, Jenufa (Janácek)
Pamina, Die Zauberflote (Mozart)
Russalka, Russalka, (Dvorak)
Nanetta, Falstaff (Verdi) (also sung by Soubrette)
Musetta, La boheme (Puccini) (also sung by Soubrette)
Hanna, Merry Widow (Lehar)
Spinto or Light/Lyric Dramatic Soprano
Voice with power and more weight than the lyric soprano, able to sing up to B6 or C6.
Roles:
Madama Butterfly, Madama Butterfly (Puccini)
Manon Lescaut, Manon Lescaut (Puccini)
Floria Tosca, Tosca (Puccini)
Alice Ford, Falstaff (Verdi)
Wally, La Wally, (Catalani)
Elizabeth de Valois, Don Carlo (Verdi)
Susannah, Susannah (Floyd)
Magda, The Consul (Menotti)
Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Fiordiligi, Cosi fan tutte (Mozart) (also Dramatic Coloratura)
Santuzza, Cavallaria Rusticana (Mascagni) (also dramatic mezzo)
Marschellin, Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss)
Agathe, Der Freischutz (Weber)
Tatiana, Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)
Leonora, Il Trovatore (Verdi)
Desdemona, Otello (Verdi)
Dramatic Soprano
Heavy. dark. rich and powerful voice able to sing over large orchestras.
Vocal range from B3 to C6 .
Roles:
Elsa, Lohengrin (Wagner)
Lady Macbeth, Macbeth (Verdi)
Kundry, Parsifal (Wagner)
Leonore, Fidelio (Beethoven)
Aida, Aida (Verdi)
Isolde, Tristan und Isolde (Wagner)
Ariadne, Ariadne auf Naxos (Strauss)
Amelia, Un ballo in maschera (Verdi)
Leonore, La Forza del destino (Verdi)
Foreign Princess, Rusalka (Dvorák)
Mezzosopranos
Colloratura mezzosopran
Rich, bright, very flexible and capable of agility mezzo-soprano.
Vocal range from G3 to B5 - C6
Roles:
Rosina, Barber of Seville (Rossini)
Angelina, La Cenerentola (Rossini)
Julius Caesar, Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Handel)
Isabella, L’Italiana in Algeri (Rossini)
Tancredi, Tancredi (Rossini)
Lyric mezzosoprano
Strong, flexible, full and rich mezzosopano voice.
Vocal range form G3 to B5
A lot of man roles in this category:
Cherubino, Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
Dorabella, Cosi fan tutte (Mozart)
Niklaus, Tales of Hoffman (Offenbach)
Orfeo, Orfeo (Monteverdi)
Composer, Ariadne auf Naxos (Strauss)
Octavian, Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss
Mignon, Mignon (Thomas)
Siebel, Faust (Gounod)
The Secretary, The Consul, (Menotti)
Sextus, La Clemenza di Tito (Mozart)
Orlovsky, Die Fledermaus (Strauss)
Romeo, I Capuleti e I Montecchi (Bellini)
Mother Marie, Les dialogues des carmelites (Poulenc)
Sesto, Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Handel)
Dramatic Mezzo
Similar range (G3-B5) to that of the lyric mezzo, but with a fuller sound and a lower tessitura. Dramatic mezzos must sometimes perform alongside dramatic sopranos, and so their voices must be able to carry effectively despite singing in a lower tessitura.
Carmen, Carmen (Bizet)
Amneris, Aida (Verdi)
Dido, Dido and Aeneas (Purcell)
Eboli, Don Carlo (Verdi)
Fricka, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre (Wagner)
Ortrud, Lohengrin (Wagner)
Venus, Tannhauser (Wagner)
Leonora, La Favorita (Donizetti)
Adalgisa, Norma (Bellini)
La Principessa di Bouillon, Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilèa)
Azucena, Il trovatore (Verdi)
Madame de Croissy, Les dialogues des carmelites (Poulenc)
Laura, La Giaconda (Poncielli)
Charlotte, Werther, Massenet
Dalila, Samson et Dalila, (Saint-Saëns)
TO BE CONTINUED...