only tenors for lead roles now?

Well generally if the leads are young like teenagers/young adults, their tenors or baritenors, but when their older like in Sweeney and La Cage they're more baritones. But then again most of the leads in the "Golden Age of Broadway" are baritones. I guess people just like men singing high.

Basses of the world unite! lol

Actually, my range has shifted, so I am now a baritone, so I'm all set. But yes, I have noticed the tendency to lean towards baritones/tenors for roles recently.

Wait, so just to be clear, what should the range of a bari-tenor be then?? (While we're on this, what about a tenor and a baritone?)

I guess I see that there are a lot of shows with baritone leads too, but it just seems like the musicals that are written recently require tenors as leads (or I guess bari-tenors also then).

high baritone ljay :)

Good tenors can hit a c below middle c and the c above middle c, a good baritone/high baritone can sing up to a G above middle c and i think a G below middle C. I've sung soprano parts and I'm a tenor! Score..tghat's the falsetto. A tenor 2 is higher isn't it? So that technically is called a counter-tenor which can go up to about an F that's alto land right there..and damn high.

Most modern musicals are now written with pop music, which tends to be high in general. Tenors are definitely "in" right now as far as pop music goes--the women of our generation seem to favor tenor boyishness (i.e. Justin Timberlake) to baritone manliness (Frank Sinatra), so when people are writing a musical, they tend to adhere to this and write the romantic lead as a tenor. Modern women are more likely to be attracted to a Link Larkin than an Emile DeBeque, and our music reflects that. It's hard to explain, but I just woke up and that's the best I can do...

By the way sweeedboy, what are you talking about? Raul Esparza, Brian Darcy James and Norbert Leo Butz are all definitely tenors. And no baritone will ever be asked to hit a B flat full voice. The highest a baritone (and I mean a baritone, not a tenor with no high notes) should have to sing is a G.

Updated On: 1/17/05 at 12:52 PM

Just out of curiosity, are directors strict on people having a very specific voice for a character? For example, I want to audition for Maureen in a few years if RENT is still going but if I want a shot does that mean i HAVE To have a rock and roll voice?

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And, yes, dreamcatcher, you need a rock/pop voice to play Maureen in Rent. The show is a pop/rock show. If you're young and studying singing, then you should make it a priority to learn a good pop mix belt. You need to be able to do both. Kerry Butler went from Belle in Beauty and The Beast to Penny in Hairspray. Very different sounds.

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Updated On: 1/17/05 at 01:53 PM

Thanks bbroadwaybb. Yeah the reason I ask is because I'm going to start voice lessons soon and I was trying to decide what kind of training I should look into.

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Marco, It is not bad to sing only a tenor range, it's better then only singing baritone these days, but it would be helpful to develop your lower register. It balances it out. And in a very rangy songs, you'll be asked to sing low notes as well.

Dreamcatcher, I don't know how old you are or where you live or what teachers are available to you. The current sound on broadway is that of Sutton Foster, high mix belt. It is not full voice Merman anymore. All the girls do pretty much the same technique. It is a mix that sounds like a very convincing belt. ex: Suttin Foster, Kerry Butler, Kristen Chenoweth (when she belts), Idina is mixing those high notes in defying gravity. The trick though is that they don't sound like they're mixing. If you're young and don't live in a big city, I would say that you should find a teacher who will encourge you, not get you paranoid about your voice, not get you too stiff or heady with technique. You want an easy free open sound. If your question is about whether to study classical or not, I say it depends how old you are, if you have time to study classically, that's a great base, but if you're about to move to NY or audition for schools, I would find someone who does more of a broadway thing.

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Wow thanks for the info. It really helps!

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I'm almost 16 and I live in southern California. I live really close to Hollywood so there are alot of options as far as voice teachers go but I dont want to spend tons and tons of money on a celebrity trainer etc.

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