Talk:Mezzo-soprano

Welcome to the :Mezzo-soprano discussion page
Constructive suggestions and discussion welcome! The contents of this page are for ongoing discussions. For past discussions please see the archives. CAUTION: Link in Reference #3 is to a malware site. 70.36.236.73 (talk) 20:17, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

Range?
It says vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types." Shouldn't this say between soprano and alto? Fool4jesus (talk) 17:36, 1 January 2016 (UTC)
 * No, there is a difference: see alto. Double sharp (talk) 16:12, 9 May 2016 (UTC)
 * The is a difference. Contralto is a female voice type, while alto is a music range not necessarily for voice. Alto is used in choral music and is not a voice type for female solo singers. The definition given in the wiki is not entirely correct. The soprano and mezzo-soprano designations have more to do with color and timbre than range. 149.76.64.175 (talk) 18:22, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

Jessie J
According to her Wikipedia entry she is classed as a mezzo-soprano. I am unsure however what type she is so she could be listed along side other singers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_J Could somebody correct me or add her where appropriate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Martynjsimpson (talk • contribs) 21:47, 17 November 2011 (UTC)

Term only used in opera, it says
That may be the case in English, but is that necessarily the case in the popular music traditions in every other language, where their popular music may very well be less dumbed down than that in English? Varlaam (talk) 18:21, 12 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Not the case in English, I came here after reading that Whitney Houston's voice was in the Mezzo-soprano range.71.63.160.210 (talk) 03:55, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

Roles
Is there any definitive reference for sorting out roles by voice type? An encyclopedia of sorts? Right now there are no cited sources for any of these roles that are listed. SpiritedMichelle (talk) 03:05, 11 June 2015 (UTC)

Mezzo vs other/older voice types
Of course many roles assigned to mezzo-sopranos these days have a bel canto component, but the WP article on Bellini's La sonnambula explains that mezzo-soprano was not a recognized type of singing voice (and under that name) in the early-to-mid 19th century. Instead there were soprano sfogato (a wider and more technically brilliant combo of soprano and contralto), counter-tenors and castrato voices. The emergence of mezzos as a recognized vocal type would be a later development, likely to do with the more dense and exuberant orchestrations of the late romantic era (Wagner, Mahler, Debussy etc). Could someone look into this and get it confirmed? It sounds like a logical development and if it did happen that way, then it belongs in this article. 83.251.170.27 (talk) 01:33, 5 July 2016 (UTC)

Potential edit warring on the voice types articles
See Talk:Bass_(voice_type). Kuulopuhe (talk) 13:35, 30 January 2024 (UTC)