Education

Baritone

The middle male voice, close to a French horn in range and tone color. The baritone usually plays villainous roles or father-figures. The range is from the G that is an octave and a half below middle C to G above.

In the early years of opera, all male roles that were not tenors were called basses. It was not until Verdi came along that baritones were actually given a name.

Perhaps their short existence is the reason they are not classified as distinctly as, say, sopranos. In general, baritones just call themselves baritones; however, there are a few instances in which they adopt a secondary title. Click on the pictures below to hear examples.

Famous Baritones:Bryn Terfel, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Thomas Hampson, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Rodney Gilfry