The evolution of the heldentenor: Siegmund, Grimes, Samson, and Otello

Abstract

The purpose of this manuscript is to set into context a recital which highlights the attributes of the Heldentenor. The recital was held on 11 March 2014 and was comprised of operatic excerpts from Wagner's Die Walküre (1870), Saints-Saëns' Samson et Dalila (1877), Britten's Peter Grimes (1945), and Verdi's Otello (1887). All four of these operas have become mainstays in the repertoire of the Heldentenor. The program from the recital appears in the appendix at the end of this manuscript, and the program includes translations of the operatic excerpts and the text of spoken introductions that were read as part of the recital. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Heldentenor voice classification has played an integral role in popular opera theater. The origin of the Heldentenor classification can be traced back to the abrupt change in the performance practice of the upper register of the tenor voice with the now famous performance of the full-throated, chest high Cs in Rossini's Guillame Tell sung by Gilbert-Louis Duprez (1806-1896) at the national opera in Paris in 1837. As the technique involving the upper register of the tenor voice changed, the vocal and dramatic demands placed on the voice type increased. By the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Heldentenor voice classification had emerged from the popular operatic compositions of Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, and several of their contemporaries. Since that time, this voice type has played a major role in opera theater. In fact, the creation of the Heldentenor marked a shift in vocal pedagogy and musical style for the tenor voice that has had wide ranging effects for generations of singers and composers. Even though the cultivation of the heavier Heldentenor often requires time, patience, and careful training, new artists possessing the rare dramatic vocal color and the ability to sing over large, powerful orchestras continued to emerge throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The purpose of this manuscript and accompanying recital is to define the Heldentenor in terms of its voice classification and dramatic musical style. A pedagogical discussion on the Heldentenor voice and an understanding of the distinctions between voice classification and the Fach system are central to this purpose. Also, the history and development of the heroic voice type are imperative in order to understand its evolution. Through commentaries, biographical material, reviews, and articles, this manuscript will explain the forces that led to the creation, establishment, and subsequent progression of one of the most specialized and rarest of voice types in the operatic repertory, the Heldentenor. Students and teachers attempting to train in this difficult voice classification must understand the history of the repertoire and persons who have achieved success singing it. For this reason, an account of the important Heldentenors who have propelled the voice type forward will also be included in the discussion. This manuscript will provide a better understanding of both the historical and developing trends that contribute to the Heldentenor voice in order to provide new singers with better insight regarding the training and performance practice of the Fach.