Helden

Tenor:
Fach or Fiction?

by

Douglas Olson

Submitted to Dr. Brian Horne

of the Jacobs School of Music in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the course: Independent Study/MUS-E695,
Indiana University,
May, 2012

It has long been the elusive dream of many a male singer to don the knights armor of
Lohengrin. There have been a rare few throughout history who were capable of meeting the
demands of Wagners opera roles. The final act of Tristan und Isolde requires the tenor lead to
sing for just over ninety minutes. It contains three major arias of a high and sustained tessitura in
the passaggio, requires the singers voice to carry fully over an orchestra of eighty pieces and is
generally staged with the tenor laying on his side in a mad delirium. Who are these rare singers?
How do we recognize the fach? What did Wagner expect from them as he invented the roles for
this new class of singer? How do we identify helden tenors in their younger years? How do we
train them from a pedagogical perspective? What exercises and repertoire should we use as
voice teachers to build the voice? And lastly, when is a singer ready to don the armor?
It is generally considered that within the classification of tenor there are five types:
!
!
!
!
!

Light or Leggiero:
Lyric or Lyric Coloratura:
Spinto:
Dramatic:
Helden:

Helden is considered to be the rarest of all tenor voice types. Almost everyone agrees on some
basic ingredients of it:
!
!
!
!

Baritonal in sound
Stamina
Unusually rich and dark sounding (even in the highest registers)
Very powerful

These general descriptions barely scratch the surface of the reality of the voice type. By the
middle of the 19th century, both Verdi and Wagner were writing operas with increasing
instrumental forces, as well as dramatic intensity. This development, coupled with the advances
being made in the pedagogical technique of tenors resulted in the writing of roles that required

them to not only have an extended, full voice range, but the sheer power to carry over the sound
of orchestras with up to one hundred members.
Prior to this time, tenor was generally seen as a voice type that would sing full voice to G4
and then use the falsetto or head voice up to a C5 or D5. But, tenors continued to stretch the full
weight of their voices higher and higher.1 The result was an incredibly full and dramatic sound
that supplanted the castrati for leading roles.
Composers began to exploit this new vocal capacity with larger and heavier roles. In Italy,
Puccini and Verdi led the way with roles such as, Otello and Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del
west. But it was Richard Wagner who took tenor to the size and power now considered helden
with the roles of Tristan in Tristan und Isolde, Tannhauser and Siegfried in the Ring cycle.
Helden is the German word for heroic. The German fach categorization system classifies
singers according to the roles they can sing. There are two basic types of helden tenor in this
classification, the helden, and the jugendlicher heldentenor (young heroic tenor). Within
these two types, helden is similar to a dramatic or robusto tenor in the Italian classification and
the younger would be comparable to a lyric-spinto. The roles for these two types are as follows:2
Helden:
! Rienzi, Rienzi
! Tannhuser, Tannhuser
! Lohengrin, Lohengrin
! Tristan, Tristan und Isolde
! Siegmund, die Walkre
! Siegfried, Siegfried
! Mime, Siegfried
! Parsifal, Parsifal
Jugend licher heldentenor:

1 The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Oxford Music Online, s.v. Tenor,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O008559 (accessed
April 4, 2012).
2 Ibid.

!
!
!
!
!

Erik, Der fliegende Hollnder

Lohengrin, Lohengrin (sung by both types)
Walther von Stolzing, Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg
Froh, Das Rheingold
Parsifal, Parsifal (we see Parsifal in both types mainly because while the role isnt
overly high, it requires someone who is young and handsome)

It must be noted at this point that Wagner himself never used the term helden, but it is
obvious that he wrote his operas with a clear idea of what he wanted from the tenor roles.
Because of this, it was difficult for him to find tenors capable of singing these parts, and on
occasion, it is reported that he had to cut out sections of a work to make them more accessible for
the available singers.
Joseph Tichatschek, the Bohemian who created Rienzi and Tannhuser, had
earlier sung Tamino at Dresden: when he had difficulty in singing a passage in the Act 2
finale of Tannhuser Wagner obligingly cut it before the premire (1845). Aloys Ander,
who sang Lohengrin when Wagner first heard his opera (1861), had previously
introduced the roles of Raoul, John of Leyden, Faust and Arnold to Vienna; when Tristan
und Isolde was under consideration there it was proposed that Ander should sing Tristan,
but he lost his voice and his nerve and stood down, despite Wagner's offer to shorten Act
3. When the Paris version of Tannhuser was given at the Opra in 1861, Albert
Niemann, having often sung the title role, as well as that of Rienzi and Lohengrin, in
Germany, refused Wagner's suggestions on performance or interpretation. Ludwig
Schnorr von Carolsfeld, who created Tristan at Munich in 1865, considered it an honour
to work with the composer and Wagner in turn admired his Lohengrin, Tannhuser (in
which he restored the cut made for Tichatschek) and Tristan. Schnorr died, aged 29, five
weeks after the Tristan premire.3
Later in the same article, it is mentioned that Schorr died from complications of a cold caught
while performing the last act of Tristan in 1865. Wagner was reportedly distraught at the news
of his death. Schorr was most certainly one of Wagners favorite tenors, and wrote of him that
his tone was full, soft and gleaming.4
The first historical instance we can find of the term heroic in regards to Wagners roles
is from a quote by Berlioz in response to hearing Joseph Tichatscheck sing Rienzi. He said that

3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.

Tichatschecks voice was, elegant, impassioned and heroic.5 Other words used to describe
these early interpreters of Wagners tenor roles are, baritonal, elegiac, legato, rich,
full, velvety and powerful. In Wagners day, these singers were routinely referred to as
tenorbariton.
As Wagner created more repertoire for this new kind of tenor, it logically follows that
singers who could perform these roles would start to specialize in them, and other composers
would create roles for them as well. In one instance, the voice type has been attached to an
earlier opera because of the suitable tessitura and scope (Beethoven: Florestan, Fidelio). Here are
the operatic roles, other than Wagners own which most directors, coaches and singers agree are
suitable for a helden:
Beethoven
! Florestan, Fidelio
Strauss
! Herod, Salome
! Aegisth, Elektra
! Bacchus, Ariadne auf Naxos
! The Emperor, Die Frau ohne Schatten
! Menelaus, Die gyptische Helena
! Apollo, Daphne
Berg
! Drum Major, Wozzeck
Korngold
! Paul, Die tote Stadt
! The Stranger, Das Wunder der Heliane
The above list represents the norm as defined by the German fach system. When auditioning
for a particular role or opera company, a singer must be realistic with the kinds of roles he or she

5 Ibid.

would be hired to perform. This has become far more complex than simply being able to sing a
role. Factors such as physical appearance, height, weight, and dramatic ability all play a part in
the process of opera casting.
Richard Miller suggests that many young singers are too obsessed with finding and
labeling their own fach. It is rarely possible for a teacher of singing or a voice coach
precisely to pinpoint a singers fach during the early years of singing.6 Miller goes on to assert
that this would include the college years. Many, if not most, professional voice teachers would
agree with Miller on this point. Many young men are lured to attempt the helden roles too early
in their development. Tenors are among the highest paid singers in opera, and true heldens are
extremely rare. The temptation to explore the possibility of singing the helden roles can be very
powerful for young singers, and in some cases, their teachers. We will see that there are
physiological reasons that the helden voice type does not become possible to sing for most until
their thirties or forties.
The other side of the helden dilemma is that many young heldens labeled early on as
baritones struggle with the low and high ends of the expected baritone range. If a singer is gifted
with a powerful, rich sound and strong musical ability, it is highly likely that they will push
beyond the physical maturity and limitations of their instrument in an effort to sing
professionally. The weight of their expectations, coupled with the vocal struggles can cause
some to become discouraged with singing, and give up on the endeavor altogether.
To illustrate some of these struggles, lets take a look at the personal testimonies of some
notable helden tenors:

6 Richard Miller, On the Art of Singing, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996),
200.

Jonas Kaufman (concerning events at age 27)

Constant hoarseness was part of my everyday life, sometimes during a performance.
Once, singing the small part of a Knappe (squire) in Parsifal I hardly knew that I would
make it to the end of the evening! I came to the point where I thought that I should quit
the theatre and go back to maths. What finally rescued me was meeting Michael Rhodes,
an American voice teacher who lives in Trier. I would drive there several times a week.
The things he taught me brought about a watershed in my whole life. He was the first
person to unearth my natural voice and who taught me how to relax my body while
singing. My voice got compacter and darker, the hoarseness vanished. Finally, my
profession began really being fun!7
Ben Heppner (who was thirty years old at the start of his career)
I've never thought of myself as a dramatic tenor, that's only part of it. I've always thought
of myself as being more of a lyric tenor, but having a voice that's large enough to do the
bigger things. The tenor range is very much more precarious. We seem to have higher
voices, but really, we don't; it's just that we learn to sing up there. And it's very much
more precarious than singing as a baritone.8
Lauritz Melchior (at age 28)
Madame Cahier found that my voice quality was that of a helden tenor, and she wrote a
letter to the directorate of the Royal Opera. She also pointed out that the development of
a helden tenor voice from a baritone would take years of study and be very costly.9
James King (at age 53)
I didnt sing any Wagner until I was thirty-eight years old. The following year, in 63, I
sang my first Lohengrin, and then at age 40 I sang my first Walkre. That was my
second Wagner. I was 42 for my first Parsifal and that year, too, I sang my first Flying
Dutchman. I was about forty-five years of age when I sang my first Walther von
Stolzing.10

7 Margarida Mota-Bull, "Jonas Kaufmann: A Personal Impression! Seen and Heard
International. http://www.seenandheard-international.com/jonas-kaufmann-a-personal-
impression/ (accessed April 9, 2012)
8 FanFaire Publications LLC., "FanFaire Celebrates Ben Heppner, Heldentenor: an
Interview." FanFaire The Webzine. http://fanfaire.com/Heppner/index.htm (accessed
April 9, 2012)
9 Ib Melchior, and Lauritz Melchior, Lauritz Melchior: The Golden Years of Bayreuth,
(Fort Worth, TX: Baskerville Publishers, 2003), 1.
10 Bruce Duffie, "James King: Interview with Bruce Duffie, Bruce Duffie Website,
http://www.bruceduffie.com/king.html (accessed April 10, 2012)

It quickly becomes apparent, that helden tenor is generally not realized in a voice until at
least the age of thirty. For many, it can be even later. The physical demands of the helden
classification can only be met when a voice has matured enough physically. There are some
physiological reasons for this. The thyroid, arytenoid and cricoid cartilages begin to ossify (to
become rigid and bone-like) in the twenties.11 Until these significant structures are rigid enough
to hold the vocal cords securely while making the transition into the passaggio, this range of the
singing voice can be extremely unstable. When the voice makes this transition, the thyroid
cartilage pivots down stretching the vocal folds thinner and tighter while at the same time
shortening the distance between the vocal folds and the cricoid cartilage, which allows the
muscles connecting the two (vocalis muscles) to relax and thicken. It is at this critical point of
juxtaposition that a larynx without sufficient ossification can become unstable resulting in the
tell tale cracking or break in the tone. The illustration from Johns Hopkins University (fig. 1)
shows clearly the interconnectedness of the vocal folds, vocalis muscles, and the three main
cartilages.

Fig. 112

11 Jody Kreiman, and Diana Sidtis, Foundations of Voice Studies: An Interdisciplinary
Approach to Voice Production and Perception, (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), 28.
12 Johns Hopkins University, Singing Voice,
http://www.singingvoice.net/anatomy.html (accessed July 2, 2012)

The larynx continues its process of ossification through the thirties with the hardening of
the arytenoids. Complete ossification of the larynx happens in the mid sixties for most people.
In addition to these changes, the larynx steadily drops lower in the neck throughout an
individuals lifetime.13 The changes of hormones in the body also affect the vocal process. In
puberty, a male larynx will change radically in orientation and size due to increased testosterone
levels. The vocal cords themselves will thicken and become firmer as a result of this increased
testosterone level.14 Medical science has not yet reached a point where we can predict with
certainty how each of these physical changes directly relates to phonation. But, it is clear that
until the male larynx is ready to carry the weight of this register physiologically, the singer will
struggle with keeping it stable.
These physical changes affect all singers over the course of their lifetime in varying
ways. It is clear that classification of a voice is not a fixed or permanent science. Choral
instructors of high school age young people should understand this reality, and teach each of
their young singers that the size, range and overall classification of their voice will naturally
change as they age. Keeping all of this in mind, we will find that identifying a young helden
tenor at the ages of fifteen, eighteen or even into the mid twenties will not be, nor should ever be
seen as a permanent classification.
However, there are some common characteristics of the helden sound and experience that
may provide clues as to what the young singer will eventually become. While some tenors will
find their voice grows into the fach as they age, the vast majority will come from the baritone
ranks as they mature. Remember that in Wagners time, the designation used for these voices

13 Kreiman and Sidtis, 30.
14 Alan Watson, The Biology of Musical Performance and Performance-Related Injury,
(Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2009), 148.

was, tenorbariton. Using all of the information up to this point, here are some initial markers
that could indicate the possible presence of a helden tenor:
#1. The general timbre of the voice is very rich, sonorous and baritone-like.
#2. Compared to other baritones of comparable age and vocal development, they may be
markedly less capable of singing notes over C4 and higher.
#3. Compared to other baritones of comparable age and vocal development, they may be
unable to produce a focused sound at C3 and lower.
#4. In the middle of their range (around G3) their voice may be remarkably developed
and mature sounding compared to other singers of comparable age and vocal
development.
While the presence of these indicators cannot be construed as a definitive predictor of the
future singing voice, they can be a strong signal to a voice teacher of the potential. As with any
young singer, the best course of action is to help them develop a strong technical foundation, and
good pedagogical habits. The basics of singing must be worked into the fabric of everything
they do vocally.
! Proper body alignment
! Proper breathing technique
! A relaxed larynx, tongue and jaw
! Development of an open pharyngeal space and raised soft palate
! Development of vocal range
As the singer ages and develops, building a reliable technique for transitioning into the
upper range or head voice is crucial. Passaggio is the Italian word for passage. The concept that
the singer is opening up a passage to the upper register is close to the reality of the physical
function. The foundation of this passage is a relaxed jaw, tongue, larynx and raised soft palate.
For many singers, the urge to tense the neck or jaw may seem essential for the voice to go higher

but tension will close the passage in effect. It is crucial for the singer to understand that singing
in the upper range can only happen in the absence of tension. To establish this idea early in a
students lessons, it can be helpful to watch Bill Cosbys famous bit about going to the dentist,
and the results of Novocain when administered to the lower jaw.15 Another tool to help the
student obtain this relaxed position is the vowel sound []. With the [] position of the
tongue, raised soft palate and a relaxed jaw, the tenors voice will be in the best position to
transition through the passaggio. So much of a tenors success in extending the top of his range
can be found by simply relaxing the larynx to a low position in the neck. The muscles in the
neck that allow the larynx to rest in a low position are involuntary but they will respond when the
voluntary muscles of the jaw and tongue are purposefully relaxed. There is no successful way to
manipulate or push the voice into the tenor register. The successful passage is accomplished
through the absence of tension.
The next area to develop is a raised soft palate. With the soft palate in a raised, domed
position, the resonating cavities of the nasal pharynx may be activated. This ring is crucial in
the heldens sound if there is any hope of the voice carrying over a powerful orchestra. The
other benefit of a raised soft palate is that the reflex involved in raising it also relaxes and lowers
the larynx. A useful tool to this end is to ask the student to imagine being surprised or
frightened. The involuntary muscles of the throat and palate will always open to accommodate
the onset of the fight or flight stimulus.
The extension of the tenors range should not be attempted until there is a complete lack
of tension and urge to push the sound. It is the tension caused in trying to push or muscle
the sound higher that almost invariably leads to cracking across the break. In the early stages of

15 Bill Cosby, YouTube - Broadcast Yourself,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBqY6cJD3CE (accessed April 23, 2012)

10

development, the head register will sound very dark and hollow. It will be important to help the
student understand that this sound is a desired and necessary part of the voices development.
Many Italian singers and teachers refer to head voice singing as vomitare la voce,16 or
in English, vomit the voice. Imagining the bodys process in preparing to vomit is a good
mental image to help a tenor access the protecting mechanism that will lead to a consistent sound
in the head voice. There are many differing opinions regarding what the exact term for singing
in the head voice should be labeled. A good option for male singers would be protecting the
voice. All of the worlds greatest tenors have utilized this mechanism to sing through the
passaggio and into the higher register. The great Luciano Pavarotti provided a wonderful
description of the technique during one of the master classes he taught in New York during the
seventies. He described how the protecting technique puts the vocal cords in a position of rest
because they are only vibrating in the middle. He gives a demonstration of singing to F#4 both
in a strangled, full voice and then in the protected position. The resulting sound is both
remarkable, free and in his words, noble.17 All tenors should watch this video clip every day
until they master the technique for themselves. The process of transitioning to the protected
sound should start around B3 or C4 and gradually transition through the primo passaggio. The
goal is to mix or blend the sounds of the chest voice and head voice so no obvious change is
heard between the two.
There are some other key ingredients in this process. The first is teaching the singer to
pull the breath from the abdomen with more intensity as he transitions into the protected sound.

16 Karyn OConnor, Singing-Wise, http://www.singwise.com/cgi-
bin/main.pl?section=articles&doc=VowelsFormantsAndModifications&page=3 (accessed
July 20, 2012)
17 Luciano Pavarotti, YouTube - Broadcast Yourself,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo6dDQiBGyI (accessed April 11, 2012)

11

There should be a noticeable gathering around the waist as the protecting mechanism is engaged.
Be careful not to let this pull cause tension anywhere in the neck, shoulders or face. Another
important ingredient is helping the singer understand that it is not necessary to drop the jaw
excessively or try to open the mouth too far when singing in the head voice. The jaw should not
be lowered or raised and the head should be in a relaxed and balanced position with no tension in
the back of the neck. Likewise, the shoulders will be in a relaxed position with the chest resting
in an expanded and elevated posture. The involuntary muscles connected to the larynx will
respond negatively to any tension in the face, jaw, neck and shoulders.
There are a number of exercises that can be beneficial in a young tenors development.
Take each of the following exercises slowly, never pushing the voice higher. Allow the voice to
travel up freely in a relaxed manner. Constantly remind the tenor that singing helden is the
opposite of pushing or manipulating.
Vocal Exercises:
#1. Slow descending [a] on a five-tone scale starting in the lower part of the singers
range, and ascending by half step. In the early stages of lessons, it may help the student to start
each progressing repetition with an ng sound (as in Ping Pong). The brief ng attack will help
focus the sound and provide a gentle onset to phonation. As the student approaches the primo
passaggio (B3) he should modify the [a] towards the [] sound in increasing amounts on each
repetition until by E4 or F4 there is a completely dark [] vowel. There is no need to attempt to
stretch the range past the secondo passaggio (F4 or F#4) at this point. Once the secondo
passaggio is reached, the exercise should work back down by half step back to the middle of the
range.18

18 Timothy Noble, interview with author, Bloomington, IN, January 1, 2009.

12

Ex. 1
#2. The same set of descending five note scale tones can next be used while the student
sings [i]-[a] on each note. There should be no movement in the jaw between the [i] and [a]
vowels. This will necessitate the raising of the back of the tongue to produce the pure [i] vowel
rather than widening the mouth (which will raise the larynx). As the primo passaggio is entered
(B3) it will be important for the student to incorporate the [] position in the back of the mouth.
In the beginning, the student will struggle with this, and he should pronounce [] rather than
allow any tension into the voice by producing the brighter vowel sounds. As the student gains
confidence with the relaxed [] he will find it easier to modify it with the back of the tongue
towards the brighter sounds. He should be instructed that no sound should be attempted that
would cause any tension in the jaw or larynx, nor should he push as the pitches get higher. In
the early stages, there is no need to take this exercise past F4 or F#4. Once the student is fully
protecting his sound with a relaxed jaw and larynx position it will be easy for him to go past
the secondo passaggio. This exercise should continue back down by half step into the middle of
the singers range.19

Ex. 2

19 Ibid.

13

#3. The Sigh: The next exercise is commonly referred to as a sigh.20 Without
assigning any specific pitch, the singer starts on a note towards the top of his chest range and
sighs or yawns on an [] with a long glissando down. The student repeats the exercise each
time starting a bit higher (as far as he can with a fully relaxed jaw and tongue). If performed
correctly, the singer will naturally cover the sound above the passaggio and relax it into the chest
voice as it lowers.
#4. The Siren: As the name suggests, the singer starts in the bottom of his range and
using an [] vowel glissandos to the upper register and back down. With each repetition the
singer should attempt to stretch higher (as long as there is no tension in the jaw or larynx).
#5. Octave Stretches: This exercise starts toward the bottom of the singers range on a B2
or Bb2. Using an [a] vowel, the singer glissandos up exactly one octave. This upward motion
should remain completely connected from top to bottom. On the top pitch, the singer should
decrescendo to a mezza voce and then crescendo back to mezzo forte. The student then descends
by major scale degrees back to the starting pitch. All of this is done on one breath. The exercise
is repeated going up by half step. It is critical to encourage the student to darken towards [] and
relax the jaw and larynx as the pitches go higher. As the singer arrives at E4 or F4, the sound
should be protected completely. There is no need to push this exercise past the secondo
passaggio at F4 or F#4. Once the top is reached, the exercise should be repeated going back
down to the lower range. Another tip for this exercise is to allow the singer to not decrescendo
and crescendo on the top few notes until he is comfortable doing so with a completely protected
sound.21

20 Stephen W. Smith, and Michael Chipman, The Naked Voice: A Wholistic Approach to
Singing, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 70.
21 Noble.

14

Ex. 3
#6. Once the singer has progressed significantly in the previous exercises, the addition of
Lilli Lehmanns Great Scale can be a good voice-building tool. This is a slow [i]-[a] vowel
progression on each pitch of a slowly ascending major scale and back down. Breaths are taken
on the fifth and eighth scale tones. It is important to keep the sound even and balanced through
the entire range.22 It is also imperative that the singer never push at any point in the exercise.
Each students voice should be allowed to develop at its own pace. There is no rushing the
maturation of a helden tenor, and a terrible down side if the teacher creates an expectation the
student cant obtain.

Ex. 4
The next step in the singers development is to take his technique and apply it to song
literature. For a young singer, the first few songs should have an easy tessitura, and yet be
interesting enough to capture his imagination. Another consideration is to find songs readily

22 Lilli Lehman, How to Sing, Rev. ed. (New York: Dover Publications, 1993), 239.

15

available in both medium/low and high editions. It is far easier for the young tenor to sing
songs that are familiar in the early stages of his development (see appendix).
While learning these pieces in the higher keys, using a neutral vowel like [] instead of
the words will be helpful for the tenor to navigate the passaggio. As the pieces become more
familiar, singing only the vowels will help the student find the correct alignment for his voice.
Only after the piece can be comfortably sung with no tension on the vowels should the
consonants be added. In general, the consonants and brighter vowels should never be allowed to
interfere with the singers core sound. Doing so will generally introduce tension back into the
larynx.23 The singer must learn to modify all of the vowel sounds to fit in the [] space. This
will take some time and patience, as the shape for a bright vowel sound will come from the back
of the tongue rather than the widening of the mouth or tensing of the jaw.
As the singers technique stabilizes and a consistent and relaxed sound is the norm, pieces of
a more difficult nature will be necessary if the student intends to proceed with a career. The first
opera arias should come from the repertoire of the lyric baritone. Here are some potential
choices that are all rewarding to sing, and should fit well in the voice of the young helden. These
all represent roles this young singer could potentially take on successfully as well.
Suggested Baritone Arias:
! Old Maid and the Thief: When the Air Sings of Summer/Menotti
! Don Pasquale: Bella siccome unangelo/Donizetti
! Gianni Schicchi: Si corre dal notaio/Puccini
! Hansel und Gretel: Ach, wir armen Leute!/Humperdinck
! Hamlet: vin dissipe la tristesse/Thomas

23 Anthony Frisell, The Tenor voice: a Personal Guide to Acquiring a Superior Singing
Technique, Rev. ed. (Wellesley, MA: Branden Publishing Company, 2007), 80.

16

The first few helden tenor arias will need to be carefully chosen as well. It will be
quickly apparent if the young helden is ready for these pieces. If he appears to be pushing
or growing tired while singing the aria, hes not ready for it. In this circumstance, it would
be advisable to simply acknowledge this fact and keep singing the baritone repertoire.
Nature will not allow there to be any hurry or rushing the process. Dont start
scheduling auditions or competitions as a helden until a complete tenor aria package of five
songs can comfortably be sung in one sitting.
Suggested Helden Tenor Arias:
! Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg: Walthers Prize Song/Wagner
! Das Rheingold: Umsonst sucht'ich/Wagner
! Lohengrin: In fernem Land/Wagner
! Die Walkure: Winterstrme/Wagner
If the young helden succeeds at these pieces, he will be ready to start coaching the
helden roles for which he is best suited. At this point, you will have both invested many
years, and sacrificed a great deal. The chance to be considered a helden tenor, and the joy
of singing some of the most challenging tenor roles ever written is not only a rare privilege,
but a responsibility. This quote in closing is from one of the greatest helden tenors to ever
don the armor.
Regard

your voice as capital in the bank. Sing on your interest and your voice will last.

Lauritz Melchior24

24 Melchior and Melchior, preface.

17

18

Appendix:

English:
15 ART SONGS BY BRITISH COMPOSERS
High Voice/Medium Voice Books with a CD of accompaniments
Boosey & Hawkes

15 RECITAL SONGS IN ENGLISH
High Voice/Low Voice Books with a CD of accompaniments
Boosey & hawkes

Italian:
28 ITALIAN SONGS AND ARIAS OF THE
SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES
Based on the editions by Alessandro Parisotti
with historcial notes, word for word translation and IPA.
High Voice/Medium Voice Books
Boosey & Hawkes

French:
FRENCH ART SONGS VOLUME 1 & 2
With recorded native speaker diction lessons and
piano accompaniments; includes IPA.
High Voice/Low Voice Books
Boosey & Hawkes

German:
FAVORITE GERMAN ART SONGS VOLUME 1 & 2
With recorded native speaker diction lessons and
piano accompaniments; includes IPA
High Voice/Low Voice Books
Boosey and Hawkes












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