To your point, I think we can all agree that the _fach_ system and any othre system of categorization can only approximate reality. Of course, there are going to be "shades of grey" singers who don't neatly fall into any category - who have passagios which aren't quite where they are "supposed to be" - who, for reasons of technique or physiognomy, may never attain the highest note they are "supposed to have" in their category.
I don't have any doubt that Domingo is and always was a tenor. His timbre is NOT particularly baritonal, compared as you say to Vinay (who may not have been a true tenor, in any case), or Melchior, or his own protege Jose Cura. Domingo's problem has always been a technical one - and it's incredibly visible when you watch him close up - he developed a bad habit with his tongue very early in his vocal career - a habit he is, in fact, quite aware of, and which he regrets, but which - like some people with smoking - he has never been able to overcome - which sets up all sorts of tensions when he "goes for" his top notes, and as a result, has probably shaved at least a whole note off his potential top.
I think a big part of how these "shades of grey" singers are categorized is decided by the singers themselves. Conchita Supervia chose to call herself a mezzo-soprano, though she also chose to sing the role of Musetta in BOHEME, and did so very successfully, and to my ears,at least, her timbre is not purely that of a mezzo, not even of a light lyric mezzo. It's a "not quite soprano" timbre, true, but it's also a "not quite mezzo" timbre. And yes, it may be true that Domingo, too, is in a "shade of grey" area - not quite tenor, not quite baritone. But I tend to doubt it, only because when I listen to recordings of his lyric tenor roles, I am left in no doubt whatever that it is a purely TENOR sound I'm hearing - yes, it's a tenor voice with more _scuro_ in it than Pavarotti's - but there's still far more _chiaro_ in the voice than, say, in Hampson's voice when Hampson dabbles in some of the same songs (e.g., compare the two singing "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz", and you'll hear what I mean).
Karen Mercedes http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html *************************************** Verdi and Wagner delighted the crowds With their highly original sound. The pianos they played are still working, But they're both six feet underground. - Michael Palin
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