On Tue, 12 Feb 2002, genxhousewife wrote:
> After Karen's immensely helpful list of lyric soprano first roles, you > just knew somebody had to ask... > > what are some good first roles for mezzos?
LYRIC MEZZO
#1 would be Cherubino in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (of course)
Others:
Dorabella in COSI FAN TUTTE Zerlina in DON GIOVANNI (a role being cast increasingly with mezzos rather than soubrettes) Hansel in HANSEL UND GRETEL Rosina in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA Angelina in LA CENERENTOLA Isabella in L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI Stephano in ROMEO ET JULIETTE Nicklausse in LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN (learn Choudens version first, then learn Oeser) Cesare in GIULIO CESARE (also Cornelia and Tolomeo) Shepherd boy in TOSCA Lola in CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA Kate Pinkerton in MADAMA BUTTERFLY Meg Page in FALSTAFF
DRAMATIC MEZZO Young "baby dramatics" need to be careful about the contexts in which they consider performing their roles. If not vocally ready to take on the heavier roles, dramatic mezzos should start out with "full lyric" roles and even some lyric roles (e.g., Nicklausse, Dorabella) - see the "All Mezzos" list below - or undertake the true dramatic roles only in smaller houses, with smaller orchestras.
Mother and Witch in HANSEL UND GRETEL Frau Peachum in DER DREIGROSCHENOPER Ulrica in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA Eboli in DON CARLO Santuzza in CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA Amneris in AIDA Brangaene in TRISTAN UND ISOLDE Ortrud in LOHENGRIN Waltraute in DIE WALKYRIE and GOTTERDAMERUNG
ALL MEZZOS
Marcellina in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (you seldom get to do the aria, but learn it anyway) Orlofsky in DIE FLEDERMAUS Carmen (also Mercedes in CARMEN) Suzuki in MADAMA BUTTERFLY Miss Todd in THE OLD MAID AND THE THIEF Third Lady in DIE ZAUBERFLOTE Charlotte in WERTHER Mama Lucia in CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA Olga in EUGENE ONEGIN Jenny Diver in DER DREIGROSCHENOPER Dame Quickly in FALSTAFF Augusta Tabor in THE BALLAD OF BABY DOE Bearded Lady in THE RAKE'S PROGRESS La Abuela in LA VIDA BREVE
OPERETTAS:
Lyric Mezzos: Tessa in THE GONDOLIERS Valencienne in DIE LUSTIGE WITWE (also sung by soubrettes)
Dramatic Mezzos: Ruth in PIRATES OF PENZANCE, Duchess of Plaza Toro in GONDOLIERS, Little Buttercup in HMS PINAFORE, Katisha in THE MIKADO, and other G&S contralto roles
All Mezzos: Old Lady in CANDIDE
Karen Mercedes http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html *************************************** What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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