tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post471921489140389439..comments2024-03-25T09:01:20.997-07:00Comments on Diary of an Autodidact: The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo GoldoniDiary of an Autodidacthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-45569623730130632762015-11-09T00:18:21.784-08:002015-11-09T00:18:21.784-08:00I hadn't thought of that, but after this comme...I hadn't thought of that, but after this comment, I went and looked it up in my Milton Cross, and by gum, you are right! <br /><br />Even in our (Western) pop music, the tenor and the soprano are the ranges of the romantic leads, rather than the messo - or particularly the bass. <br /><br />One could, I suppose, get into the use of the bass/baritone as the comic character (I am particularly fond of the comedic bass in The Magic Flute and The Bartered Bride.) Or one could go down the rabbit hole of how the ranges are used in Oratorios. The difference, perhaps, between the voice of John the Baptist and that of God - or Elijah. Clearly, in any case, altos get no respect. ;) <br /><br />I'll admit to being a fan of Russian music in general, and the old Orthodox hymns in particular. Rimsky Korsakov's "Russian Easter." Love playing that one. Or the opening to Tchaikovsky's 1812. Serious chills up the spine. Someday, I get to play viola on that one. Diary of an Autodidacthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-25706187640497263892015-11-07T16:29:17.590-08:002015-11-07T16:29:17.590-08:00I once heard a music professor say (in a Teaching ...I once heard a music professor say (in a Teaching Company course of the history of opera) that in Russian opera, the male voice roles are reversed, i.e. the hero is the bass and the villain is the tenor. Given Russian choral music's fascination with basses, I'm not surprised.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com