Tenor

Tenors are rare, and like anything that’s rare, they’re glamorous. The highest normally occurring adult male voice, it’s far less common than the bass or baritone, with a thrilling ring to its top notes and a warmth and flexibility that frequently comes bundled with a formidable carrying power. It’s a voice that conveys youth, strength, and ardor, and tenors are the superstars of the operatic scene, with the biggest—Enrico Caruso and Luciano Pavarotti among them—becoming household names to rival any pop star. It wasn’t always like that. Baroque composers favored higher and lower voices. But since 1800, tenors have been the natural choice for operatic heroes—whether belting out showstopping high notes in spinto roles (such as Manrico in Verdi’s Il trovatore), pouring out the passion of young lovers like Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème, or exuding charm as operetta idols (like Danilo in The Merry Widow). The heldentenor (heroic tenor) is in a class of his own, bringing near-athletic levels of stamina and vocal power to epic roles such as Wagner’s Siegfried. But tenors are the kings of crossover too. A whole repertoire from Neapolitan songs to showtunes has evolved to capitalize on the mass appeal of the world’s favorite male voice.