Yesterday, I had a long conversation with Perplexity, as usual. We were discussing vocal ranges, opera, and operetta. Anyway, I found a video that was perfect for me to test my range. Keep in mind that I am not accustomed to these notes as numbers, as this became popular after my time of study. But to make things easier, I will use them to explain my results.

youtube.com/watch?v=feuJ7sW2g7…

Apparently, My comfortable range is F3 to C5, with an extended range of D3 to F5, with the last two top notes feeling thin. I can also hit C3, but only quietly.

I then asked to hear various contraltos. I found a few, but almost all sang high, despite obviously being able to sing lower. So I then asked about songs sung by Tito Schipa, since our ranges overlap. I know he couldn't go as high as I (sources say he couldn't hit a high C), but I have never heard him hit a low note that I can't. Perplexity recommended the following.

1. "A te, o cara" from Bellini's "I Puritani"
2. Arias from Donizetti's "L'elisir d'amore", particularly Nemorino's parts.
3. Selections from Massenet's "Werther".
4. Arias from Donizetti's "Don Pasquale", especially Ernesto's recitatives.

Then, I began to wonder if there are any songs within operetta that would match me well. I received these in reply.

1. "Vilja-Lied" from Franz Lehár's "The Merry Widow"
2. "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" from Sigmund Romberg's "The New Moon" (I need to find a tenor version, aas it was originally written for a baritone.)
3. "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life" from Victor Herbert's "Naughty Marietta"
4. "I'm Falling in Love with Someone" also from "Naughty Marietta"
5. "Serenade" from Romberg's "The Student Prince"
6. "Wanting You" from Romberg's "The New Moon"
7. "Love, Come Back to Me" also from "The New Moon"

Since three of these are from the same work, and since I actually have The New Moon, both as a full modern (sadly) recording and some original songs, I am going to watch that some time soon. It will be good to take a break from opera and go back to operetta. I just have to be careful because finding such music, or I should say, full English productions with dialogue, is incredibly difficult!

At any rate, I then asked which of these songs would be good for a beginner, and Perplexity chose "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life", "I'm Falling in Love with Someone", "Vilja-Lied", and "Serenade".

Even though I have perfect pitch and photographic musical memory (once I know a song), it will take a long time before I can sing any of these truly correctly. But what do you think about the suggestions in general? Remember, I am not studying to actually perform on stage. This is simply for the love of singing. Personally, after hearing them, I think, other than the operettas, a good starting point might be Schipa's Neapolitan songs. They seem much easier.

But realistically, before I do any of that at all, I need to work on my exercises from Madam Clara! To that end, I have asked my friend to record the first group, on pages 140 to 145. Once I learn these, I will continue to the next set and so on.

archive.org/details/youcansing…

For those who are wondering why I don't learn from Schipa himself (he taught singing and there are exercises from him online), he has an entirely different approach. The exercises (particularly the Preliminaries and Breath-Lock Physicals) in You Can Sing are good for my health and work very well for me.

#ClaraNovelloDavies #contralto #opera #operetta #TitoSchipa #VocalExercises