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lowlsnail
Supporting Player
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:13 pm Posts: 131 Location: Los Angeles
Current Obsession: Les Miserables
Main Role: Performer
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 Bass-baritone part
Okay, I'm a 17 year old bass-baritone singer, and clearly as you can tell from me being on this site I love musicals. My range is about F2 to about F or F#4 but notes above middle C# for the most part are very high not something I could use in a conversational way although my F4 is a good top note in a song. I want to know what relatively large parts I could sing other than Javert and The Beast. I totally realize that I could sing in the chorus but I would like to think there are other low parts out there.
_________________ Colin Tidwell
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Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:08 pm |
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Pannic
Broadway Legend / MdN Veteran
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:21 pm Posts: 2570 Location: California
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 Re: Bass-baritone part
Well, there's the bishop. He's got some lovely low notes.
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Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:00 am |
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ancslove
Young Hoofer
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:57 pm Posts: 26
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 Re: Bass-baritone part
Outside of Les Miserables (since you mention the Beast), there's Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar. And also Emile de Becque in South Pacific.
In Les Mis, I think Grantaire can have a lower range.
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Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:13 am |
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lowlsnail
Supporting Player
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:13 pm Posts: 131 Location: Los Angeles
Current Obsession: Les Miserables
Main Role: Performer
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 Re: Bass-baritone part
Omg I didn't mean to post this in the Les Miserables lol, thank you very much I'll look into those.
_________________ Colin Tidwell
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Thu Mar 15, 2012 12:28 pm |
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Pannic
Broadway Legend / MdN Veteran
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:21 pm Posts: 2570 Location: California
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 Re: Bass-baritone part
Well, Caiaphas ain't bass-baritone - he's flat-out bass. Bunch of low Ds and a C-sharp.
But the golden age of musical theatre has a ton of stuff. The Captain in "The Sound of Music" is a bass. Miguel de Cervantes/Don Quixote in "Man of La Mancha" is a baritone, can be sung by a bass-baritone. The Innkeeper in the same show is also a bass.
Most of the male roles in the Gilbert & Sullivan canon are baritone parts, too.
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Thu Mar 15, 2012 12:40 pm |
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TricksterGabriel
Fresh Face
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2012 4:25 am Posts: 4
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 Re: Bass-baritone part
Sweeney or the Judge maybe?
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Sun Aug 12, 2012 4:58 am |
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MunkustrapQC
Broadway Legend
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:06 pm Posts: 745 Location: Québec City, QC
Current Obsession: Once, Chess, Company, Assassins
Main Role: Producer
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 Re: Bass-baritone part
Most of the roles that Shuler Hensley played are bass-baritone :
-The Monster (Young Frankenstein) -Kerchak (Tarzan) -Jud Fry (Oklahoma)
_________________ -Upcoming : SPRING AWAKENING (Georg) -Past : LES MISÉRABLES (Foreman, Grantaire), A LIFE IN THE THEATRE (John), IN THE HEIGHTS (Usnavi), INTO THE WOODS (Baker), AIDA (Radames), CATS (Munkustrap)
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Mon Aug 13, 2012 7:30 am |
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Rorgg
Broadway Legend
Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:09 am Posts: 541
Main Role: Performer
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 Re: Bass-baritone part
Ahh, wish you'd asked this in one of the general forums, I almost missed it. Good low male roles:
The Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance) The Mikado (The Mikado) Audrey II (Little Shop of Horrors)* Judge Turpin (Sweeney Todd) Sweeney Todd (ibid.) Cervantes/Don Quixote (Man of La Mancha) Tevye (Fiddler on the Roof) Jud (Oklahoma) Pharaoh (Joseph...)
Now, those are roles that all essentially require a bass or baritone with a good lower range. There's also a set of baritone parts that typically use a lighter tone but don't have a particularly challenging high range like The Baker (Into the Woods), Horton (Seussical), and Curly (Oklahoma) so work on being able to sing with a brighter tone when needed (I call it my "Baritone Emulation Mode").
*This is WRITTEN a bit higher in the score, but the movie version was interpreted in a bass-baritone range, so if you interpret it the same way, nobody will be surprised or complain.
_________________ On deck:Innkeeper, _Man of La Mancha_, April-May
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Mon Aug 13, 2012 11:45 am |
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Pannic
Broadway Legend / MdN Veteran
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:21 pm Posts: 2570 Location: California
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 Re: Bass-baritone part
A lot of the "Golden Age" shows have lower baritone leads. The Captain in The Sound of Music is, Emile de Becque in South Pacific, Hapgood in Anyone Can Whistle, etc.
Other parts I can think of:
Officer Lockstock and Cladwell in Urinetown The Reciter, Soothsayer, Russian Admiral, and Kayama in South Pacific Booth, Czolgosz, Hinckley, and the Proprietor in Assassins Ben in Follies Mack Sennet in Mack and Mabel
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Mon Aug 13, 2012 1:13 pm |
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lowlsnail
Supporting Player
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:13 pm Posts: 131 Location: Los Angeles
Current Obsession: Les Miserables
Main Role: Performer
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 Re: Bass-baritone part
Thanks a lot all of you these roles are great. My vocal range is expanding now and these songs are perfect
_________________ Colin Tidwell
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Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:50 pm |
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hud
Off-Broadway Lead
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 4:29 am Posts: 225
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 Re: Bass-baritone part
Jigger in Carousal
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Thu Jun 21, 2018 6:08 pm |
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hud
Off-Broadway Lead
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 4:29 am Posts: 225
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 Re: Bass-baritone part
Bill Sykes from Oliver
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Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:28 pm |
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