The warning signs were many. No matter how diligently I practiced, I couldn’t sustain a high D, a critical note in the soprano leggiero repertoire. Then an auditioner asked me if I’d ever sung mezzo—and suddenly the “-ina” and “-etta” arias I’d worked on for years were a lot less comfortable, while Liu’s and Micaëla’s suddenly felt right. Yup, my teacher and coach agreed: I was becoming a full lyric.
Is this normal? And if so, are tried and true methods available to ease the transition? To answer these questions, I spoke to experts about the controversial concept of Fachs, or voice classifications.
What Is a Fach?
To laymen, voices come in only four categories: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Opera insiders, in contrast, know of many more. Richard Boldrey, for example, identifies no fewer than 27 voice categories, ranging from soubrette to dramatic bass, in his comprehensive Guide to Operatic Roles & Arias.1
These various categories were created not only to make things easier for opera houses in the days when orchestras were increasing in size, but also to protect singers. In Germany, where the formal Fach system originated (and still persists), singers could limit their contractual obligations to roles within their specific Fach, thereby shielding their voices from damage.
Today, ease of travel means opera houses have many more casting options. Consequently, some view strict adherence to the Fach system as restrictive. On the other hand, the system can benefit singers like me, who are in the process of changing Fachs, by helping us narrow down the immense field of potential arias to those that are likely to fit our voices best.
Apparently, my situation is far from unusual. Estimates of the percentage of singers who change Fachs, according to my interviewees, range from 5 percent, to 20 percent, to “nearly everyone.” Boldrey notes that many singers “have moved through several voice categories during their career.”
The Fachs of Life: When It’s Time to Change
Singers have to change Fachs for many reasons. Some of these “Fachtors” are simply part of the aging process. As Boldrey points out, “Over time, voices can grow in size, darken, and lose some of the top register.”
Coach Eric Trudel agrees. “Voices acquire richness with age, if they’re used well,” he says. “Most singers gradually lose flexibility or reliability in the higher part of their voice.” As soprano and teacher Valerie Sorel says, “As we grow older, the ears and nose grow bigger, the voice gains more ‘mature’ colors, and everything goes south!”
Age isn’t the only reason, however. Sometimes singers start singing the wrong Fach at a young age because their voices are classified incorrectly, because of misdiagnosis or exigency. In the December 2006 issue of Classical Singer, Dr. Anthony Jahn offers examples of the latter case: “A 14-year-old future soprano may be asked to fill in as an alto because there aren’t enough altos in Grade 8 that year. She will then get stuck in that role, never developing her high extension. As young singers change anatomically, the voice may also change, so someone who was correctly placed initially may outgrow that Fach, and fail to be noticed and reassigned in the chorus.”
Finally, some singers choose repertoire from a Fach that is too big for their voices because they believe it will enhance their career prospects. This is not surprising, says teacher and soprano Elizabeth Daniels. “Of course, we all want the mega-voices. They are hired, and they make the big salaries. However, the sad truth is that wanting doesn’t make it happen. Either you have the size and strength of vocal cords and resonating cavities, and the body to support them—or you don’t.”
Consequences
The consequences of singing the wrong Fach, year after year, can be serious and far-reaching. Teacher and soprano Lauralyn Kolb notes that singers who are singing too heavily, “stop singing when their voices start wobbling,” but that singers who sing too lightly, “may not realize their full potential.”
For some singers, under-singing may have results that are more insidious. Daniels describes a common scenario: “Good singers may get a position in a small, professional core of a large amateur choir, in which they not only have to lead, but also blend. If these singers find that their throat aches after a rehearsal, or they are vocally fatigued the next day, chances are it isn’t from oversinging but from holding back. The only solution is not to do it. It puts you two steps back for every forward step you take, technically.”
Whether singers oversing or under-sing, one thing is clear: Vocal difficulties accompany inappropriate repertoire. “Many singers arrive at my studio with serious vocal problems because they are denying their voice the opportunity to sing the proper size,” says Sorel. Mezzo Carla Dirlikov has encountered such problems. “I have always struggled with jaw and tongue tension,” she says. “I think that this has something to do with singing rep that wasn’t always well suited to me.” John Garofolo, a tenor turned baritone, recalls that singing tenor “was always a bit of a strain, especially in pieces that sustained a high tessitura.”
Sorel sums up the issue with an analogy. “Try to walk in shoes that are too small for you and you will hurt yourself. Try to walk in shoes that are too big, and you will hurt yourself. Try to stay in the same size shoes when your feet are growing and you will hurt yourself.”
Fachtung, Baby!
Warning Signs
How do you know it’s time to change Fachs? Those I interviewed listed many warning signs, including:
• A chronic sense of vocal fatigue
• A lack of resonance in one extreme of the tessitura
• An inability to sustain an adequate volume level
• Vibrato problems
• Harshness in the top range
• Shallowness in the lower range
• Hoarseness
• Lack of stamina
Transition Challenges
If the above checklist seems all too familiar, you may want to consider a change of Fach—but don’t expect the transition to be quick or easy. Daniels notes that “slow, thoughtful warmups are required,” and that it is often best to avoid repertoire during lessons for some time while the singer “muscles the new configurations of the singing apparatus.” She continues, “The body has to get used to the new adjustments, which are not only in the throat. . . . Don’t just concentrate on the sound.”
Sorel agrees with the slow and steady approach. “We have to integrate different repertoire into our main repertoire, and move at the speed the voice requires, not the ego,” she says.
Speaking of ego, it’s important to keep the psychological pitfalls of a Fach change in mind. Kolb recalls one student “who was so used to being praised for her pure, delicate sound, that the suggestion that she wasn’t using all her voice was extremely threatening.”
Some singers are disappointed in the nature of the new roles available to them. Garofolo comments, “One of the tough things to deal with is accepting that I’m a lyric baritone and not really cut out to sing the more romantic/dramatic roles.” Similarly, Liat Hirsh, a lyric coloratura turned mezzo, recalls, “It seems silly now, because instead of Queen of the Night, I now get to sing Cenerentola, but when I first changed Fach, I was upset.”
A move into less familiar Fach territory may also provoke stage fright. Daniels recalls a bass-baritone turned tenor who made a backstage confession to her before his first orchestra concert as a tenor. He said, “I’ve never been afraid to sing until now. This is a whole new ball game.”
Finally, consider the career impact. Hirsh faced few obstacles when she changed Fachs because she was 19 and only beginning to sing. But Matthew Kreger, a lyric baritone turned heldentenor, faced several. “I only changed Fach in my last year of a four-year program,” he says. “I’d sung 12 baritone roles while in the program, and had little time to prove myself as a tenor.” He concludes, “I suppose life would have been easier if I’d stayed a baritone—my career would have accelerated faster. I’m only now starting to feel grounded as a heldentenor.”
Counterpoint
Despite the short-term adjustment problems that confront Fach changers, it’s clear that in the long run, these singers’ decisions were the right ones. That said, it may be unwise to be too strict about repertoire. Some singers are able to straddle different Fachs successfully, without adverse vocal consequences. For example, Dirlikov has concluded, after years of struggle, that “the only thing that matters is singing well. I feel that the high mezzo rep is best suited to me today, though this might change in the future. I also believe that I am capable of singing some soprano roles, just as I am not capable of singing some mezzo roles. I just want to focus on what I can sing well, and not worry too much about Fach!”
Garofolo, too, intends to bridge Fachs by merging his tenor repertoire with his baritone repertoire, since he and his teacher agree that he could perform the tenor repertoire in small houses or in concert. And Kreger recalls that he had little difficulty serving as a “bisectional” member of an opera chorus for several years after changing Fachs.
As it turns out, most of those I interviewed support the concept of cross-Fach exploration, as long as it doesn’t damage the voice. Trudel, for example, points out that “singing arias one notch heavier than an expected Fach has enabled some singers to sing their own ‘legit’ rep much better.”
Audiences may appreciate the results, says Daniels.
“I often applaud the courage of a director who is willing to give a singer a chance to do a role that might be considered a Fach stretch. It can be very interesting.”
Sorel agrees. “It is important to allow a singer to sing a role from a different Fach because it gives us the privilege to hear music from a different perspective, with a voice different from what we are accustomed to hearing for a certain role. It enriches the music and allows the singer to diverge from a category if the voice has the unique ability to do so.”
Such exploration has strong historical precedents, Daniels explains. “Fifty or 60 years ago singers sang a much greater variety of Fachs—there weren’t as many of us and getting around to different parts of the world wasn’t as easy.” Dirlikov notes, “Before 1950, it was common for a singer to sing Cherubino and Mimi!”
Even today, prominent singers often cross Fachs without negative repercussions. Trudel points to Angela Gheorghiu as a good example. “She sings L’elisir d’amore, “Traviata,” Tosca, Carmen, Manon and the “Forza” arias. Some people are not that easily classified,” he concludes.
How the Fachs Add Up
It seems, therefore, that for truly seasoned singers, a little Fach exploration is not a bad thing—within reason. Those I interviewed all shared the same opinion: The Fach system should be used as a guide rather than a given. Even Boldrey agrees. He and Robert Caldwell claim in the “Guide’s” introduction that “voice categories are not meant to constrain singers (most singers easily fit into two or even three neighboring categories). On the contrary, they are meant to guide a voice toward appropriate repertoire, to help guard it from going off in several directions at once.”
Sorel expands upon this point, emphasizing that “the Fach system is a guideline to help us work with singers and guide them toward healthy careers, but it should never supplant the ears of voice teachers and coaches.” Or the ears and throats of students, for that matter. As Kreger says, “You have to be happy within your Fach. It’s your choice.”
Now, if you’ll excuse me, this former leggiero has some new repertoire to learn.
Endnotes
1. Boldrey, Richard. Guide to Operatic Roles & Arias. Redmond: PST…Inc., 1994.
