Heldentenor

hel·​den·​te·​nor ˈhel-dən-ˌtā-ˌnȯr -ˌte-nər. often capitalized. : a tenor with a powerful, dramatic voice well suited to heroic roles (as in Wagnerian operas)

Heldentenor roles are massive, requiring the singer to sustain a powerful sound over enormously long periods, which makes the roles nearly unsingable. Wagner created a good dozen of these roles but perhaps the most demanding are Siegfried in the Ring Cycle and the title role of Parsifal. In 'Amfortas! Die Wunde!

Roles

• Lohengrin, Lohengrin.
• Parsifal, Parsifal.
• Rienzi, Rienzi.
• Siegfried, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung.
• Siegmund, Die Walküre.
• Tannhäuser, Tannhäuser.
• Tristan, Tristan und Isolde.
• Walther von Stolzing, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Unlike a baritone, however, is its tenorial ability to sing high. Jugendlicherheldentenor (youthful heroic tenor) describes a voice of less weight and dramatic capability, more lyric than its heavier brother, but which may, when set up correctly, strengthen and develop into the heavier variety.

Dramatic - Also “tenore di forza” or “robusto,” the dramatic tenor has an emotive, ringing and very powerful, clarion, heroic tenor sound. Heldentenor - The heldentenor (English: heroic tenor) has a rich, dark, powerful and dramatic voice.

Etymology. From German Heldentenor. Literally, “hero tenor”.

Since their tessitura is lower, they don't have to spend as much time in the A4-C5 part of the tenor range (and the music rarely calls for those notes). The music for Heldentenors is generally around the middle of the tenor range E3-G4, and even the G is a high note in helden repertoire.

Within the tenor voice-type category are seven generally recognized subcategories: leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, Mozart tenor, and tenor buffo or spieltenor.

: the highest natural adult male singing voice. also : a person having this voice.

Within the tenor voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories: leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, Mozart tenor, and tenor buffo or spieltenor.

The tenor is a classical voice type with the highest pitch range within the four choral voice types (soprano, alto, tenor, bass). The four male voice types from lowest to highest are bass, baritone, tenor, and countertenor (often considered a ''male alto''). In opera, there are many different subtypes of tenor voices.

The word Tenor comes from the latin tenere, which means "to hold". In medieval polyphonic music, it was the voice that would sustain the fundamental line of the song, the cantus firmus. By the sixteenth century, the “tenor” would be any voice carrying the cantus firmus.