Aaron Tveit's Voice?

[nomdeplume]

Anyone knowledgeable enough in this area to inform as to what vocal category his voice may fall within?

He seems more than a baritenor and not a lyrical tenor. Might he be considered a "dramatic" or "heroic" tenor? He seems able to mix head and chest voices and has a very high head range which I am not sure if it is falsetto.

Catch Me is certainly a good show to show off his range.

[SporkGoddess]

If you're using the term "dramatic tenor" like I think you are, his voice isn't nearly heavy enough.

I would actually call him a lyric tenor or maybe tenor leggiero since he can sing pretty high.

[nomdeplume]

Wow, thanks so much, SporkGoddess.

This could explain why I first thought him a baritone when I heard the clip of a Catch Me song from Seattle, as well as my uncertainty of whether he was in head voice or falsetto. According to this description, even voice teachers often confuse these when listening to this type of voice!

"One vocal fach that can be confusing even for the advanced diagnostic instructor, and one that must be addressed carefully during training is that of the leggiero Tenor. Often considered the male counterpart of the Coloratura Soprano, this type of Tenor voice is often taught or encouraged to employ too much chest voice connection in the middle and chest registers, causing major vocal problems in the upper register. The mistake of over-employment of the thicker vocal cord mass is often made due to the rounder color in the middle and low register, characteristic of this vocal fach.

This type of singer often has an almost baritonal quality in the lower register, which can be confusing to even the more experienced instructors. So the first issue to address with such a singer is that of proper or correct diagnosis of vocal fach.

Because of a change in vocal timbre above the high A-flat, the leggiero Tenor is sometimes thought to be using falsetto because of the lighter quality as he ascends toward the high C and up to the E-flat above high C. Considering this range to be falsetto is a HUGE mistake, because in fact this is NOT a pure falsetto mechanism, but a mechanism that has full-voice connection. ...employing too much chest or heavy mechanism in this kind of voice does not allow for the upper register to develop properly. It also makes the strengthening of the thin edge function of the vocal folds difficult if not impossible. Sadly, many instructors hear this voice type as Baritone because the Leggiero Tenor usually has a strong and colorful chest register, often extending quite low. But like the Coloratura Soprano, it is not ethical to over-produce this part of the voice."

This article goes on to give extensive information as to how to protect and develop this kind of voice in training.
Leggiero Tenor

[SporkGoddess]

No problem! IMO it's harder to categorize musical theatre singers because there is so much overlap and less concretely defined role types (baritones often sing tenor roles and vice-versa, modern soprano roles usually don't go very high and may require belting, etc).

[nomdeplume]

Yes, unlike the opera.

Plus when you attend an opera, the program generally tells you the vocal classification of the singer.

Perhaps he would consider adding the Tenor Leggiero vocal classification to his Wikipedia and other bio entries online if adduced as correct. It makes it easier to understand what he is doing when he is singing.

[bwaylvsong]

Wow, I had no idea a classical fach existed for that voice type. You learn something new every day.
Would Titus Burgess and Sam Harris be in the same category?

[nomdeplume]

I have heard them sing (Tituss in Good Vibrations and Jersey Boys; Sam in The Life) but don't recall their ranges, perhaps SporkGoddess can weigh in on that. Sam Harris talks about his vocal range in the video below but not the classification, or fach. It's possible that they don't even know which or may not possess a classical fach.

I think Aaron's vocal fach, if we have correctly identified it, may be unusual and rare.
Sam Harris video

[ReggieonBway]

Weird to revive this thread, but as I know Aaron; he refers to himself as a dramatic tenor.

[ChairinMain]

Yeah.....no. Maybe there are just different terminology in musical theater fachs, but when I hear "dramatic tenor" I think of someone who can blast through a full orchestra. Really more of what people call a "baritenor." When I hear Aaron Tviet, I hear a light, lyric tenor with a lot of ping...a great sound but very little weight. Dramatic Tenor? What the heck is he smoking? Brian D'Arcy James and Aaron Lazar are maybe better contenders for a Dramatic Tenor title.

[SporkGoddess]

I definitely disagree that he's a dramatic tenor, at least using the opera/classical definition.

Even Aaron Lazar would only be a lyric tenor, IMO, although I agree that he would qualify more than Aaron Tveit.

I honestly can't think of one dramatic tenor in musical theatre today. Then again, when I think of dramatic tenor, I think of Radames in Verdi's Aida or Siegmund in Wagner's Ring Cycle.

My guess would be that there aren't that many in MT because the sound isn't as "mainstream." I'm guessing it'd be harder for a dramatic tenor to cross over into MT because people would think he sounded too operatic--kind of like the complaints I've heard about Kiri Te Kanawa singing musical theatre.

Edit: Brian d'Arcy James might come the closest.