Renato Zanelli sang for a number of years as a baritone before he
switched to tenor. I have recordings from both periods of his career
and find his baritone sound far superior to his tenor. The man died
prematurely so we will never know how his tenor career would have
evolved.
It is very hard for me to think of Fischer-Dieskau as a baritone; he
sings like a lyric tenor. Baritones can sound like a tenor when they
sing piano, but F-D still sounds like a tenor when he sings forte
(which is rarely). I would like to know if F-D every tried to sing
tenor or ever sang any tenor material in key.
I also find it hard to think of Bergonzi as a baritone. His tenor is
very dark but always tenorish. And he was as comfortable with lyric
roles such as Nemorino and Alfredo as with Radames and Don Carlo. And
he never sang Otello, Samson, or other really dramatic tenor parts.
I think that Mechior was a baritone, and he considered himself
naturally a lyric baritone. He stated that only a true baritone can
become a successful heldentenor for roles such as Tristan and Siegmund.
The heldentenor has a slightly lower voice than a true tenor and
usually cannot sustain the higher placement of the Italian spinto
parts. Melchior learned Walter but found it too tiring for his voice
and restricted himself to singing a couple of the arias in concert. He
described how vocal training helped him grind down the top of his
baritone range and replace it with tenor notes. Melchior used a
peculiar technique to place his high notes and they were often pitched
and thin, a mark of a baritone singing above his natural range.
Vocal categories are merely ways of grouping voices. There are a
number of singers whose vocal cords would allow them to be either
tenors or baritones. They are borderline between the two categories.
Their temperaments, training, and ambitions lead them to choose to be
one rather than the other. (Ditto sopranos and mezzo-sopranos). If you
have really good high notes, you may choose to sing tenor, and vice
versa. Placido Domingo never sang baritone roles in opera, contrary to
the belief of many. Before his voice was full trained, he sang he sang
some baritone parts in Spanish operetta. When he became an opera
singer he started out with compimario tenor parts and then lyric roles.
I am not aware of any major singer who sang baritone and tenor roles
at the same time in their careers. It is confusing to switch back and
forth because of the different demands of baritone and tenor roles.
Opera managers might also be thrown off by having to deal with a singer
who wants to sing both Alfredo and Germont pere. Bastianini and
Hvorostovsky both sound like basses to me and Ettore started out as a
bass.
It is quite appropriate for a potential tenor to sing baritone until
the voice is ready for the higher tessitura. I sang baritone in my
high school choir and didn't realize I was a tenor until I was in my
mid-twenties. I can sing a tenor high C and also most of the low notes
of basses. Singing bass helps keep my voice relaxed and I do so
whenever possible.
Jake Drake