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{{Short description|Classical male singing voice}}
{{About|the male classical voice type|this voice type in other music genres|List of tenors in non-classical music|other uses}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Voice type}}

The '''tenor''' is a type of male [[singing]] [[human voice|voice]] whose [[vocal range]] lies between the [[countertenor]] and [[baritone]] [[voice type]]s. It is the highest male [[chest voice|chest-voice]] type.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QaW0AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA458|page=458|title=Performance Practice: A Dictionary-Guide for Musicians|author=Roland Jackson|publisher=Routledge|date= 23 Oct 2013|isbn=9781136767708}}</ref> Composers typically write music for the tenor in the range from the second B below middle C, to the G above middle C (i.e. B<sub>2</sub> to G<sub>4</sub>) in choral music – and from the second B-flat below middle C, to the C above middle C (B{{music|flat}}<sub>2</sub> to C<sub>5</sub>) in operatic music – but the range can extend at either end.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vocal Ranges {{!}} Yale University Library|url=https://web.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/vocal-ranges|access-date=2021-08-18|website=web.library.yale.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Tenor {{!}} vocal range|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/tenor-vocal-range|access-date=2021-08-18|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> Subtypes of the tenor include the ''leggero'' tenor, lyric tenor, [[spinto]] tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor and tenor buffo (also known as the {{lang|de|spieltenor}}).

== History ==
The term ''tenor'' derives from the [[Latin]] word ''[[wikt:teneo#Latin|tenere]]'', which means 'to hold'. ''Tenor'' came into use, at first, to denote the role of the critical male voice in the structure of a polyphonic vocal work.<ref>Fallows, David; Jander, Owen; Forbes, Elizabeth; Steane, J. B.; Harris, Ellen T.; and Waldman, Gerald (2001). [http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.27667 "Tenor"] {{Subscription required}}. ''[[Grove Music Online]]''.</ref> All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the tenor, which often proceeded in longer note values and carried a borrowed [[Cantus firmus|''cantus firmus'']] melody. Until the late 16th-century introduction of the [[contratenor]] singers, the tenor was usually the lowest voice, assuming the role of providing a foundation. It was also in the 18th century that ''tenor'' came to signify the male voice that sang such parts. Thus, for earlier repertoire, a line marked 'tenor' indicated the part's role, and not the required voice type; indeed, even as late as the eighteenth century, part-books labelled 'tenor' sometimes contained parts for a range of voice types.<ref name="Stark">{{cite book |title= Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy |last= Stark |first= James |year= 2003 | location = Toronto, CAN |publisher= University of Toronto Press |isbn= 9780802086143 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2017}}

== Vocal range ==
[[File:Tenor voice range on keyboard.svg|thumb|400px|Tenor vocal range (C<sub>3</sub>–C<sub>5</sub>) notated on the [[treble clef|treble]] [[staff (music)|staff]] (left) and on piano keyboard in green with dot marking middle C (C<sub>4</sub>). The numeral eight below the treble clef indicates that the pitches sound an octave lower than written: see [[Clef#Octave clefs]]. This is the standard clef for tenor parts in scores.]]
{| align=right
|<score>{ \new Staff \with { \remove "Time_signature_engraver" } \clef "treble_8" c4 c''4 }</score>
|}

The [[vocal range]] of the tenor is the highest of the male [[voice type]]s. Within [[opera]], the lowest note in the standard tenor repertoire is widely defined to be B{{music|flat}}<sub>2</sub>. However, the role of Rodrigo di Dhu (written for [[Andrea Nozzari]]) in Rossini's rarely performed ''[[La donna del lago]]'' is defined as a tenor but requires an A{{music|flat}}<sub>2</sub>.<ref>https://vmirror.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/a/a4/IMSLP107834-PMLP83289-Rossini_-_La_donna_del_lago_(vs_Carli).pdf 

p.101 (of the file) </ref> Within more frequently performed repertoire, [[Der Ring des Nibelungen#List of characters|Mime]] and [[Salome (opera)|Herod]] both call for an A<sub>2</sub>.<ref>Mime A2 https://ks15.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/6/63/IMSLP336112-SIBLEY1802.23612.c0b6-39087011185776Act_I.pdf 

p.54 (of the file)</ref><ref>HerodA2 https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/d/d8/IMSLP824681-PMLP03532-Strauss_R._Salome_PS_cropped.pdf

p.198</ref> 

A few tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for a "tenor C" (C<sub>5</sub>, one octave above middle C). Some, if not all, of the few top Cs in the standard operatic repertoire are either optional – such as in "[[Che gelida manina]]" in Puccini's ''[[La bohème]] –'' or interpolated (added) by tradition, such as in "[[Di quella pira]]" from Verdi's ''[[Il trovatore]]''); however, the highest demanded note in the standard tenor operatic repertoire is D<sub>5</sub>, found in "[[Mes amis, écoutez l'histoire]]"<ref>{{AllMusic|class=composition|id=mc0002375912|label=Adolphe Adam – ''Le postillon de lonjumeau''|first=Erik|last=Eriksson|access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref> from [[Adolphe Adam]]'s ''[[Le postillon de Lonjumeau]]'' and "{{lang|fr|Loin de son amie|italic=no}}"<ref>{{cite web | author = Glaubitz, Robert | date = 2010 | title = Loin de son amie—No. 3, Sérénade from Act I of the French opera La Juive by Jacques François Fromental Halévy | work = Aria-Database.com | url = http://www.aria-database.com/search.php?individualAria=1172 | access-date = 16 April 2017 |url-status=live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170417072437/http://www.aria-database.com/search.php?individualAria=1172 | archive-date = 17 April 2017 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> from Fromental Halévy's ''[[La Juive]]''). In the ''leggero'' repertoire, the highest note is F<sub>5</sub> (Arturo in "Credeasi, misera" from [[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]]'s ''[[I puritani]]''),<ref>{{cite web|author = IMSLP Staff [Guo, Edward W. et al.] | date = 2017 | title = Bellini – I puritani (vocal score) | location = Wilmington, DE | publisher = International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)/Petrucci Music Library (Project Petrucci LLC) | url=http://imslp.org/wiki/File:PMLP60620-Bellini_-_I_puritani_(vocal_score).pdf |pages=254, 256|work=IMSLP.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ir.vanderbilt.edu/bitstream/handle/1803/3084/sen-suranjanocr.pdf|title=Romantic and Modern Music Literature (MUSL 244)|last=Calico|first=Joy|page=7}}</ref> therefore, very few tenors, a notable case being [[Nicolai Gedda]], have this role in their repertoire without transposition (given the raising of [[concert pitch]] since its composition),<ref name="Boldrey">{{cite book |title= Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias |last= Boldrey |first= Richard |year= 1994 | publisher= Caldwell Publishing|isbn= 9781877761645 }}{{page needed|date=April 2017}}</ref> or employing [[passaggio]], such as [[Luciano Pavarotti]].

== In choral music ==
<!-- {{Self-contradictory|section|about=the range of tenors in choral music, where the contradiction is between the lead text and this section's text|date=April 2017}} -->
{{Choral voice classification}}

In [[SATB|SATB four-part mixed]] chorus, the tenor is the second lowest vocal range, above the [[bass (voice type)|bass]] and below the [[alto]] and [[soprano]]. [[Men's chorus]] usually denotes an ensemble of [[TTBB]] in which the first tenor is the highest voice. Whilst certain choral music does require the first tenors to ascend the full tenor range, the majority of choral music places the tenors in the range from approximately B<sub>2</sub> up to A<sub>4</sub>. The requirements of the tenor voice in choral music are also tied to the style of music most often performed by a given choir. Orchestral choruses typically call for tenors with fully resonant voices, but chamber or [[a cappella]] choral music (choral music sung with no instrumental accompaniment) can rely on [[baritone]]s singing in [[falsetto]].<ref name=Smith>{{cite book |title= Choral Pedagogy |last= Smith |first= Brenda |year= 2005 | publisher= Plural Publishing, Inc |isbn= 9781597560436 }}{{page needed|date=April 2017}}</ref>

Even so, one nearly ubiquitous facet of choral singing is the shortage of tenor voices.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Calleja, Joseph|author1-link=Joseph Calleja|author2=Amon, Ruben|translator=Sergio Maclean|website=OperaActual.com|via=FriendsofJosephCalleja.com|url=http://friendsofjosephcalleja.com/files/Nobodys_heir-UK.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826055715/http://friendsofjosephcalleja.com/files/Nobodys_heir-UK.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 August 2009|title=Joseph Calleja: I Am Nobody's Heir|date=4 November 2004|access-date=2 May 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Pc5surLiwwC&pg=PA45|page=45|title=The Disciplines of Vocal Pedagogy|first=Karen|last=Sell|publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]]|year=2005|isbn=9780754651697|access-date=2 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324153842/https://books.google.com/books?id=6Pc5surLiwwC&pg=PA45|archive-date=24 March 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Most men's tessituras lie within the baritone range, and because of this, many men in choirs tend to prefer singing in the bass section (though true basses are even rarer than tenors). Many baritones sing tenor even if they are not able to cover the full range in only their chest voice, and sometimes contraltos sing the tenor part.<ref name=Smith /> In men's choruses that consist of four male vocal parts (TTBB; tenor 1, tenor 2, bass 1, bass 2), tenors will often sing both in chest voice and falsetto, extending the vocal range of the choir.

== Subtypes and roles in opera ==
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. There is considerable overlap between the various categories of role and of voice-type; some tenor singers have begun with lyric voices but have transformed with time into spinto or even dramatic tenors.

=== Leggero ===
Also known as the ''[[tenore di grazia]]'', the ''leggero'' tenor is essentially the male equivalent of a [[Coloratura soprano|lyric coloratura]]. This voice is light, agile, and capable of executing difficult passages of [[fioritura]]. The typical ''leggero'' tenor possesses a range spanning from approximately C<sub>3</sub> to E<sub>5</sub>, with a few being able to sing up to F<sub>5</sub> or higher in [[Modal voice|full voice]]. In some cases, the chest register of the ''leggero'' tenor may extend below C<sub>3</sub>. Voices of this type are utilized frequently in the operas of [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]], [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]], [[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]] and in music dating from the [[Baroque]] period.{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}}

''Leggero'' tenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey />

{{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}}
* Arturo, ''[[I puritani]]'' ([[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]])
* Count Almaviva, ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' (Rossini)
* Count Ory, ''[[Le comte Ory]]'' (Rossini)
* Ernesto, ''[[Don Pasquale]]'' ([[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]])
* Elvino, ''[[La sonnambula]]'' (Bellini)
* Henry Morosus, ''[[Die schweigsame Frau]]'' ([[Richard Strauss|Strauss]])
* Lindoro, ''[[L'italiana in Algeri]]'' (Rossini)
* Don Ramiro, ''[[La Cenerentola]]'' (Rossini)
* Tonio, ''[[La fille du régiment]]'' (Donizetti)
{{div col end}}

{{anchor|Lyric tenor}}

=== Lyric ===
[[File:PDP-CH - Beniamino Gigli, Tenor - La bohème - Che gelida manina - Puccini - Hmv-db1538-8769a.flac|thumb|[[Beniamino Gigli]] singing ''[[Che gelida manina]]'' from ''[[La bohème]]'']]

The lyric tenor is a warm graceful voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy and can be heard over an orchestra. Lyric tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C<sub>3</sub>) to the D one octave above middle C (D<sub>5</sub>). Similarly, their lower range may extend a few notes below the C<sub>3</sub>. There are many vocal shades to the lyric tenor group, repertoire should be selected according to the weight, colors, and abilities of the voice.

[[Gilbert Duprez]] (1806–1896) was a historically significant dramatic<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qeq1AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA459 | title=Performance Practice: A Dictionary-Guide for Musicians | isbn=978-1-136-76769-2 | last1=Jackson | first1=Roland | date=23 October 2013 | publisher=Routledge }}</ref> tenor. He was the first tenor to sing on stage the operatic [[high C]] from the chest (''ut de poitrine'') as opposed to using [[falsettone]]. He is also known for originating the role of Edgardo in ''Lucia di Lammermoor''.

Lyric tenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey />

{{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}}
* Alessandro, ''[[Il re pastore]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Alfredo, ''[[La traviata]]'' ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]])
* Bastien, ''[[Bastien und Bastienne]]'' (Mozart)
* Belmonte, ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' (Mozart)
* Chevalier, ''[[Dialogues of the Carmelites]]'' ([[Francis Poulenc|Poulenc]])
* David, ''[[Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg]]'' ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]])
* Don Ottavio, ''[[Don Giovanni]]'' (Mozart)
* Il Duca di Mantova, ''[[Rigoletto]]'' (Verdi)
* Edgardo, ''[[Lucia di Lammermoor]]'' ([[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]])
* Faust, ''[[Faust (opera)|Faust]]'' ([[Charles Gounod|Gounod]])
* Ferrando, ''[[Così fan tutte]]'' (Mozart)
* Hoffmann, ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann]]'' ([[Jacques Offenbach|Offenbach]])
* Idomeneo, Idamante, ''[[Idomeneo]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Lensky, ''[[Eugene Onegin (opera)|Eugene Onegin]]'' ([[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]])
* Martin, ''[[The Tender Land]]'' ([[Aaron Copland|Copland]])<ref>{{cite web | author = Glaubitz, Robert | date = 2010 | title = The Tender Land, Composer: Aaron Copland, Librettist: Horner Everett | work = Aria-Database.com | url = http://www.aria-database.com/search.php?sid=1a8242262fb7171ada3db8f148b84104&X=2&individualOpera=109 | access-date = 16 April 2017 | url-status=live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170905124314/http://www.aria-database.com/search.php?sid=1a8242262fb7171ada3db8f148b84104&X=2&individualOpera=109 | archive-date = 5 September 2017 | df = dmy-all }}</ref>
* Mitridate, ''[[Mitridate, re di Ponto]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Oronte, ''[[I Lombardi alla prima crociata]]'' (Verdi)
* Paris, ''[[La belle Hélène]]'' (Offenbach)
* Pinkerton, ''[[Madama Butterfly]]'' ([[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]])
* Rinuccio, ''[[Gianni Schicchi]]'' (Puccini)
* Rodolfo, ''[[La bohème]]'' (Puccini)
* Roméo, ''[[Roméo et Juliette]]'' (Gounod)
* Tamino, ''[[The Magic Flute]]'' (Mozart)
* Thaddeus, ''[[The Bohemian Girl]]'' ([[Michael William Balfe|Balfe]])
* Tito, ''[[La clemenza di Tito]]'' (Mozart)
* Werther, ''[[Werther]]'' ([[Jules Massenet|Massenet]])
* [[Wilhelm Meister]], ''[[Mignon]]'' ([[Ambroise Thomas|Thomas]])
{{div col end}}

{{anchor|Spinto}}

=== Spinto ===
The spinto tenor has the brightness and height of a lyric tenor, but with a heavier vocal weight enabling the voice to be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes with less strain than the lighter-voice counterparts. Spinto tenors have a darker timbre than a lyric tenor, without having a vocal color as dark as many dramatic tenors. The German equivalent of the Spinto ''[[Fach]]'' is the ''{{Lang|de|Jugendlicher Heldentenor}}'' and encompasses many of the Dramatic tenor roles as well as some Wagner roles such as Lohengrin and Stolzing. The difference is often the depth and metal in the voice where some lyric tenors age or push their way into singing as a Spinto giving them a lighter tone and a ''{{Lang|de|Jugendlicher Heldentenor}}'' tends to be either a young heldentenor or true lyric spinto. Spinto tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C<sub>3</sub>) to the C one octave above middle C (C<sub>5</sub>).

Spinto tenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey />

{{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}}
* Andrea Chénier, ''[[Andrea Chénier]]'' ([[Umberto Giordano|Giordano]])
* Calaf, '' [[Turandot]]'' ([[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]])
* Des Grieux, ''[[Manon Lescaut (Puccini)|Manon Lescaut]]'' (Puccini)
* Don Carlo, ''[[Don Carlos]]'' ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]])
* Don José, ''[[Carmen]]'' ([[Georges Bizet|Bizet]])
* Erik, ''[[Der fliegende Holländer]]'' ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]])
* Ernani, ''[[Ernani]]'' (Verdi)
* Gustavo, ''[[Un ballo in maschera]]'' (Verdi)
* Hermann, ''[[The Queen of Spades (opera)|Queen of Spades]]'' ([[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]])
* Macduff, ''[[Macbeth (Verdi)|Macbeth]]'' (Verdi)
* Manrico, ''[[Il trovatore]]'' (Verdi)
* Mario Cavaradossi, ''[[Tosca]]'' (Puccini)
* Max, ''[[Der Freischütz]]'' ([[Carl Maria von Weber|Weber]])
* Pollione, ''[[Norma (opera)|Norma]]'' ([[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]])
* Radames, ''[[Aida]]'' (Verdi)
* Stiffelio, ''[[Stiffelio]]'' (Verdi)
* Turiddu, ''[[Cavalleria rusticana]]'' ([[Pietro Mascagni|Mascagni]])
{{div col end}}

{{anchor|Dramatic tenor}}

=== Dramatic ===
Also "tenore robusto", the dramatic tenor has an emotive, ringing and very powerful, clarion, heroic tenor sound. The dramatic tenor's approximate range is from the B one octave below middle C (B<sub>2</sub>) to the B one octave above middle C (B<sub>4</sub>) with some able to sing up to the C one octave above middle C (C<sub>5</sub>).<ref name=Boldrey /> Many successful dramatic tenors though have historically avoided the coveted high C in performance. Their lower range tends to extend into the baritone tessitura or, a few notes below the C<sub>3</sub>, even down to A♭<sub>2</sub>. Some dramatic tenors have a rich and dark tonal colour to their voice (such as the mature [[Enrico Caruso]]) while others (like [[Francesco Tamagno]]) possess a bright, steely timbre.

Dramatic tenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey />{{rp|194–197}}

{{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}}
* Canio, ''[[Pagliacci]]'' ([[Ruggero Leoncavallo|Leoncavallo]])
* Dick Johnson, ''[[La fanciulla del West]]'' (Puccini)
* Don Alvaro, ''[[La forza del destino]]'' ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]])
* Enée, ''[[Les Troyens]]'' ([[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]])
* Florestan, ''[[Fidelio]]'' ([[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]])
* Otello, ''[[Otello]]'' (Verdi)
* Samson, ''[[Samson and Delilah (opera)|Samson et Dalila]]'' ([[Camille Saint-Saëns|Saint-Saëns]])
* Peter Grimes, ''[[Peter Grimes]]'' ([[Benjamin Britten|Britten]])
{{div col end}}

=== Heldentenor ===
{{Main|Heldentenor}}
The heldentenor (English: ''heroic tenor'') has a rich, dark, powerful and dramatic voice. As its name implies, the heldentenor vocal ''[[Fach]]'' features in the German [[Romantische Oper|romantic operatic]] repertoire. The heldentenor is the German equivalent of the tenore drammatico, however with a more baritonal quality: the typical [[Richard Wagner|Wagnerian]] protagonist. The keystone of the heldentenor's repertoire is arguably Wagner's ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]'', an extremely demanding role requiring a wide vocal range and great power, plus tremendous stamina and acting ability. Often the heldentenor is a baritone who has transitioned to this ''Fach'' or tenors who have been misidentified as baritones. Therefore, the heldentenor voice might or might not have facility up to high B or C. The repertoire, however, rarely calls for such high notes.

Heldentenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey />

{{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}}
* Florestan, ''[[Fidelio]]'' ([[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]])
* Tannhäuser, ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]])
* Lohengrin, ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' (Wagner)
* Siegmund, ''[[Die Walküre]]'' (Wagner)
* Siegfried, ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]'' (Wagner)
* Siegfried, ''[[Götterdämmerung]]'' (Wagner)
* Walther von Stolzing, ''[[Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg]]'' (Wagner)
* Tristan, ''[[Tristan und Isolde]]'' (Wagner)
* Parsifal, ''[[Parsifal]]'' (Wagner)
* Aegisth, ''[[Elektra (opera)|Elektra]]'' ([[Richard Strauss|R. Strauss]])
* Bacchus, ''[[Ariadne auf Naxos]]'' (R. Strauss)
* The Emperor, ''[[Die Frau ohne Schatten]]'' (R. Strauss)
* Menelaus, ''[[Die ägyptische Helena]]'' (R. Strauss)
* Apollo, ''[[Daphne (opera)|Daphne]]'' (R. Strauss)
* Drum Major, ''[[Wozzeck]]'' ([[Alban Berg|Berg]])
* Paul, ''[[Die tote Stadt]]'' ([[Erich Wolfgang Korngold|Korngold]])
* The Stranger, ''[[Das Wunder der Heliane]]'' (Korngold)
* Mao Tse-Tung, ''[[Nixon in China]]'' ([[John Adams (composer)|Adams]])
{{div col end}}

=== Tenor buffo or spieltenor ===
A Tenor buffo or spieltenor is a tenor with good acting ability, and the ability to create distinct voices for his characters. This voice specializes in smaller comic roles. The range of the tenor buffo is from the C one octave below middle C (C<sub>3</sub>) to the C one octave above middle C (C<sub>5</sub>).<ref>{{cite web|author1=Suverkrop, Bard|author2=Draayer, Suzanne|year=2017|title=Tenor Aria|website=IPASource.com|url=http://www.ipasource.com/tenor|access-date=16 April 2017}}</ref> The tessitura of these parts ranges from lower than other tenor roles to very high and broad. These parts are often played by younger tenors who have not yet reached their full vocal potential or older tenors who are beyond their prime singing years. Only rarely will a singer specialize in these roles for an entire career.<ref name=Boldrey /> In French [[opéra comique]], supporting roles requiring a thin voice but good acting are sometimes described as 'trial', after the singer [[Antoine Trial]] (1737–1795), examples being in the operas of [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]] and in ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann]]''.<ref>{{cite book | author = Cotte, R.J.V. | date = 1997 | chapter = Trial, French Family of Musicians | title = The New Grove Dictionary of Opera | location = London, New York | publisher = Macmillan | url = http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/ | access-date = 16 April 2017 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170309025722/http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/ | archive-date = 9 March 2017 | df = dmy-all }}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2017}}

Tenor buffo or spieltenor roles in operas:<ref name=Boldrey />{{page needed|date=April 2017}}

{{div col|colwidth=25em|rules=yes}}
* Count Danilo Danilovitsch, ''[[The Merry Widow]]'' ([[Franz Lehár|Lehár]])
* Don Basilio, ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Mime, ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]])
* Don Anchise/ Il Podestà, ''[[La finta giardiniera]]'' (Mozart)
* Monostatos, ''[[The Magic Flute]]'' (Mozart)
* Pedrillo, ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' (Mozart)
* Slender, ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor (opera)]]'' ([[Otto Nicolai|Nicolai]])
* John Styx, ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' ([[Jacques Offenbach|Offenbach]])
* Prince Paul, ''[[La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein]]'' (Offenbach)
* Kálmán Zsupán, ''[[The Gypsy Baron]]'' ([[Johann Strauss II]])
* The Captain, ''[[Wozzeck]]'' ([[Alban Berg|Berg]])
* The Magician, ''[[The Consul]]'' ([[Gian Carlo Menotti|Menotti]])
* Beppe, ''[[Pagliacci]]'' ([[Ruggero Leoncavallo|Leoncavallo]])
* Frantz, ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann]]'' (Offenbach)
* Spoletta, ''Tosca'' ([[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]])
* Goro, ''Madama Butterfly'' (Puccini)
* Pong, ''Turandot'' (Puccini)
* Gastone, ''[[La traviata]]'' ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]])
* Roderigo, ''[[Otello]]'' (Verdi)
* Dr. Caius, ''[[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]]'' (Verdi)
* Gherardo, ''Gianni Schicchi'' (Puccini)
* King Kaspar, ''[[Amahl and the Night Visitors]]'' (Menotti)
* Triquet, ''[[Eugene Onegin (opera)|Eugene Onegin]]'' ([[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]])
* The Holy Fool, ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]'' ([[Modest Mussorgsky|Mussorgsky]])
* Pasquale, ''[[Orlando paladino]]'' ([[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]])
* Platon Kuzmich Kovalev, ''[[The Nose (opera)|The Nose]]'' ([[Dmitri Shostakovich|Shostakovich]])
{{div col end}}

== Other uses ==
There are four parts in [[Barbershop music|barbershop harmony]]: bass, baritone, lead, and tenor (lowest to highest), with "tenor" referring to the highest part. The tenor generally sings in falsetto voice, corresponding roughly to the [[countertenor]] in classical music, and harmonizes above the lead, who sings the melody. The barbershop tenor range is Middle C to A one octave above Middle C, though it is written an octave higher. The "lead" in barbershop music is equivalent to the normal tenor range.<ref name=Averill>{{cite book |title= Four Parts, No Waiting: A Social History of American Barbershop Harmony |last= Averill |first= Gage |year= 2003 | location = Oxford, ENG | publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 9780195116724}}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2017}}

In [[bluegrass music]], the melody line is called the lead. Tenor is sung an interval of a third above the lead. Baritone is the fifth of the scale that has the lead as a tonic, and may be sung below the lead, or even above the lead (and the tenor), in which case it is called "high baritone".<ref name=Cantwell>{{cite book |title= Bluegrass Breakdown: The Making of the Old Southern Sound |last= Cantwell|first= Robert |year= 2002|location = Urbana, IL | publisher= University of Illinois Press|isbn= 9780252071171 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2017}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Opera}}
* [[:Category:Tenors|Category of tenors]]
* [[Fach|Fach system for voice classification]]
* [[List of tenors in non-classical music]]
* [[Voice classification in non-classical music]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|Tenor}}

{{Range (music)}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tenors| ]]
[[Category:Choral music]]
[[Category:Musical terminology]]
[[Category:Opera terminology]]
[[Category:Pitch (music)]]
[[Category:Voice types]]