A mezzo-soprano (meaning "medium soprano" in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or lower) vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that of a soprano and that of an alto. The terms Dugazon and Galli-Marié are sometimes used to refer to light mezzo sopranos, after the names of famous singers. A castrato with a mezzo-soprano voice was called a mezzo-soprano castrato.

Mezzo sopranos usually only get to sing second roles in operas, with Bizet's Carmen and Rosina (in Rossini's Barber of Seville) as the most notable exceptions. These parts are often sung by dramatic sopranos, although this is inappropriate.

Famous mezzo-sopranos

• Janet Baker
• Agnes Baltsa
• Fedora Barbieri
• Cecilia Bartoli
• Teresa Berganza
• Olga Borodina
• Grace Bumbry
• Annette Daniels
• Barbara Dever
• Brigitte Fassbaender
• Maria Gay
• Denyce Graves
• Monica Groop
• Marilyn Horne
• Christa Ludwig
• Carla Maffioletti
• Anne-Sofie von Otter
• Regina Resnik
• Giulietta Simionato
• Frederica von Stade
• Salli Terri
• Tatiana Troyanos
• Shirley Verrett
• Carolyn Watkinson

See also

• Category:Mezzo-sopranos
• music terminology
• soprano
• alto
• countertenor
• tenor
• basso
• baritone
• bass-baritone
• timbre
• castrato