Choosing a singer’s voice type is one of the most difficult and important challenges facing today’s voice instructor. This decision affects every aspect of a singer’s development, as no singer can be truly successful with inappropriate repertoire.

This volume and its companion for young sopranos and mezzo-sopranos is designed to offer guidance to voice teachers in dealing with hard-to-categorize students.

In four concise steps, Eustis outlines a methodology for determining a singer’s voice type:

• Diagnose the primary technical issues.
• Observe changes in the sound as technique improves.
• Understand the psychology of voice type.
• Use appropriate repertoire to achieve the above goals.

Contents: Introduction - George Frideric Handel: L’aure che spira - Henry Purcell: Who can behold Florella’s charms? - Joseph Haydn: Fidelity - Franz Schubert: An Sylvia - Felix Mendelssohn: Jagdlied - Allesandro Scarlatti: Da te lungi - Anonymous: Bergère legère - Gabriel Fauré: Chanson de Shylock - Charles Wakefield Cadman: From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water - Jay A Pierson: Music - Appendix A: Additional Repertoire for Investigation - Appendix B: Relevant Books - Appendix C: Discography - Appendix D: Score Sources
 

Lynn Eustis, soprano, is Associate Professor of Voice at the University of North Texas and appears regularly as a soloist with numerous professional organizations. She earned a Doctor of Music in Opera from Florida State University, a Master of Music in Opera from the Curtis Institute of Music, and a Bachelor of Music in Voice from Bucknell University.