Voice type C). In the lower and upper extremes some contralto voices can sing from D3 (the D below middle C) to B5 (the second B-flat above), one whole step short of the soprano "high C". Contralto tessitura: The contralto voice has the lowest tessitura of the female voices. Contralto subtypes: Contraltos are often broken down into three subcategories: coloratura contralto, lyric contralto, and dramatic contralto. A soprano sfogato is a contralto who has an extended high range reaching the soprano "high C". Countertenor range: The countertenor is the highest male voice. Many countertenor singers perform roles originally written for a castrato
Range (music) Range (music) In music, the range, or chromatic range, of a musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play. For a singing voice, the equivalent is "vocal range". The range of a musical part is the distance between its lowest and highest note. Among British English speakers, and perhaps others, compass means the same thing as chromatic range—the interval between the lowest and highest note attainable by a voice or musical instrument. The terms sounding range, written range, designated range, duration range and dynamic range have specific meanings. The sounding range refers to