Voice type in baroque operas. Except for a few very rare voices (such as the American male soprano Michael Maniaci or singers with a disorder such as Kallmann syndrome), singers called countertenors generally sing in the falsetto register, sometimes using their modal voice for the lowest notes. Historically, there is much evidence that the countertenor, in England at least, also designated a very high tenor voice, the equivalent of the French "haute-contre". Until about 1830, all male voices used some falsetto-type voice production in their upper range. Countertenor voices span a broad range, covering E3 to E5. Countertenor subtypes: Countertenors are often
Voice type broken down into three subcategories: sopranist or "male soprano", the "haute-contre", and the castrato. The last actual castrato singer, Alessandro Moreschi, died in 1922. Tenor range: The tenor is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3 (one octave below middle C) to C5 (one octave above middle C). The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2 (the second B-flat below middle C). At the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to F5 (the second F above middle C). Tenor tessitura: The tessitura of the tenor voice lies above the baritone voice