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
Bass (voice type) a high F, the one above middle C), but few roles go over F. In the operatic bass repertoire, the highest notes are a G (The Barber in "The Nose" by Shostakovich) and, in the aria "Fra l'ombre e gl'orrori" in Handel's serenata "Aci, Galatea e Polifemo", Polifemo reaches an A. Within the bass voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories: "basso cantante" (singing bass), "hoher" bass (high bass), "jugendlicher" bass (juvenile bass), "basso buffo" ("funny" bass), "Schwerer Spielbass" (dramatic bass), lyric bass, and dramatic "basso profondo" (low bass). "Basso cantante" means "singing bass". "Basso cantante" is a higher,