Does a mezzo voice have to be dark? Marie Wells

[morwen9]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPoqQdSeAXc. This is a clip from the 1929 film version of The Desert Song featuring Marie Wells as Clementina and Jack Pratt as Ali Ben Ali. Checking StageAgent's Desert Song page and looking at the character descriptions on Google Books reveals that Clementina is a mezzo.

I have a voice that sounds very like Marie Wells' when I sing. Her voice from the impression I get in that film clip, was light and so is mine. I've been classified more recently as a soprano, (my first teacher said I was a mezzo) but I've heard mezzos with light voices like me. And I can sing the role of Clementina very easily. (I'll record a better quality version of Brass Key later because right now I seem to have a permanent stuffed nose, which I get every winter- argh!) Unfortunately I haven't yet actually had a chance to play the role. Since every other actor in that production fits the voice type of the character they were cast as, (the good voices are one of the best aspects of that movie) I think it's unlikely they would have cast a soprano as Clementina in 1929 although there have been sopranos playing the role. So was Marie Wells a mezzo with a light voice or a soprano? (Also posted to HWI)

[morwen9]

Anyone have opinions on this? On another forum I'm on, one of the posters said that mezzos often have warm voices, her reason for believing that MW was a mezzo.

[John]

It's difficult to judge Marie's voice from the quality of that recording. She does generally have a lower timbre to her voice. There are also some rather excruciating high notes, but again, the recording probably does her no favours.

Mezzos are often characterized by a richness or warmth of tone but there are variations. Looking at the mezzos featured on this site, Katherine Jenkins must be the best known. I have heard her voice described by another singer as "thick" (a descriptive term, not an insult - maybe that is what you mean by "dark"). Kathleen Procter-Moore shares a similar vocal quality, though her style is different. On the other hand Faryl Smith and Hayley Nolan have much lighter voices yet still retaining the warmth. Sisca is different again; her accent lends an exotic quality to the songs on her album but she also sounds gorgeous in straight classical songs.

Two other deep voices that stand out for me are Daisy Chute from All Angels and Becky Jane Taylor. I'm not sure how Daisy is officially classified but she can certainly pack in the emotion. Becky is a soprano but she is also very powerful in the lower range. Hers must be the voice of the year for me.

I don't know if I have answered your question. I am no expert on vocal classification, but those are some of my thoughts on the subject.

[morwen9]

@john: My voice is warm, and I can also sing lower notes. (I can sing Memory and I Dreamed a Dream) Some people said that I sound like Marie.