I am looking for a list of Italian names used to describe the qualitative and quantitative properies of a person's voices.

  • 2
    What do you mean exactly? Could you give some examples in English? – Charo Jun 24 '15 at 11:20

These names might be universal to languages given the historical development of classical Operas.

For men you have (from lower to higher in pitch):

  • Basso
  • Baritono
  • Tenore

For women you have (from lower to higher in pitch):

  • Contralto
  • Mezzosoprano
  • Soprano

There are of course voices in between categories. You find a complete list here, along with the vocal extension of each.

| improve this answer | |
  • Thank you for your answer. You have done a great job at providing the details and further pointer for the pitch aspect of things. But what about the other aspects? For instance "rauca, grintosa, accattivante, tenue, emozionante, Allegra, triste, ecc...)? I know the list is long, but a thesaurus doesn't help here, and a list of synonyms only partially. So where could I find such a list. Th – Jack Maddington Jun 25 '15 at 4:40
  • Also what is the most proper way to say that someone's pitch is "Basso" as opposed to the intensity of the voice is low "ha la voce bassa." Thanks. – Jack Maddington Jun 25 '15 at 4:44
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    @JackMaddington: So, what do you need is a list of adjectives rather than a list of names, isn't it? – Charo Jun 25 '15 at 6:50
  • 2
    To address the pitch normally I would say "Ha una voce da basso (o da tenore)" or "È un basso, un tenore" given proper contest. "Ha la voce bassa" means that the voice is lower for whatever reason: a cold, too much shouting, etc... – Riccardo I. Jun 25 '15 at 12:05

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