The worlds of opera and musical theatre comprise some legendarily demanding items for the human voice.

Some international locations’ nationwide anthems are fairly difficult to sing, too. Right here is our rundown of a few of the most taxing songs from opera, musical theatre and past.

Hardest songs to sing

We have divided our listing into opera arias, songs from musical theatre, and Lieder. We finish, only for enjoyable, with a few notably difficult nationwide anthems.

Hardest and most tough opera arias

‘Queen of the Evening’ (soprano, from Mozart, The Magic Flute)

This aria from one among Mozart‘s best operas is difficult resulting from many elements, not least the succession of excessive Fs (F6, to be exact, two and a half octaves above center C). Additionally it is a splendidly exuberant piece of music and deservedly, one of many most well-known opera songs within the repertoire.

We named The Magic Flute one of many 20 best operas of all time.

‘Now the Nice Bear and Pleiades…’ (tenor, from Britten, Peter Grimes)

Close to the tip of the primary Act of Britten‘s tense, gripping opera Peter Grimes, the opera’s titular anti-hero enters the village pub with this music. And fairly a demanding quantity it’s, too, partly because it sits in a probably awkward vary for a lot of tenors.

The notes are in an space the place tenors should transition from decrease, or ‘chest’ voice to increased, or ‘head’ voice. It may be onerous to make that swap seamlessly.

‘Largo al Factotum’ (baritone, from Rossini, The Barber of Seville)

Rossini’s comedian opera The Barber of Seville is commonly cited as one of many greatest operas for newcomers, in our phrases ‘a frivolous, fizzy feast of enjoyable, packed stuffed with wit, pleasure and vocal fireworks’. As it’s possible you’ll guess from that final phrase, the work is considerably tougher for performers than for audiences – maybe notably the aria ‘Largo al Factotum’ (‘Make method for the servant’).

On this case, the issue is within the phrases moderately than the music: ‘Largo al Factotum’ is one thing of a tongue-twister, with plenty of rapid-fire diction required. The singer wants to ensure each syllable is clearly audible – plus, they’re usually anticipated so as to add some particular person prospers too. So consider the baritone on stage subsequent time you’re having fun with the Barber…

‘Il Dolce Suono’ (coloratura soprano, from Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor)

As we’re seeing, opera arias might be tough in quite a lot of alternative ways: the vary, the lyrics, the ingredient of individuality anticipated of the singer. The actual technical challenges of this lovely aria from Donizetti’s Scottish-set opera Lucia di Lammermoor lie within the fast leaps between its excessive and low notes.

What’s extra, like ‘Largo al Factotum’ above, the singer can be anticipated so as to add many a flourish and curlicue…

‘O Don Fatale’ (mezzo, from Verdi, Don Carlos)

Vary (and energy) are the challenges right here. ‘O Don Fatale’ is sung by the aristocratic princess, Eboli, as she curses her personal magnificence and delight, and resolves to make amends by making an attempt to avoid wasting Carlos from the Spanish Inquisition.

This stirring aria deploys the complete mezzo-soprano vary, and in addition asks for fairly a storehouse of vocal energy. There is a challengingly excessive B flat on the finish, too…

‘Ah! Mes Amis’ (tenor, from Donizetti, La fille du régiment)

One other entry for Donizetti. What makes ‘Ah! Mes Amis’ such a frightening music to carry out is the succession 9 excessive Cs (‘pour MON AME! J’ai SA FLAMME!’, etcetera) required of the tenor close to the tip of what’s, additionally, a reasonably lengthy aria.

Right here is Luciano Pavarotti, the most effective tenors of all time, giving ‘Ah! Mes Amis’ a completely good run via:

Hardest songs from the musicals

‘The Phantom of the Opera’ from The Phantom of the Opera

That is an attention-grabbing case aside. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is from the world of musical theatre – certainly, it is arguably one the greatest stage musicals ever written – but it surely’s set on this planet of opera. Which means, to play the function of Christine, you actually need an opera-trained actress – and infrequently is that this extra evident than within the musical’s title music.

Its high word is an E6: throughout the attain of operatic sopranos, however not at all times of musical theatre performers. What’s extra, the music ends on this E6 with vibrato. Fairly the problem.

‘(N0t) Getting Married At the moment’ from Firm

Stephen Sondheim‘s 1970 musical Firm checked out courting, marriage and divorce in New York Metropolis, because it adopted mid-30s bachelor Bobby and his interactions together with his married associates. At one level, Bobby’s buddy Amy has a second of pure panic (in music) about her forthcoming marriage.

As befits its nervous power, this music is fast-paced and demanding on the singer – one part options 68 phrases sung in an round 11 seconds. Clear diction, pinpoint pitch and breath management are all crucial right here. Some good comedian timing additionally helps the music go off nicely. Not an excessive amount of to ask, then.

Enjoyable reality: in 2018 we acquired a gender-swapped manufacturing of Firm. Among the many adjustments, the unique’s nervous bride Amy was now an anxious groom, Jamie.

‘Pity the Baby’ from Chess

This one is a high-note problem for male singers. ‘Pity the Baby’ climbs the tenor vary remorselessly, ending on a C5, an octave above center C. Earlier than you even get there, there are 4 minutes of very intense, emotive singing, that includes rasps, growls, and extra.

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‘Glitter and Be Homosexual’ from Candide

This music from Leonard Bernstein‘s operetta Candide has loads of coloratura passages – sections stuffed with sung gildings similar to trills, runs, vast leaps and extra. As such, it wants a singer who can discover the proper stability between breath management and vocal projection.

Hardest classical songs

Schubert, ‘Gretchen am Spinnrade’

This Schubert Lied, or music, calls on loads of resourcefulness from its soprano performer. They have to embody an aged girl who’s remembering a love affair from a few years earlier than.

Furthermore, they must sing and reminisce towards the piano accompaniment, which repersents the spinning wheel referred to within the music’s title. The wheel begins to spin ever extra frantically, and ‘Gretchen’ begins to lose her grip on actuality. It is a uniquely highly effective and demanding piece of singing.

Berio, ‘Sequenza III’

The third in a collection of 14 solo compositions by the avant-garde composer Luciano Berio, The third within the collection, ‘Sequenza III’, is for the human voice. And it is formidably demanding, because it accommodates a wealth of directions for the singer: tender, langourous, wistful, whining… usually following one another in brief order.

Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde – varied

Mahler’s symphony in music accommodates a few of the most difficult Lieder or artwork songs within the repertoire. Most notably, the opener ‘Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde’ for tenor, and the closing ‘Der Abscheid’ – which, at nearly half-hour in size, is a take a look at of stamina as a lot as something.

Schubert, ‘Erlkönig’

One other Schubert music, and one other one which requires some fantastic appearing expertise. On this one, the (male) singer is required to play 4 very totally different roles, every with their very own vary and elegance.

He’s, by turns, the narrator; a father carrying his sick little one on horseback via a roiling storm; stated little one, terrified by his visions of the Erlkönig, a sinister child-killing elf; and the Erlkönig himself, who tries to steer the little boy to come back and stay fortunately with him.

Hardest nationwide anthems to sing

‘The Star Spangled Banner’ (USA) / Ecuador nationwide anthem

In her e-book Id Designs: The Sights and Sound of a Nation, creator Karen Cerulo invented a system for measuring the technical difficulties of various nationwide anthems, based mostly on how far singers needed to journey from one word to the opposite and the way shortly these adjustments adopted one another within the melody.

Primarily based on this technique, the UK’s nationwide anthem ‘God Save the King‘ / ‘God Save the Queen’ got here out as one of many best, and ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ one of many hardest anthems to sing. However the hardest of all, it seems, is Ecuador’s. Listed here are the lyrics to Ecuador’s nationwide anthem.