Mezzosoprano

As Printed on a Score

Labels the staff of a voice between soprano and contralto (Mezzosoprano, Mezzo soprano, often just Mezzo; Mz. later), written in treble clef. Mezzo alone at the head of a vocal staff names the voice; inside a direction it means “half” (mezzo forte, mezza voce), so its position on the page decides.

Abbreviations: Mz., Mez.

Also spelled: Mezzo soprano, Mezzo-soprano

How Composers Use It

The mezzo’s comfortable range runs roughly from A3 to A5, with a richer, darker middle than a soprano’s. In opera it is cast as mothers, rivals and young men in trouser roles (Cherubino, Octavian) as well as heroines such as Carmen. Choirs rarely have a separate mezzo part — mezzos sing second soprano or alto — so the label belongs mainly to solo writing or to a divided women’s chorus.

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