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definitions

mezzo-soprano

[met-soh-suh-pran-oh, -prah-noh, med-zoh-, mez-oh-]Music.
noun, plural mez·zo-so·pran·os, mez·zo-so·pran·i [met-soh-suh-pran-ee, -prah-nee, med-zoh-, mez-oh-] /ˈmɛt soʊ səˈpræn i, -ˈprɑ ni, ˈmɛd zoʊ-, ˈmɛz oʊ-/.
  1. a voice or voice part intermediate in compass between soprano and contralto.
  2. a person having such a voice.
adjective
  1. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable to a mezzo-soprano.

Origin of mezzo-soprano

Borrowed into English from Italian around 1745–55
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for mezzo-soprano

Contemporary Examples of mezzo-soprano

Historical Examples of mezzo-soprano

  • She sings very sweetly too; her voice is a sort of mezzo-soprano.

  • This rle may be sung by a contralto, but is better adapted to a mezzo-soprano.

    Stars of the Opera

    Mabel Wagnalls

  • Tell me, have you composed anything for a woman's voice, for a mezzo-soprano?

  • The voice singing was clear and soft, yet strong—a mezzo-soprano without any culture save that of practice and native taste.

    Romany of the Snows

    Gilbert Parker

  • This first song of the queen, who must have a mezzo-soprano voice of dramatic quality, combines dignity and pathos.

    Stars of the Opera

    Mabel Wagnalls

British Dictionary definitions for mezzo-soprano

mezzo-soprano

noun plural -nos
  1. a female voice intermediate between a soprano and contralto and having a range from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above itSometimes shortened to: mezzo
  2. a singer with such a voice
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for mezzo-soprano
n.

1753; see mezzo + soprano.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper