mezzo-soprano
noun
a voice or voice part intermediate in compass between soprano and contralto.
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mezzo-soprano
American
[met-soh-suh-pran-oh, -prah-noh, med-zoh-, mez-oh-]
/ ˈmɛt soʊ səˈpræn oʊ, -ˈprɑ noʊ, ˈmɛd zoʊ-, ˈmɛz oʊ- /
noun
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mezzo-sopranos,
plural
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mezzo-soprani
plural
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a voice or voice part intermediate in compass between soprano and contralto.
-
a person having such a voice.
adjective
mezzo-soprano
British
noun
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Sometimes shortened to: mezzo. 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 it
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a singer with such a voice
mezzo soprano
Cultural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mezzo-soprano
Borrowed into English from Italian around 1745–55
Explanation
In classical music, a mezzo-soprano is the second-highest singing voice. While they don't sing the very highest notes, mezzo-sopranos reach higher registers than contraltos. In Italian, mezzo means "middle," and soprano, "the treble in music," is from a root meaning "above." Mezzo-sopranos are right in the middle, between soprano and contralto voices. Classical music lovers describe mezzo-sopranos as sounding darker and richer than the brighter, higher tone of a soprano. If you want be an opera or choral singer but you can't quite reach those high notes, you may be a mezzo-soprano!
Vocabulary lists containing mezzo-soprano
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For celebrated US mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, taking on the piece at the current time was necessary.
From Barron's ● Apr. 5, 2026
“I’m always a little saddened when one artist dismisses another’s art form as dead,” said Jamie Barton, a Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026
Canadian mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny described Chalamet's comments as a "disappointing take" while Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis asked in an Instagram Story: "Why are any artists taking shots at any other artists?"
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
But it happened to include a performance by a noted traditional mezzo-soprano, Jamie Barton, that already sets a high standard for operatic performance of the young year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2025
It had none of the soprano shrillness, but was more of a mezzo-soprano quality throughout, and softer than velvet.
From Famous Singers of To-day and Yesterday by Henry C. Lahee
O’Connor, a multi-octave mezzo soprano of extraordinary emotional range who was recognizable by her shaved head, began her career singing on the streets of Dublin and soon rose to international fame.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 8, 2023
Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt will deliver a remembrance and there will be a pair of musical selections from mezzo soprano Denyce Graves, with Lauren Ward on piano.
From Fox News ● Sep. 25, 2020
TV star June Whitfield, mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly and 100-year-old Gone with the Wind actress Olivia de Havilland also join Dame Julie as new dames.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2017
The movie swoons from set piece to set piece, Chéreau’s restless camera accompanied by the keening of the Israeli mezzo soprano Ofra Haza.
From New York Times ● Sep. 18, 2014
It was that mellow quality of sound that musicians call mezzo soprano, whose gift it is to steal softly over the senses and steep them in a sweet rapture of peaceful delight.
From The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly by Charles James Lever
Tolerable baritones have been transformed into very mediocre tenors, capable mezzo-soprani into very indifferent dramatic soprani, and so on.
From Style in Singing by W. E. Haslam
That same year, one of the group’s two mezzo-sopranos, Caroline Shaw, won the Pulitzer Prize for music for her piece “Partita for 8 Voices.”
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 4, 2019
Among the guest vocalists are baritone Kevin Deas, mezzo-sopranos Sheila Houlahan and Kristen Choi, and tenor Ross Hauck.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2018
Her next role, “Maria Stuarda,” can be sung by mezzo-sopranos, like Joyce DiDonato, who inaugurated the Met’s production in 2013, or sopranos, like Ms. Radvanovsky.
From New York Times ● Jan. 28, 2016
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker mingled with former stars of “Law & Order,” members of the band Earth, Wind and Fire, ballerinas, silver-haired television anchors and mezzo-sopranos.
From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2014
Usually the three classes of voices receive different treatment, one form of instruction being used for sopranos and tenors, another for mezzo-sopranos and baritones, and a third for altos and bassos.
From The Psychology of Singing A Rational Method of Voice Culture Based on a Scientific Analysis of All Systems, Ancient and Modern by David C. (David Clark) Taylor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
