Low male voice repertoire in contemporary musical theatre: a studio and performance guide of selected songs 1996-2020 by

Complete Vocal Range 
Tessitura 
Any pitch in the score above an F
4 
should be held 
for a beat or less.
High range should be lower than or equal to D
4 
which lines up near most LMVs secondo 
passaggio. 
A score should require a frequency of sustained 
notes (more than eighth note/partial beat length) 
on A
2
or below, unless the tessitura of a piece 
includes a lower limit of C
3
or below. 
Low range should be lower than or equal to E
3
, 
unless the high limit is D
♭
4
or below. 
Regardless of note length, if an F#
2 
or lower is 
required, previous guideline does not need to be 
met. 
Tessitura limits may be raised by a half step on 
either end if selection is a character piece or 
utilizes a character voice. Frequently these pieces 
would be from roles stipulated for baritone or 
baritenor. 
After initial selection based on these guidelines, results of in-depth research specifically focused 
on material from 1996-2020 can be found within the following chapters and in the tables of Appendix B.
This research was also aided by following career trajectories of artists within the last four decades who 
both performed LMV roles from previously established canon and whose additional roles for new works 

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could indicate a piece, excerpt, or entire role requiring an individual actor’s vocal capabilities, and 
potentially low range (see Table A.2). 
Repertoire Charts. Each of the following in-depth song guides open with a table, which gives a 
brief introduction to the piece prior to being succeeded by more in-depth analysis. These charts can be 
used so that a viewer can predetermine if the repertoire would be of interest to their teaching, learning, or 
performance goals before delving into the in-depth analysis portion of each entry. Below is a sample 
table; American standard pitch notation is used to reference notes with C
4 
being middle C. 
Table 3.2. Sample Song Information Table