The word fach sounds like a bad word. It is a German word meaning “compartment” and is used in opera to describe particular voice types, often in incredibly specific detail. There’s:
- soubrette
- lyric soprano
- light lyric soprano
- full lyric soprano
- lyric coloratura soprano
- lyrico-spinto soprano
- dramatic soprano
- drammatico-spinto soprano
- helden soprano
- heldensoubrette (okay, that one was made up by my friend Yvonne DeChance)
And that’s just for the sopranos. It goes on for the other voice types (mezzo-soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone, bass). It’s not nearly as rigid as it used to be – if you were a soubrette, singing a full lyric aria would be considered “punching above your weight class.” Now, it’s a bit more relaxed (a soubrette still shouldn’t sing Wagner though – which would be the definition of the heldensoubrette).
But in English, the word “fach” is funny. And when I use it with students, their eyes widen and they say, “WHAT?” (My teacher used to describe the process of transitioning from mezzo to soprano or baritone to tenor as “faching up.” I had a student once who asked if we could call our next showcase, “Another Faching Recital.” I said no. But I’ll admit I was tempted.)
In musical theater, there are basically two fachs: belter and legit. And you’re expected to learn to do both if you want to work in the business. You might be known more for your legit singing (Kelli O’Hara, Kristin Chenoweth) or your belt (Sutton Foster, Patti Lupone) but you have to be able to do both, at least somewhat.
This still doesn’t mean that you can or even should do everything, especially as a young singer. There may be some roles that you could sing, but you might not be comfortable with them yet based on who you are as a person. Yes, as an actor, you want to stretch yourself and you have plenty of time to do that. But right now, if you’re in high school and you’re looking for the roles that you feel you can inhabit at this moment, perhaps you need to think of a few things. You need to determine your own personal fach, the one beyond the voice (which doesn’t have to be tied to your body type).
What role do you gravitate towards in the following musicals (and right now I’m focusing on female roles – sorry, boys):
- Thoroughly Modern Millie: Millie – Miss Dorothy – Mrs. Mears
- Little Women: Jo – Amy – Meg – Beth
- Seussical: Gertrude – Maisie – Sour Kangaroo
- Mary Poppins: Mary – Mrs. Banks – Miss Anderson
- Carousel: Julie – Carrie – Nettie
- Ragtime: Mother – Evelyn Nesbit – Emma Goldman – Sarah Brown
- Mean Girls: Cady – Regina – Janis – Gretchen – Karen
If you see a pattern of the kind of character you feel you could play at this point in time, perhaps these are the roles you should focus on in preparing your audition book. You will – and should – evolve over time. You should work on at least one thing that is not “you,” in order to grow as an artist. But you have plenty of time for that.
So – what the actual “fach” are you?
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