Buffo

What it means

Buffo designates the comic Fach (voice type) in opera and the singer who fills it. The best known is the bass buffo, but there are equally tenor and baritone buffos as well as corresponding roles for the female voice. What is required is less vocal lustre than agility, clarity of text, and dramatic presence. Characteristic is a delivery close to speech, with rapid syllable sequences, sharp articulation, and frequently repeated notes.

Musical use

The Fach arose with the comic opera of the eighteenth century, in which servants, schemers, and ridiculous figures of authority appear. Musically this shows in arias that rely on wordplay and tempo: tongue-twister-like passages, sudden changes of tone, and rapid enumerations are typical. Compared with the serious Fach, the long vocal line recedes, while rhythm and declamation gain weight. Such roles are also preserved in later periods and in operetta; their musical core — text before cantilena — hardly changes.

Performance practice

Practise fast text passages first without pitch, only as spoken rhythm, and increase the tempo step by step; clarity comes from the consonants, not from volume. Keep the larynx free so that agility does not turn into pressing. Take care to support the tone even in comic delivery — closeness to speech is no renunciation of vocal technique. Work with the conductor on the balance, because such passages are easily covered by the orchestra. Prepare gesture and timing together with the music, since the comedy arises from the interplay.

Bear in mind that the Fach has its own repertoire of stock situations — disguise, mistaken identity, feigned indignation — whose effect depends on precise preparation and not on spontaneous inspiration. Work out tempo and gesture together with the music, because both happen in the same beat. Watch for intelligibility in the low register too, where consonants are easily swallowed. Plan your strength, for comic parts are often extensive and stand in the foreground over long stretches.