Honestly it annoys me when someone says I have a “big voice”, and here’s why:

I don’t actually have a “big” voice.

My voice throws/carries/has a lot of high partials so you hear it over a big orchestra.

It’s not loud or boomy or dark (all descriptions of excellent kinds of voices...which are not my voice).

My voice is housed in a big body. But that doesn’t mean big is the correct word for my voice. There are definitely people – both civilian and professional – who see me and categorize my singing and my fach before they hear me.

So no, I’m not going to pick apart the semantics of someone who is just trying to comment that I can be heard during FF orchestral moments – that is a lovely comment to get from anyone.

But admin and casting and the like? I hope y’all understand those differences. Some of y’all....it’s very clear that you don’t.

And singers – can we drop the weird and superficial obsession with whether the voice is “big” or not?

Big(ger) voices *do* struggle with technical issues and growth spurts and delayed timelines that light(er) voices maybe don’t face in the same way.

BUT. It often is used as a blanket term for whether or not you can be heard in certain repertoire. & the language is very imprecise – and it often leads singers into choosing repertoire that does a disservice to their specific talent IMO. // end weedy technical rant