bass explained
The lowest standard male voice type, with a range typically from E2 to E4
In Depth
The bass voice provides the harmonic foundation of choral and operatic ensembles. Subtypes include basso cantante (singing bass, lyric and flexible), basso buffo (comic bass, agile and characterful), basso profondo (the deepest type, with extraordinary low range), and bass-baritone (higher tessitura, bridging bass and baritone). In opera, bass roles include kings, priests, villains, and supernatural figures — the voice's weight and depth conveying authority and gravitas.
The lowest note ever demanded in standard operatic repertoire is a D2 in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail — a note that only true basso profondos can produce with full resonance.