Names for singing voices were originally meant to indicate the part they sang in a choir or vocal ensemble. The highest part was the soprano etc. In opera they started using names to indicate the type of an individual voice. read more
The mezzo-soprano is the middle female voice and the most common of the female singing voices, which tends to dominate in non-classical music, with vocal range that typically lies between the A below"middle C" (C 4) to the A two octaves above (i.e. A 3 –A 5). read more
When the terms soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone, and bass are used as descriptors of non-classical voices, they are applied more loosely than they would be to those of classical singers and generally refer only to the singer's perceived vocal range. read more