poser and librettist.

It was owing to the use by light tenors of the so-called falsetto
voice, now no longer in favor with the public, that such of the
_operas-comiques_ by Boieldieu, Halevy, Auber, etc., which still keep
the stage, necessitate frequent _pointage_, in order to render their
execution compatible with existing requirements. Sometimes a composer
utilizes an exceptional voice, as was the case with the roles written
for Martin. This singer must have possessed either a strong tenor
voice with exceptional low tones, or a baritone voice with perhaps an
unusual command of the falsetto--history furnishes but vague
information on this point. In any case, the roles written for
him--called Martin-tenor or Martin-baritone parts--are now assigned to
the ordinary baritone. _Pointage_ then becomes inevitable, as in the
case of Herold's _Zampa_, the compass required as printed being from

[Music]

In the roles, such as _Mignon_ (Thomas) and _Carmen_ (Bizet), written
for Madame Galli-Marie, their respective composers themselves have so
arranged the parts that they may be sung by either mezzo-soprano or
soprano. The role of Mignon has alternatives, in order that it may be
sung by three types of female voices. The roulades and cadenzas were
subsequently added by the composer for Madame Christine Nilsson.

If the role is sung by a high soprano, Mignon's first air, "Connais-tu
le pays," is transposed a tone higher into _E_ flat.

In the famous duet between Raoul and Valentine in the fourth act of
_Les Huguenots_, the composer has given alternative notes for those
tenors who do not possess the exceptional altitude required for the
higher of the two:

[Music: Ah! viens! ah! viens! ah! viens!

or

viens! ah! viens!]

I heard recently, however, a performance of this opera, in which the
tenor sang the whole of the music as written, without either
transposition or _pointage_. So it was sung, I should imagine, by the
famous Adolphe Nourrit, who created the role; but the pitch at that
time (1836) was lower than it is at present.

Thus composers have recognized the necessity at times of _pointage_ in
certain roles written for exceptionally gifted singers, in order to
render possible to the many that which was originally written for the
few.

Changes from the published version have also been made--and proving
effective have passed into tradition--by singers who, exercising the
liberty then accorded them by composers, hav