Meanings
plural heldentenors
- A singer with a deep, strong voice that spans the range between baritone and tenor
Over the course of his lifetime, he will be forced to endure ... precocious heldentenors [.]
2004, Joe Queenan, True Believers, page 1581 more example
The absence of the Lyric's usual work-horse heldentenor William Johns (who, according to Lyric, dropped out of the show--quite uncharacteristically--due to illness) was sadly evident here.
1988 October 21, George Grass, “WagnerVision”, in Chicago Reader
Origin
- GermanHeldentenor
- Englishheldentenor
From German Heldentenor. Literally, “hero tenor”.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
heldentenor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heldentenor
“heldentenor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heldentenor. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “heldentenor,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heldentenor.
Source: heldentenor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.