Hear the record-breaking range of German bass Ivan Rebroff, down to his earth-shuddering low F

23 January 2025, 10:05 | Updated: 23 January 2025, 12:17

Ivan Rebroff was an extraordinary entertainer, with a seemingly elastic voice that could imitate liquid thunder and a shimmering bell in the same phrase. Have a listen...

Most professional singers can span between two to three octaves. Pavarotti’s scaled around two-and-a-half, from C3 to F5.

But get a load of this German bass, stage name, Ivan Rebroff, who defied all records with his four-octave-plus range which scaled comfortably from low bass to soprano registers – from liquid thunder, up to a shimmering bell.

Such was the span of his expressive voice, he was featured in the Guinness Book of Records for his vocal range which extended “easily over four octaves from a low F to a high F, one-and-a-quarter octaves above C”.

Have a listen to his impressive tessitura here...

IVAN REBROFF - VOCAL RANGE (F1-A5)

Born Hans Rolf Rippert in 1931, Rebroff grew up in Berlin, and cut his teeth singing with the esteemed Boys Choir Stadtsingerchor zu Halle. He later earned a scholarship to study singing, piano and violin at a music college in Hamburg.

Rebroff was a grafter, performing in over 6,000 concerts over his lifetime. He became known for singing Russian folk songs, also singing opera, hymns and musical theatre, famously playing Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.

He sang in multiple languages including German, French, Russian and Greek. In fact, Rebroff claimed he was of Russian descent, a claim that was apparently disputed.

An imposing figure on stage, Rebroff sported a huge beard, towered at over two metres tall, and typically walked out on stage wearing Cossack dress.

He continued performing into his 70s, and died aged 76 in Frankfurt in 2008, after a long illness.

Read more: Listen to the man who holds the record for lowest vocal note sung by a human

Ivan Rebroff - Kalinka

"Evening Bells" - Ivan Rebroff & Don Cossack Choir (oktavist Paul Myhalik)

Type his name into YouTube and you’ll find a host of clips of Rebroff singing folk songs like ‘Kalinka’, and plenty of compilations of his record-breaking range – a few of which you can watch above.

“He can basically sing an opera doing all the character himself,” one YouTuber commented.