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The terms Dugazon and Galli-Marié are sometimes used to refer to light mezzo-sopranos, after the names of famous singers. A castrato with a mezzo-soprano range was called a mezzo-soprano castrato.

Mezzo-sopranos typically sing secondary roles in operas, with Bizet's Carmen and Rosina (in Rossini's Barber of Seville) as the most notable exceptions. Typical roles for mezzo-sopranos include "witches, britches, and bitches", a common expression that summarizes their function in opera. Witches are the old hags, nurses, and wise women that are seen in operas, such as Azucena and Ulrica (which can be performed by contraltos).

Some roles designated for soubrette sopranos are also often sung by mezzo sopranos. This gives the roles a fuller and more dramatic quality, which often suits them well. Such roles include Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Other roles designated for dramatic sopranos walk a fine line between soprano and mezzo territory. Mezzos quite often play Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth, and even Isolde in Tristan und Isolde. These examples are simply proof that the line between soprano and mezzo soprano is not clearly defined.

In soul music, a person will sometimes be classified mezzo-soprano, if she can sing both contralto and soprano. To earn this classification however, she must be able to reach the D and even E above Soprano C, as well as the corresponding note below Middle C, thus possessing a three octave range.