Part I of a Superconductor series on Voice Types.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
If I were teaching a basic class on the appreciation of opera, I might start with the different types of voices and singers. So we're starting a series on voice types, complete with entertaining musical examples. If you already know this information, you're still likely to enjoy the music!
Let's take it from top--literally.
Sopranos are (usually) female singers whose range runs two octaves (and possibly more). (Male sopranos are sometimes heard in choral music, but are commonly replaced by countertenors or even boy trebles.) Composers from another era wrote for the castrati (boy singers who were mutilated before puberty to preserve their voices) but we're not even going to go there right now.
The (usual) low note for a soprano is "middle" C (the center of the piano keyboard) although some operas can call for a middle A♭. The high note is another C, two octaves above middle C. Some composers ask for higher notes--all the way up to the series of high Fs that Mozart wrote into "Die hölle rache", a famous aria from Die Zauberflöte.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
 |
| La Divina: The great Maria Callas. Photo © EMI Classics. |
If I were teaching a basic class on the appreciation of opera, I might start with the different types of voices and singers. So we're starting a series on voice types, complete with entertaining musical examples. If you already know this information, you're still likely to enjoy the music!
Let's take it from top--literally.
Sopranos are (usually) female singers whose range runs two octaves (and possibly more). (Male sopranos are sometimes heard in choral music, but are commonly replaced by countertenors or even boy trebles.) Composers from another era wrote for the castrati (boy singers who were mutilated before puberty to preserve their voices) but we're not even going to go there right now.
 |
| The soprano range from Middle C to High F. |
