The word "soprano" generally refers to a female singer of this highest vocal range and to her voice. Boy singers whose voices have not changed are known either as "boy sopranos" or, in the Anglican and English Catholic traditions, as trebles. Some adult male singers use a special technique without using falsetto in order to sing in this high range, and they are known as sopranistas.
More generally, a soprano is the highest member of a group of similar instruments (for example, the soprano saxophone).
In opera, the character and timbre of soprano voices are often categorized according to the German Fach system. The soprano Facher, with examples of respective roles, are:
- Leggero (or soubrette)
- Adele (Die Fledermaus)
- Ännchen (Der Freischütz
- Despina (Così fan tutte)
- Marzellina (Fidelio)
- Musetta (La Bohème)
- Nannetta (Falstaff)
- Susanna (La Nozze de Figaro)
- Zerlina (Don Giovanni)
- Coloratura
- Blondchen (Die Ertfübrung aus dem Serail)
- Gilda (Rigoletto)
- Norina (Don Pasquale)
- Olympia (Hoffmanns Erzählungen)
- Rosina (Barbiere de Sevilla)
- Sofie (Der Rosenkavalier)
- Zerbinette (Ariadne auf Naxos)
- Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi)
- Oskar (Un Ballo en Maschera)
- Dramatic Coloratura
- Konstanza (Die Ehtführung aus dem Serail)
- Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte)
- Contesa (Figaro)
- Königin (Die Zauberflöte)
- Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus)
- Violetta (La Traviata)
- Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni)
- Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor)
- Margarethe (Faust)
- Full Lyric Soprano
- Mimi (La Bohème)
- Pamina (Die Zauberflöte)
- Michael (Carmen)
- Liù (Turandot)
- Spinto Soprano
- Agathe (Die Freischütz)
- Donna Anna (Don Giovanni)
- Elsa (Lohengrin)
- Desdemona (Othello)
- Leonora (Il Trovatore)
- Tatajana (Eugen Onegin)
- Rezia (Oberon)
- Elizabeth (Tannhauser)
- Dramatic soprano
- Aida
- Elisabeth (Don Carlos)
- Leonora (Fidelio)
- Donna Anna (Don Giovanni)
- Leonore (La Forza del Destino)
- Tosca
- Sieglinde (Die Walküre)
- Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos)
- Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana)
- Butterfly (Madama Butterfly)
- Amelia (Un Ballo en Maschera))
- Norma
- Wagnerian soprano
- Senta (Der fliegenden Hollander)
- Elektra
- Brünnhilde (Die Walküre, Die Gotterdämmerung, Siegfried)
- Isolde (Tristan und Isolde)
- Turandot
Famous sopranos have often caused opera enthusiasts to divide into opposing "clubs" supporting one singer over another. The rivalry between the respective fans of Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, for example, was one of the most famous of all opera (see anecdotes in La Tosca article).
Some famous or well known sopranos include:
- Arleen Augér
- Isobel Baillie
- Kathleen Battle
- Erna Berger
- Barbara Bonney
- Catherine Bott
- Maria Callas
- Ileana Cotrubas
- Geraldine Farrar
- Mirella Freni
- Amelita Galli-Curci
- Angela Gheorghiu
- Edita Gruberova
- Elisabeth Gruemmer
- Hilda Gueden
- Heather Harper
- Barbara Hendricks
- Gundula Janowitz
- Sumi Jo
- Sena Jurinac
- Emma Kirkby
- Lotte Lehmann
- Jenny Lind
- Eva Marton
- Nellie Melba
- Zinka Milanov
- Birgitt Nilsson
- Jessye Norman
- Adelina Patti
- Lucia Popp
- Leontyne Price
- Amanda Roocroft
- Anneliese Rothenberger
- Elisabeth Schumann
- Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
- Beverly Sills
- Elisabeth Soderström
- Cheryl Studer
- Conchita Supervia
- Joan Sutherland
- Renata Tebaldi
- Luisa Tetrazzini
- Magie Teyte
- Eva Turner
- Kiri Te Kanawa
- Victoria de los Angeles
- Dawn Upshaw
- Galina Vishnevskaya
- Florence Foster Jenkins
See also:
- mezzo soprano, contralto, counter tenor, tenor, baritone, bass baritone, bass, castrato, sopranista
- music, opera, bel canto
