Soprano is the highest voice in the human register.
Soprano is a term originating in the Italian language that is used to name the highest voice in the human register or the highest voice within the framework of a harmony . By extension, someone who has this type of voice is called a soprano.
Due to its characteristics, this voice is the heritage of women and children . In the case of men, upon entering puberty, their vocal cords enlarge and therefore their voice is no longer as high-pitched. For a man to have a soprano voice in adulthood, it is necessary that his testicles be amputated before puberty to avoid hormonal change.
In this sense, it is worth noting that in the past this amputation was usually performed on certain children so that they could maintain the tone of their voice. The castrated male was known as a castrato (plural, castrati ). Baldassare Ferri , Nicolò Grimaldi , Giovanni Manzuoli and Alessandro Moreschi are some of the most famous castrati in history .
Since this practice has fallen into disuse today, the soprano voice is limited to children and women . The highest voice among men, thus, is countertenor.
Soprano classification
In the group of sopranos, it is possible to differentiate between different voices according to the specificities of each one: lyric soprano , light lyric soprano , spinto soprano , sfogato soprano , falcon soprano , coloratura soprano , dramatic coloratura soprano , light soprano and soprano soubrette , among others.
Among all the types of sopranos exposed, we can establish that the most frequent are the following:
- Light soprano , which is identified by being a clear, crisp voice with great range in the treble.
- Soprano soubrette , which is a voice similar to the previous one but with the difference that it has a lower register in the treble.
- Dramatic soprano , which has a really dark, serious timbre with a generous weight to the voice.
- Soprano sfogato , which is a voice that has spectacular powers in terms of volume, extension and color.
The soprano voice is the heritage of women and children.
Historical figures
There are many sopranos who have played a fundamental role in the history of music . However, among the best known are the following:
- Maria Callas ( 1923 – 1977 ). Fue una soprano griega que ha pasado a los anales como la más importante de todo el 20th century , tanto es así que fue conocida "The Divine" . Entre sus trabajos más relevantes están "Aida" , "Medea" , "Tosca" y "The Sonnambula" .
- Montserrat Caballé ( 1933 – 2018 ). Esta soprano catalana está considerada como una de las figuras más relevantes de la historia. Tiene en su haber una larga lista de éxitos así como reconocimientos, tales como la Gold medal ( 1954 ), el National Music Award of Spain ( 1988 ) y el Prince of Asturias Award ( 1991 ).
- Yma Sumac ( 1922 – 2008 ), que fue una soprano peruana de gran éxito a nivel mundial en la década de los años 50 .
"The Sopranos" series
On the other hand, it should be noted that "The Sopranos" (or "The Sopranos" in its original language ) was a great television series .
"The Sopranos" starred James Gandolfini and aired between 1999 and 2007 .