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39-672: Ria Ginster (15 April 1898 – 11 May 1985) was a German soprano who appeared mainly in recital and concert, including international tours. She was an academic voice teacher at the Zürich Conservatory , and gave master classes internationally, including at the Mozarteum , in Philadelphia and in New York. Born in Frankfurt , Ginster was the daughter of the conductor Peter Ginster. She attended

78-480: A treble is a boy soprano , whether they finished puberty or are still a child, as long as they are still able to sing in that range. The term "soprano" is also based on the Latin word superius which, like soprano, referred to the highest pitch vocal range of all human voice types. The word superius was especially used in choral and other multi-part vocal music between the 13th and 16th centuries. The soprano has

117-679: A 2009 performance, and a written A ♮ 6 by Audrey Luna in 2017 in The Exterminating Angel , both at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The dramatic coloratura soprano is a coloratura soprano with great flexibility in high-lying velocity passages, yet with great sustaining power comparable to that of a full spinto or dramatic soprano. Dramatic coloraturas have a range of approximately "low B" (B 3 ) to "high F" (F 6 ) with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat higher or lower. In classical music and opera,

156-446: A brighter timbre. Many young singers start out as soubrettes, but, as they grow older and the voice matures more physically, they may be reclassified as another voice type, usually either a light lyric soprano, a lyric coloratura soprano, or a coloratura mezzo-soprano. Rarely does a singer remain a soubrette throughout her entire career. A soubrette's range extends approximately from Middle C (C 4 ) to "high D" (D 6 ). The tessitura of

195-456: A light lyric soprano or a full lyric soprano. The light lyric soprano has a bigger voice than a soubrette but still possesses a youthful quality. The full lyric soprano has a more mature sound than a light-lyric soprano and can be heard over a bigger orchestra. Also lirico- spinto , Italian for "pushed lyric", the spinto soprano has the brightness and height of a lyric soprano, but can be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes without strain, and may have

234-542: A lyric coloratura or a dramatic coloratura. The lyric coloratura soprano is a very agile light voice with a high upper extension capable of fast vocal coloratura. Light coloraturas have a range of approximately middle C (C 4 ) to "high F" ( in alt ) (F 6 ) with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat lower or higher, e.g. an interpolated A ♭ 6 in the Doll Aria, "Les oiseaux dans la charmille", from The Tales of Hoffmann , e.g. by Rachele Gilmore in

273-438: A mezzo-soprano and the high notes of a soprano. A voice teacher would therefore look to see whether the singer was more comfortable singing higher, or lower. If she were more comfortable singing higher, then the teacher would probably classify her as a soprano. If the singer were more comfortable singing in the mid to lower part of their voice the teacher would probably classify her as a mezzo-soprano. The teacher would also consider

312-672: A recital at Grotrian Hall in London on 11 January 1938, with Reeves and clarinetist Charles Draper , she sang works by Mozart (" Das Veilchen "), Brahms ("Meine Liebe ist grün"), Schubert (" The Shepherd on the Rock "), Hans Pfitzner , and Reger (" Mariae Wiegenlied "). In 1938, Ginster was appointed professor and head of the concert class at the Zurich University of the Arts , with students including Hilde Zadek . She taught at Carnegie Tech as head of

351-436: A result of certain rare physiological conditions, can sing in the same range as women. These do not fall into the female categories, instead called countertenors within classical music. Within contemporary music, however, the use of the term tenor for these male voices would be more appropriate. Within choral music there are only four categories for adult singers: soprano and alto for women, tenor and bass for men. In

390-664: A singer's voice into a particular kind of singing use or voice type. The discipline of voice classification developed within European classical music and is not generally applicable to other forms of singing. Voice classification is often used within opera to associate possible roles with potential voices. There are several systems in use including the German Fach system , the Italian opera tradition, and French opera tradition. There are other systems of classification as well, most commonly

429-468: A somewhat darker timbre. Spinto sopranos have a range from approximately B (B 3 ) to "high D" (D 6 ). A dramatic soprano (or soprano robusto ) has a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over a full orchestra. Usually (but not always) this voice has a lower tessitura than other sopranos, and a darker timbre. Dramatic sopranos have a range from approximately A (A 3 ) to "high C" (C 6 ). Some dramatic sopranos, known as Wagnerian sopranos, have

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468-406: A soubrette soprano refers to both a voice type and a particular type of opera role. A soubrette voice is light with a bright, sweet timbre, a tessitura in the mid-range, and with no extensive coloratura. The soubrette voice is not a weak voice, for it must carry over an orchestra without a microphone like all voices in opera. The voice, however, has a lighter vocal weight than other soprano voices with

507-549: A very big voice that can assert itself over an exceptionally large orchestra (over eighty pieces). These voices are substantial and very powerful and ideally even throughout the registers. Two other types of soprano are the Dugazon and the Falcon , which are intermediate voice types between the soprano and the mezzo-soprano: a Dugazon is a darker-colored soubrette, a Falcon a darker-colored soprano drammatico. Vocal range While

546-479: Is from approximately middle C (C 4 ) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A 5 ) = 880 Hz in choral music , or to "soprano C" (C 6 , two octaves above middle C) = 1046 Hz or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which often encompasses the melody . The soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura , soubrette , lyric , spinto , and dramatic soprano. The word "soprano" comes from

585-410: Is the use of different forms of vocal production. The human voice is capable of producing sounds using different physiological processes within the larynx . These different forms of voice production are known as vocal registers . While the exact number and definition of vocal registers is a controversial topic within the field of singing, the sciences identify only four registers: the whistle register ,

624-681: The Lyzeum and learned violin, appearing in public at age 13. From 1916 she studied singing at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. She studied further at the Berlin University of the Arts with Louis Bachner, obtaining the Staatsexamen . From 1923 she performed as a lied singer primarily. Opera arias also belonged to her repertoire, but she rarely appeared on stage. She performed operatic roles for

663-489: The alto , tenor , and bass . Sopranos commonly sing in the tessitura G4-A5. When the composer calls for divisi, sopranos can be separated into Soprano I (highest part) and Soprano II (lower soprano part). In contrast to choral singing, in classical solo singing a person is classified through the identification of several vocal traits, including range, vocal timbre , vocal weight , vocal tessitura , vocal resonance , and vocal transition points (lifts or " passaggio ") within

702-511: The choral music system. No system is universally applied or accepted. Most of the voice types identified by such systems, however, are sub-types that fall under seven different major voice categories that are for the most part acknowledged across all of the major voice classification systems. Women are typically divided into three main groups: soprano , mezzo-soprano , and contralto . Men are usually divided into four main groups: countertenor , tenor , baritone , and bass . When considering

741-440: The coloratura repertoire, several roles call for E ♭ 6 on up to F 6 . In rare cases, some coloratura roles go as high as G 6 or G ♯ 6 , such as Mozart's concert aria " Popoli di Tessaglia! ", or the title role of Jules Massenet 's opera Esclarmonde . While not necessarily within the tessitura, a good soprano will be able to sing her top notes full-throated, with timbre and dynamic control. In opera,

780-425: The falsetto register , the modal register , and the vocal fry register . Typically only the usable pitches within the modal register—the register used in normal speech and most singing—are included when determining singers' vocal ranges. There are exceptions, as in opera, where countertenors employ falsetto and coloratura sopranos use the whistle register; notes from these registers would therefore be included in

819-433: The staff ). However, rarely is a soprano simply unable to sing a low note in a song within a soprano role. Low notes can be reached with a lowered position of the larynx . The high extreme, at a minimum, for non-coloratura sopranos is "soprano C" (C 6 two octaves above middle C), and many roles in the standard repertoire call for C ♯ 6 or D 6 . A couple of roles have optional E ♭ 6 s, as well. In

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858-408: The tessitura , vocal weight , and timbre of voices, and the roles they sing, are commonly categorized into voice types, often called Fächer ( sg. Fach , from German Fach or Stimmfach , "vocal category"). A singer's tessitura is where the voice has the best timbre, easy volume , and most comfort. In SATB four-part mixed chorus, the soprano is the highest vocal range, above

897-479: The Italian word sopra (above, over, on top of), as the soprano is the highest pitch human voice, often given to the leading female roles in operas. "Soprano" refers mainly to women, but it can also be applied to men; " sopranist " is the term for a male countertenor able to sing in the soprano vocal range, while a castrato is the term for a castrated male singer, typical of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, and

936-506: The UK, the term "male alto" refers to a man who uses falsetto vocal production to sing in the alto section of a chorus. This practice is much less common outside the UK where the term countertenor is more often applied. Countertenors are also widely employed within opera as solo vocalists, though the term "male alto" is never used to refer to a solo vocalist. Children's voices, both male and female, are described as trebles , although boy soprano

975-794: The broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk , including Melisande in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande and the title role in Puccini's Suor Angelica . Ginster gave concerts in Austria, Belgium, France, Finland, Holland, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, and from 1934 also in the U.S. and Canada. In London, she was the soprano soloist in Handel's Messiah , conducted by Thomas Beecham . In 1935, she performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In 1936 and 1941, she sang premieres of lieder by Othmar Schoeck . She performed

1014-449: The broadest definition of "vocal range" is simply the span from the lowest to the highest note a particular voice can produce, this broad definition is often not what is meant when "vocal range" is discussed in the context of singing. Vocal pedagogists tend to define the vocal range as the total span of "musically useful" pitches that a singer can produce. This is because some of the notes a voice can produce may not be considered usable by

1053-585: The highest vocal range of all voice types , with the highest tessitura . A soprano and a mezzo-soprano have a similar range, but their tessituras will lie in different parts of that range. The low extreme for sopranos is roughly A 3 or B ♭ 3 (just below middle C). Within opera, the lowest demanded note for sopranos is F 3 (from Richard Strauss 's Die Frau ohne Schatten ). Often low notes in higher voices will project less, lack timbre, and tend to "count less" in roles (although some Verdi, Strauss and Wagner roles call for stronger singing below

1092-509: The pre-pubescent voices of children an eighth term, treble , can be applied. Within each of these major categories there are several sub-categories that identify specific vocal qualities like coloratura facility and vocal weight to differentiate between voices. Vocal range itself does not determine a singer's voice type. While each voice type does have a general vocal range associated with it, human singing voices may possess vocal ranges that encompass more than one voice type or are in between

1131-435: The singer within performance for various reasons. For example, within opera all singers must project over an orchestra without the aid of a microphone. An opera singer would therefore only be able to include the notes that they are able to adequately project over an orchestra within their vocal range. In contrast, a pop artist could include notes that could be heard with the aid of a microphone. Another factor to consider

1170-480: The singer's voice. These different traits are used to identify different sub-types within the voice. Within opera , particular roles are written with specific kinds of soprano voices in mind, causing certain roles to be associated with certain kinds of voices . Within the soprano voice type category are five generally recognized subcategories: coloratura soprano , soubrette , lyric soprano , spinto soprano , and dramatic soprano . The coloratura soprano may be

1209-611: The soprano solo in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the 1937 Salzburg Festival . Wilhelm Furtwängler conducted the gala concert, with Rosette Anday , Helge Rosvaenge and Herbert Alsen as soloists. The same year, she was the soprano soloist, alongside Hans Hotter , in A German Requiem by Johannes Brahms, conducted by Herbert von Karajan . The program of a recital at Wigmore Hall in London on 7 February 1934 with pianist George Reeves began with Italian arias, followed by groups of songs by Schubert, Brahms, Debussy and Hugo Wolf . In

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1248-429: The soubrette tends to lie a bit lower than the lyric soprano and spinto soprano. The lyric soprano is a warm voice with a bright, full timbre, which can be heard over a big orchestra. It generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingénues and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have a range from approximately middle C (C 4 ) to "high D" (D 6 ). The lyric soprano may be

1287-455: The sound of the voice; sopranos tend to have a lighter and less rich vocal sound than a mezzo-soprano. A voice teacher, however, would never classify a singer in more than one voice type, regardless of the size of the vocal range of the singer. Within the operatic systems of classification, there are six basic voice types. The ranges given below are approximations and are not meant to be too rigidly applied. Some men, in falsetto voice or as

1326-479: The stage of the menstrual cycle while Puts (2006) found women preferred lower male voices mainly for short-term, sexual relationships. Intrasexual selection, via male competition, also causes a selection in voice pitch. Pitch is related to interpersonal power and males tend to adjust their pitch according to their perceived dominance when speaking to a competitor. Vocal range plays such an important role in classifying singing voices into voice types that sometimes

1365-457: The two terms are confused with one another. A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics; vocal range being only one of those characteristics. Other factors are vocal weight , vocal tessitura , vocal timbre , vocal transition points , physical characteristics, speech level, scientific testing, and vocal registration. All of these factors combined are used to categorize

1404-413: The typical ranges of two voice types. Therefore, voice teachers use vocal range as only one factor among many in classifying a singer's voice. More important than range in voice classification is tessitura , or where the voice is most comfortable singing, and vocal timbre, or the characteristic sound of the singing voice. For example, a female singer may have a vocal range that encompasses the low notes of

1443-415: The vocal ranges of these voices. The upper pitch range of the human voice is, on average, about half as high in males as in females. Even after controlling for body height and volume, the male voice remains lower. Charles Darwin suggested that the human voice evolved through intersexual sexual selection, via female mate choices. Puts (2005) showed that preference for male voice pitch changed according to

1482-638: The voice department when after leaving Germany under Hitler's rule saying that she preferred to "be small and free." She also taught from 1947 in New York. From 1949 to 1956, she gave master classes at the Mozarteum . Ginster died in Zürich on 11 May 1985. Ginster recorded especially lieder. She took part in a project to record all lieder by Hugo Wolf, which ran from 1931 to 1938, but remained uncompleted. Songs mostly by Schubert, but also Mozart, Schumann ( Frauenliebe ), Brahms, Debussy and Schoeck, were re-issued in 1997, titled The Art of Ria Ginster . In 1939, she

1521-603: Was the soprano soloist in a recording of Rossini's Petite messe solennelle , with John Barbirolli conducting the Westminster Choir and the New York Philharmonic , and soloists Bruna Castagna , Charles Kullman and Leonard Warren . Soprano A soprano ( Italian pronunciation: [soˈpraːno] ) is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types . The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation )

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