Editing Soprano (section)

== Subtypes and roles in opera ==
{{hatnote|See soprano subtype Main articles below for roles and singers.}}
Within the soprano voice type category are five generally recognized subcategories: [[coloratura soprano]], [[soubrette]], [[lyric soprano]], [[spinto soprano]], and [[dramatic soprano]].

=== Coloratura ===
{{main|Coloratura soprano}}
The coloratura soprano may be 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<sub>4</sub>) to "high F" (''[[in alt]]'') (F<sub>6</sub>) with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat lower or higher,<ref name="McKinney" /> e.g. an interpolated A{{music|b}}<sub>6</sub> in the Doll Aria, "Les oiseaux dans la charmille", from ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann]]'', e.g. by [[Rachele Gilmore]] in a 2009 performance, and a written A{{music|natural}}<sub>6</sub> by [[Audrey Luna]] in 2017 in ''[[The Exterminating Angel (opera)|The Exterminating Angel]]'', both at the [[Metropolitan Opera]] in New York.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/arts/music/metropolitan-opera-high-note-exterminating-angel.html "At the Met Opera, a Note So High, It's Never Been Sung Before"] by [[Zachary Woolfe]], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 7 November 2017</ref>

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<sub>3</sub>) to "high F" (F<sub>6</sub>) with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat higher or lower.<ref name=Coffin />

=== Soubrette ===
{{main|Soubrette}}
In classical music and opera, 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 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.<ref name=Stark /> A soubrette's range extends approximately from Middle C (C<sub>4</sub>) to "high D" (D<sub>6</sub>).<ref>[http://www.dolmetsch.com/defsv2.htm Music Dictionary Vm–Vz: Voice (s.), Voices (pl.) – coloratura-soubrette or soprano lirico leggiero], [[Dolmetsch]]</ref> The tessitura of the soubrette tends to lie a bit lower than the lyric soprano and spinto soprano.<ref name=Boldrey />

=== Lyric ===
{{main|Lyric 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 ''[[ingénue]]s'' and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have a range from approximately middle C (C<sub>4</sub>) to "high D" (D<sub>6</sub>).<ref name=Coffin />

The lyric soprano may be a light lyric soprano or a full lyric soprano.<ref name=Boldrey /> The light lyric soprano has a bigger voice than a soubrette but still possesses a youthful quality.<ref name=Boldrey /> The full lyric soprano has a more mature sound than a light-lyric soprano and can be heard over a bigger orchestra.<ref name=Boldrey />

=== Spinto ===
{{main|Spinto soprano}}
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 a somewhat darker timbre. Spinto sopranos have a range from approximately B (B<sub>3</sub>) to "high D" (D<sub>6</sub>).<ref name=Coffin />

=== Dramatic ===
{{main|Dramatic soprano}}
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<sub>3</sub>) to "high C" (C<sub>6</sub>).<ref name=Coffin />

Some dramatic sopranos, known as Wagnerian sopranos, have 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.<ref name=Boldrey />

=== Other types ===
Two other types of soprano are the ''[[Louise-Rosalie Lefebvre|Dugazon]]'' and the ''[[Cornélie Falcon|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.<ref name=Coffin />