Soprano (musical voice)
A soprano is the highest pitch category of the human singing voice, typically associated with a vocal range that spans from middle C to high C. The term "soprano," derived from the Italian word for "above," became prominent in the mid-eighteenth century, particularly during the rise of Italian opera, which favored higher vocal ranges. Sopranos are distinguished by their ability to produce high pitches, achieving nearly two thousand vocal cord vibrations per second. Historically, female sopranos were not widely accepted in public performance until the seventeenth century due to societal and religious restrictions, which often favored prepubescent boys or castrati to perform higher vocal parts.
The acceptance of female sopranos marked a significant cultural shift, particularly in the context of opera, where they became stars and soloists. Notable sopranos from the past include Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni, who performed works by composers like George Frideric Handel. In contemporary music, sopranos continue to thrive in both classical and popular genres, with distinguished artists such as Anna Netrebko and Mariah Carey representing the range's versatility. The soprano voice plays a crucial role in various musical traditions and remains a celebrated aspect of vocal performance today.
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Soprano (musical voice)
Soprano is the highest pitch category of human singing voice. The term soprano, derived from the Italian word for "above" (sopra), arose in the mid-eighteenth century when the Italian opera favored higher vocal ranges. The vocal range of the average soprano spans from middle C to high C. Vocal cord vibration, the movement of air through tightened larynx muscles to produce sound, determines the pitch, or the degree of highness or lowness of a tone. Only sopranos can reach the highest pitches, achieving almost two thousand vocal cord vibrations per second.
Sopranos are renowned in theatrical and choral art forms mostly for their powerful, yet gentle, voice projection. Those with a soprano vocal range include women, girls, and young boys.
Overview
The primary music compositions of the Middle Ages (c. 500–c.1500) were Gregorian chants, which were created for religious services. During the Ars Nova ("new art") movement that began in fourteenth-century Europe, composers began to expand the variety of rhythm and meter. Polyphony, a musical style in which several parts are combined to create a melody, became fully developed during the sixteenth century and required a greater range of singing voices.
Although women are able to produce the purest soprano range, they were not used as sopranos in liturgical services or theaters until the seventeenth century, when the Italian opera rose in popularity. Church doctrine forbade women to sing during services, and society rejected the notion of women performing in public. Before female soprano singers were widely accepted, either prepubescent boys or castrati, adult male singers whose testicles were surgically removed before puberty to prevent their voices from deepening, performed higher range vocals.
Italian musical compositions and operas became so advanced during the seventeenth century that music fans in Western Europe clamored for performances. The first French opera, Pomone, was composed by Robert Cambert and starred soprano Marie-Madeleine Jossier, also known as Cartilly. Her performance influenced an important cultural change: female singers were accepted as soloists and stars of the opera.
Two of the most famous female sopranos of the eighteenth century were Italians Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni. They sang the works of renowned composer George Frideric Handel. The opera singers were highly competitive, and the feud fueled by this competition inspired the terms prima donna and diva, which are still used in the twenty-first century.
Opera and concert music that featured leading soprano roles became popular in the United States during the nineteenth century. European choral culture influenced larger cities in America, such as New York City and New Orleans, to begin establishing opera houses and concert halls. Concert soprano Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield is regarded as America's first African American pop star. Greenfield, a former slave, was successful despite racial tensions at the time. She performed at venues including Metropolitan Hall in New York City and England's Buckingham Palace for Queen Victoria.
Sopranos remain stars in classical and popular music. Famous sopranos of the twenty-first century include opera singers Anna Netrebko, Renée Fleming, and Cecilia Bartoli, and pop singers Mariah Carey, Céline Dion, and Christina Aguilera.
Bibliography
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