What Does soprano Mean
Soprano , originating in the Italian language, is a term used to name the highest voice in the human register or the highest voice in 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, when entering puberty, their vocal cords enlarge and therefore the voice stops being so high. For a man to have a soprano voice in adulthood, it is necessary to have his testicles amputated before puberty to prevent hormonal change.
In this sense, it should be noted that in the past it was used to practice this amputation on certain children so that they maintain the tessitura of their voice. The castrated man was known as castrato (plural, castrati ). Baldassare Ferri , Nicolò Grimaldi , Giovanni Manzuoli and Alessandro Moreschi are some of the most famous castrati in history .
Since today this practice has become obsolete, the soprano voice is limited to children and women . The loudest voice among men, in this way, is countertenor.
In the group of sopranos, it is possible to differentiate between different voices according to the specifics of each: soprano , soprano light , soprano spinto , soprano sfogato , soprano falcon , 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 a great range in what are the treble.
-Soprano soubrette, which is a voice similar to the previous one but with the difference that it has a lower register in what is the treble.
-Dramatic soprano, which has a really dark, deep timbre and with a generous weight in the voice. -Soprano sfogato, which is a voice that has spectacular powers in terms of volume, extension and color.
Many are the sopranos who have played a fundamental role in the history of music. However, among the best known are the following:
-María Callas (1923 - 1977). She was a Greek soprano who has gone down in the annals as the most important of the entire 20th century, so much so that “La Divina” was known. Among his most relevant works are "Aída", "Medea", "Tosca", "La Sonnambula" ...
-Montserrat Caballé (1933). She is a Catalan soprano who has been considered one of the most relevant figures on the international scene for decades. He has to his credit a long list of successes as well as recognitions, such as the Gold Medal (1954), the National Music Prize of Spain (1988) or the Prince of Asturias Award (1991).
-Yma Sumac (1922 - 2008), who was a highly successful Peruvian soprano worldwide in the 1950s.
On the other hand, it should be noted that "Los Sopranos" (or "The Sopranos" in its original language ) was a television series starring James Gandolfini that aired between 1999 and 2007 .