lyric soprano

This is the most common female singing voice. There is a tendency to divide lyric sopranos into two groups: light and full.

A light-lyric soprano has a bigger voice than a soubrette but still possesses a youthful quality. There are a wide variety of roles written for this voice, and they may sing soubrette, baroque and other light roles as well.

Source: • Alice, Le comte Ory (Gioachino Rossini) • Ännchen, Der Freischütz (Carl Maria von Weber) (or soubrette) • Annina, La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi) • Antonia, The Tales of Hoffmann (Jacques Offenbach) • Clorinda, La Cenerentola (Gioachino Rossini) • Despina, Così fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (or soubrette) • Euridice, Orfeo ed Euridice (Christoph Willibald Gluck) • Giulietta, The Tales of Hoffmann (Jacques Offenbach) • Gretel, Hänsel und Gretel (Engelbert Humperdinck) • Juliette, Roméo et Juliette (Charles Gounod) • Laurie Moss, The Tender Land (Aaron Copland) • Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi (Giacomo Puccini) • Marguerite, Faust (Charles Gounod) • Marzelline, Fidelio (Ludwig van Beethoven) • Manon, Manon (Jules Massenet) • Musetta, La bohème (Puccini) • Pamina, The Magic Flute (Mozart) • Servilia, La clemenza di Tito (Mozart) • Sophie, Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss) • Sophie, Werther (Jules Massenet) • Susanna, The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) (or soubrette) • Zerlina, Don Giovanni (Mozart) (or soubrette)

A full-lyric soprano has a more mature sound than a light-lyric soprano and can be heard over a bigger orchestra. This more mature sound may make a full-lyric less suitable for some of the lighter roles. Occasionally a full lyric will have a big enough voice that she can take on much heavier roles, using volume in place of vocal weight. This is done when a more lyric timbre is desired in an otherwise heavier role. Otherwise full lyric sopranos need be judicious with spinto and other heavy roles to prevent vocal deterioration.

Source: • Emilia, The Makropulos Case (Leoš Janáček) • La Contessa, The Marriage of Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) • Liù, Turandot (Giacomo Puccini) • Lulu, Lulu (Alban Berg) • The Marschallin, Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss) • Magda, La rondine (Puccini) • Wally, La Wally (Alfredo Catalani) • Mimì, La bohème (Puccini) • Micaëla, Carmen (Georges Bizet) • Rusalka, Rusalka (Antonín Dvořák) • Tatyana, Eugene Onegin (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) • Hanna, The Merry Widow (Franz Lehár) • Bess, Porgy and Bess (George Gershwin)