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36-702: 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

72-484: 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

108-697: 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,

144-446: 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

180-849: A concert in New York City in November 1938. His operatic debut took place there in January 1939, when he sang Paolo in Simon Boccanegra . A recording contract with RCA Victor soon followed. Warren later sang in San Francisco, Chicago, Mexico City and Buenos Aires, and he appeared at La Scala in Milan in 1953. In 1958, he made a tour of the Soviet Union, but for most of his career he remained in New York City and sang at

216-456: 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

252-547: 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

288-441: A momentous thing"), and was supposed to open a sealed wallet, examine the contents and cry out "È salvo, o gioia" (He is safe, oh joy), before launching into the vigorous cabaletta . While Bing reports that Warren simply went silent and fell face-forward to the floor, others state that he started coughing and gasping, and that he cried out "Help me, help me!" before falling to the floor, remaining motionless. Roald Reitan , singing

324-692: 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

360-521: A second recording of Il trovatore with his final tenor co-star, Richard Tucker , featuring a young Leontyne Price in her Met debut role of Leonora; and Verdi's Macbeth , with Leonie Rysanek and Carlo Bergonzi . Private recordings exist of his Simon Boccanegra and Iago in Otello . He also was the Renato in an album of highlights from Un ballo in maschera made with Marian Anderson as Ulrica on

396-468: 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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432-406: 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

468-582: 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. Leonard Warren Born Leonard Warenoff in

504-479: 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

540-712: 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

576-489: 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

612-440: 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,

648-433: 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

684-408: 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

720-754: The Bronx to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, Warren was first employed in his father's fur business. In 1935, he joined the chorus at Radio City Music Hall . In 1938, he entered the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air. The Met sent him to Italy that summer with a stipend to study. Returning to the United States, Warren made his concert debut at the Metropolitan Opera in excerpts from La traviata and Pagliacci during

756-484: 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

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792-735: The Met. In 1950, he converted to Roman Catholicism , the faith of his wife Agatha, and became extremely devout. Although he sang Tonio in Pagliacci , Escamillo in Carmen , and Scarpia in Tosca , he was particularly acclaimed as an interpreter of the great Verdi baritone roles, above all the title role in Rigoletto , which was captured in 1950 on an RCA Victor recording with soprano Erna Berger and tenor Jan Peerce , conducted by Renato Cellini . This

828-454: The Surgeon, was on stage with Warren at the time of his death, and attempted to render aid. Although no autopsy was performed, Warren's death was initially thought to have been caused by a massive cerebral hemorrhage, but was later believed by the Met house physician who attended Warren after his collapse, to have been a heart attack; Warren was only forty-eight years old. His death affected

864-470: The album Leonard Warren: On Tour in Russia , available on both LP and CD. In his book The American Opera Singer (1997, ISBN ), Peter G. Davis wrote of Warren: The rich, rounded, mellow quality of [Warren's] voice, fairly bursting with resonant overtones, may not have been to every taste, particularly those preferring a narrower baritonal focus that "speaks" more quickly on the note. But by any standards it

900-757: 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

936-408: The entire concert was available years later on various unofficial CD releases. His other published complete opera recordings include La traviata with Rosanna Carteri , Cesare Valletti , and conductor Pierre Monteux ; Tosca , Aida , and Il trovatore , each with Zinka Milanov and Jussi Björling; La forza del destino with Milanov, Giuseppe Di Stefano , Rosalind Elias and Giorgio Tozzi ;

972-585: 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

1008-649: The occasion of her Met debut. In 1948, Warren sang in the first-ever live telecast from the Metropolitan Opera. Verdi's Otello was broadcast complete by ABC-TV on November 29, 1948, the opening night of the season. Ramón Vinay was Otello, Licia Albanese was Desdemona, and Warren sang the role of Iago. In 1958, Warren toured the USSR . He was one of the few American artists invited to do so and had great success at concerts in Leningrad and Kyiv . The concerts were recorded and excerpts have been released by RCA Victor on

1044-480: 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

1080-616: 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

1116-429: 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

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1152-642: 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

1188-489: Was a deluxe, quintessentially "Metropolitan Opera sound", one that seemed to take on a special glow and lustrousness as it opened up and spread itself generously around the big auditorium. And of course the easy top was its special glory—when relaxing with friends Warren would often tear into tenor arias like "Di quella pira" and toss off the high Cs that many tenors lacked. He could have, but never did, overindulge that applause-getting facility. Warren's last complete performance

1224-409: Was in the title role of Simon Boccanegra on March 1, 1960, at the Met. Three days later, on March 4, during a performance of La forza del destino with Renata Tebaldi as Leonora and Thomas Schippers conducting, Warren suddenly collapsed and died on stage. Eyewitnesses including Rudolf Bing reported that Warren had completed Don Carlo's Act III aria, which begins Morir, tremenda cosa ("to die,

1260-565: Was one of the earliest complete operatic recordings to be released on LP records. He also sang the role in a Madison Square Garden Red Cross benefit concert in 1944, in which only the final act of the opera was featured. Jan Peerce again sang the Duke, but Zinka Milanov was Gilda, and the NBC Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Arturo Toscanini . This Rigoletto excerpt was later released on records and CD by RCA Victor, and

1296-620: 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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