Sopranist
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A sopranist is a countertenor who is able to sing in the soprano vocal range, normally spanning from A3 to C6 in total phyiscal range. Both baritone based and tenor based singers can possess the wide ranged and effective falsetto needed to produce the Alto and Soprano ranges.
The technic to sing in the soprano range is based on the falsetto technic employed by countertenors to switch from their "base voices" (or "chest voices") into a higher register. A Sopranist is, basically, a countertenor whose upper register is much larger and more well developed than that of the more common Alto Countertenor. For instance, the upper range of the Alto Countertenor is usually between C5 (or C#5 for "mezzo" type countertenors) and E5 (or F5 for "mezzo" type countertenorrs), while the Sopranist Countertenor upper range spans from C5 (or C#5) up to C6 and even greater. Some Sopranists, such as Adam Lopez, can even reach the whistle register), though the parts which sopranists usually sing only reach A5 or B5.
Though Sopranist vocal types, much like Countertenor vocal types, have not been formally classified as of yet, there are notable differences between different singers, such as Michael Maniaci vs. Adam Lopez - the first having a richer, darker tone (often classified as "dramatic (voice)") while the latter has a slightly more flexible, thinner tone (often classified as "lyric (voice)"). This distinction, while not yet formalized, also applies to a much greater extent in countertenors.
There is a large body of music for male soprano written when it was common to use a castrato - a voice type which, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists, as the practice of castrating trebles has been abolished before the end of the 19th century. Sopranists are very rare, since most Countertenors are altos. As of now, there is no modern body of work written specifically for the Sopranist vocal type.
Present day sopranists include:
- Simone Bartolini
- Jorge Cano
- Ouatu Florin Cezar
- Aris Christofellis
- Robert Crowe
- Anton Diva
- Paul Laumont
- Adam Lopez
- Michael Maniaci
- Angelo Manzotti
- Radu Marian
- Javier Medina
- Tomotaka Okamoto
- Dariusz Paradowski
- Brian Charles Rooney
- Oleg Ryabets
- Jörg Waschinski
External links
- [The Male Soprano]
- [Jörg Waschinski's website]
- [The World of the Castrati and Male Soprano]
- [Website for Aris Christofellis]
- [Jorge Cano]
- [Radu Marian]
- [Paulo Abel do Nascimento]
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