Sopranist

A sopranist (also, sopranista or male soprano) is a male singer who is able to sing in the vocal tessitura of a soprano usually through the use of falsetto vocal production. This voice type is a specific kind of countertenor.[1] In rare cases an adult man may be able to sing in the soprano range using his normal or modal voice (high chest voice) and not falsetto due to endocrinological reasons, like Radu Marian, or as a result of a larynx that has not completely developed as in the case of Michael Maniaci.[2]

Voice

A sopranist is able to sing in the soprano vocal range which is approximately between C4 and C6, though at times may expand somewhat higher or lower. Men of all voice types can possess the wide-ranged and effective reinforced falsetto needed to produce the contralto, mezzo-soprano and soprano vocal ranges. Some countertenors can sing up into the female vocal tessituras using the modal register (normal singing production) and need not employ any falsetto.[3]

Controversy over the term male soprano

Typically, the term "soprano" refers to female singers but at times the term "male soprano" has been used by men who sing in the soprano vocal range using falsetto vocal production instead of the modal voice. This practice is most commonly found in the context of choral music in England. However, these men are more commonly referred to as countertenors or sopranists. The practice of referring to countertenors as "male sopranos" is somewhat controversial within vocal pedagogical circles as these men do not produce sound in the same physiological way that female sopranos do.[1] Michael Maniaci and Radu Marian can refer to themselves as true male sopranos because they are able to sing in the soprano vocal range using the modal voice. Maniaci is able to do this because his larynx never fully developed as do most other men's voices during puberty.[4]

Repertoire

There is a large body of music for the male soprano that was 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 was abolished before the end of the 19th century. Sopranists are very rare, since most countertenors are altos and mezzos. In fact, probably because early famous countertenors were altos (like Alfred Deller), it was believed for a long time that countertenors can only be altos (and later, mezzo countertenors, like David Daniels or Jochen Kowalski were recognized). While there is some modern repertoire written for countertenors (sometimes written specifically for certain singers, like Britten's Death in Venice, which has a part that was written specifically for James Bowman), at present there are only a small number of modern pieces written specifically for the sopranist vocal type. An exception is Alfred Schnittke's 1995 opera Historia von D. Johann Fausten which calls for both a female alto and a male soprano Mephistopheles.

Notable sopranists

Present day notable sopranists include:

See also

References
  1. McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Genovex Music Group. ISBN 978-1-56593-940-0.
  2. "The man with the 300-year-old voice". The Times. London. 12 October 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  3. Giles, Peter (1982). The Countertenor. Muller Publishing Co.
  4. Times (London) article October 2007 (subscription required)
  5. "Simone Bartolini: Biography". Future Style. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  6. "Aris Christofellis". Opera Verona. 2015.
  7. Heilbut, Anthony (1 July 2012). "The Male Soprano". Believer Mag.
  8. Heilbut, Anthony (2012). The Fan Who Knew Too Much. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 262. edson cordeiro sopranista.
  9. Lynn Jolicoeur & Sacha Pfeiffer (May 14, 2014). "Shocked By His Own Voice: Male Soprano Soars In World's Smallest Vocal Category". WBUR-FM.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  10. "David Hansen: It's a Long Way to the Top" by Melissa Lesnie, Limelight, 6 September 2013
  11. Vyatcheslav Kagan-Paley bio from the Herman Braun Foundation
  12. "Vocal Battle: Adam Lopez vs. Georgia Brown". YouTube: Joatan Gomes. 19 September 2011.
  13. Quaquero, Myriam 'Una voce molto speciale', L'Unione Sarda June 2, 1997 (in Italian). Accessed 3 March 2019.
  14. "Cantata 'Sul Margine Adorato'". YouTube: Nougat-654. 19 January 2013.
  15. "'Vissi d'arte' from Tosca". YouTube: Oprichnik. 7 November 2011.
  16. "Dariusz Paradowski". Countertenors. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  17. Panarello, Joseph F. (5 June 2006). "Gender Bending with Brian Charles Rooney". Joseph F.
  18. Robinson-Martin, Trineice (2016). So You Want To Sing Gospel. Rowman and Littlefield. p. 111. ISBN 9781442239210.
  19. "André Vásáry", Wikipedia, 2019-05-08, retrieved 2019-09-02
  20. "About: Ray Chenez". Ray Chenez. 2014.
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