On Sun, 24 Sep 2000, Dolphin aura wrote:
> Can anyone tell me what is the normal range of a
> soprano? Is there a difference in ranges for lyric,
> dramatic, coloratura?
Here is my insane answer - which is really my chance to share my crazy
theory about soprano/coloratura voices!
One of the reasons there are so many kinds of sopranos and therefore so
many ranges is: Sopranos should be split into two separate categories!
We commonly assume sopranos are like tenors, mezzos like baritones,
contraltos like basses. I think this arbitrary, according the concept that
women are about an octave higher than men. I have another system which is
based on the idea that women are actually a ninth or tenth higher.
This chart will look like jibberish unless you use a fixed-width font
like "courier": <TT>
Contralto Mezzo-soprano Soprano Coloratura
D3-G5 G3-Bb5 Bb3-C6 C4-E6
True Bass Bass-baritone Baritone/Baritenor Tenor
C2-F4 E2-G4 G2-A4 Bb2-C5
--------- ------------- ------------------ -----------
2% 13% 70% 15%
</TT>
As everyone knows, Sopranos and Baritones are a dime a dozen. Whereas
coloratura sopranos are about as rare as high tenors. This is my
approximate breakdown based on people I've known. Not exactly science, but
I think most people would agree with these populations and approximate
ranges, generally. Of course each fach within these ranges has its own
common ranges, sometimes overlapping with the next category, but I'm just
going for averages here.
Am I insane, or are sopranos and coloturas as different in timbre as
tenors and baritones? I feel they are!
What do you all think? Thanks!
Tako
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