Soprano sfogato

In the art of singing, the term "soprano sfogato" (unlimited soprano) designates a singer (contralto or mezzo-soprano) capable of – by sheer industry or natural talent – extending her upper range and being able to encompass the coloratura soprano tessitura. It is sometimes called soprano assoluta.

Origin

In the early 19th century as well as in the baroque and classical periods, distinctions between voices were not based so much on the range as in the tessitura and color of the voice. There were two main groups: soprano and alto. Their range was often blurred, relying more on tessitura to cast different roles in opera. In Italian bel canto, the soprano did not have extremely high notes actually written (often just to high C or D♭) and it was not until the nightingale type of sopranos such as Jenny Lind, Fanny Persiani, Adelina Patti and her imitators that ending the cabalettas in a climactic high E or E♭ became traditional as it was in the French grand opera which became so popular when Rossini moved to Paris. Singers however did ornament higher than high C but in a light and fast way as it was done still in the classical and baroque periods. Virtuosity was shown by quick-silver agility, changes in register and tessitura, perfect control of dynamics and tonal coloration, not by whistle-like high notes.

For mezzos/contraltos on the other hand, they started to be more used in Rossini's bel canto operas for example, and to assume roles replacing the castrati who by that time were almost extinct, and composers demanded a range often going as high as B below high C. This change in demand of the voice would give birth to the soprano sfogato or assoluta

These voices had in common with those of the greatest castrati the ability to sing widely contrasting tessituras, segments well into the low mezzo or contralto and segments in high soprano.

Characteristics

By definition, the soprano sfogato is linked to the mezzo/contralto. It possesses a dark timbre with a rich and strong low register, as well as the high notes of a soprano and occasionally a coloratura soprano. Those voices are typically strong, dramatic and agile, supported by an excellent bel canto technique and an ability to sing in the soprano tessitura as well as in the contralto tessitura with great ease, such as was said of Giuditta Pasta.

Testimonies of the time tell us that the main flaw of the soprano sfogato was the lack of homogeneity in the voice, something so prized in Mozart's time.

Exponents

The term soprano sfogato appeared at the same time as its greatest exponents: Isabella Colbran, Giuditta Pasta, Maria Malibran, Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis, Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, Mary Anne Paton (Mrs. Wood), Giuseppina Strepponi, Emma Calvé, Marianne Brandt, Félia Litvinne amongst others. Anther example was Pauline Viardot, who alternated roles of soprano and contralto. In the 20th century, the main exponent of this voice category was Maria Callas, though she did not perform roles of contralto, she did sing a couple of roles for mezzo in the mezzo keys and many of the roles associated with the soprano sfogato (Médée, Armida, Norma, Anna Bolena, Lady Macbeth, Abigaille, etc.) using overall a range of three octaves. Other assolutas/sfogatos of the 20th century were Marisa Galvany, Leyla Gencer, and Júlia Várady.

Roles

Other roles associated with this voice type are Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux, Gemma di Vergy, Reiza in Carl Maria von Weber's Oberon.

The common requirements for the roles associated with this voice type are:

• widely varied tessitura throughout the role, extended segments lying well into the low mezzo or contralto tessitura and segments lying in high soprano tessitura
• a range extending down to at least low B and at least up to high B with at least one whole tone required at either end
• fioratura (coloratura) singing in the most intricate bel canto style
• florid singing combined with heroic weight
• a heavy or dense sound in the lower range
• vocal power over energetic orchestral accompaniment

The major exponents of the soprano sfogato vocal type were able to sing both soprano and mezzo-soprano/contralto roles: Ronzi de Begnis was the first Elisabetta in Devereux, and she also performed Bellini's Romeo as well as Norma; Isabella Colbran sang both Armida and Desdemona in Rossini's Otello as well as the mezzo role of Paisiello's Nina and Mozart's soprano heroines; Giuditta Pasta originated Anna Bolena, Norma and La Sonnambula as well as singing La Cenerentola, Tancredi, Arsace, Cherubino and Romeo.

References

• Ferris, George T., Great Singers, First Series
• Ferris, George T., Great Singers, Second Series
• Riggs, Geoffrey S. (2003). The 'Assoluta' Voice in Opera, 1797–1847. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1401-4.