Various Artists - High Notes: More New Music for Sopranino / Various - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Jan Stulen - Das Hexenlied [COMPACT DISCS] date 06/28/1994

Barbe / Stegmann / Berlin Vocal Ensemble - German Folksongs in Settings for Mixed Choir [COMPACT DISCS] date 02/18/1997

The soprano voice occupies the highest-sounding line of music (in Italian 'sopra' means 'over' or 'above') and it is subdivided into various types. The coloratura is the virtuoso, suited for rapid ornamentation such as in Mozart's Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte). Puccini's Mimì (La Bohème) is an example of the lyric soprano, full of drama and well-rounded sound. More powerful than the lyric but retaining her softer qualities is the spinto, exemplified by Madama Butterfly, while the dramatic soprano, with her huge reserves of stamina, can be heard in works by Wagner. This quintessential collection of best-loved arias confirms that the soprano, in all her variety, sits at the very heart of the operatic experience.