A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre which can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have a range from approximately middle C (C4) to "high D" (D6). There is a tendency to divide lyric sopranos into two groups:

Light lyric soprano

A light-lyric soprano has a bigger voice than a soubrette but still possesses a youthful quality. Light lyrics often have a “full package” of musicianship, appearance and stagecraft. This voice needs to be careful in its repertory choices, because smaller houses may offer them heavier roles if they have good stage presence. Then as they become successful, if they take these meatier roles into larger houses they will damage their voices. There are a wide variety of roles written for this voice, and they may sing soubrette, baroque and other light roles as well.

• To hear an example of a Light lyric soprano (Barbara Bonney as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier) click on this link: Watch here

(Bonney is the girl on the left who sings first)

Light lyric soprano singers

* Barbara Bonney

* Lucia Popp

* Lucrezia Bori

* Ileana Cotrubaş

* Elisabeth Schumann

Light lyric soprano roles

* Ännchen, Der Freischütz (or soubrette)

* Annina, La Traviata (Verdi)

* Clorinda, La Cenerentola (Rossini)

* Despina, Così fan tutte (Mozart) (or soubrette)

* Euridice, Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck)

* Gretel, Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck)

* Laura Moss, The Tender Land (Aaron Copland)

* Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi (Puccini)

* Manon, Manon (Massenet)

* Marzelline, Fidelio (Beethoven)

* Musetta, La bohème (Puccini)

* Pamina, Die Zauberflote (Mozart)

* Sophie, Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss)

* Susanna, Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) (or soubrette)

* Zerlina, Don Giovanni (Mozart) (or soubrette)

Full lyric soprano

A full-lyric soprano has a more mature sound than a light-lyric soprano and can be heard over a bigger orchestra. This more mature sound may make a full-lyric less suitable for some of the lighter roles. Occasionally a full lyric will have a big enough voice that she can take on much heavier roles, using volume in place of vocal weight. This is done when a more lyric timbre is desired in an otherwise heavier role. Otherwise full lyric sopranos need be judicious with spinto and other heavy roles to prevent vocal deterioration.

• To hear an example of a Full lyric soprano (Renee Fleming as La Contessa Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro) click on this link: Watch here

Full lyric soprano singers

* Montserrat Caballé

* Lisa della Casa

* Victoria de los Ángeles

* Renee Fleming

* Mirella Freni

* Angela Gheorghiu

* Anna Moffo

* Anna Netrebko

* Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

* Eleanor Steber

* Teresa Stratas

* Kiri Te Kanawa

Full lyric soprano roles

* Antonia, The Tales of Hoffmann (Offenbach)

* Juliette, Roméo et Juliette (Gounod)

* La Contessa, The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)

* Liù, Turandot (Puccini)

* The Marschallin, Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss)

* Magda, La Rondine (Puccini)

* Marguerite, Faust (Gounod)

* Mimì, La bohème (Puccini)

* Micaëla, Carmen (Bizet)

* Nedda, Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) also Spinto Soprano

* Rusalka, Rusalka (Dvořák)

* Tatyana, Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)

References

Further reading

Boldrey, Richard (1994). Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias. Caldwell Publishing Company. Boldrey, Richard; Robert Caldwell, Werner Singer, Joan Wall and Roger Pines (1992). Singer's Edition (Light Lyric Soprano): Operatic Arias - Light Lyric Soprano. Caldwell Publishing Company. Boldrey, Richard; Robert Caldwell, Werner Singer, Joan Wall and Roger Pines (1992). Singer's Edition (Soubrette): Operatic Arias - Soubrette. Caldwell Publishing Company. Coffin, Berton (1960). Coloratura, Lyric and Dramatic Soprano, Vol. 1. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc..