A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C<sub>4</sub>) = 261 Hz to A<sub>5</sub> in choral music, or to soprano C (C<sub>6</sub>) or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which often encompasses the melody. The soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, soubrette, lyric, spinto, and dramatic soprano.
Etymology
The word "soprano" comes from the Italian word sopra (above, over, on top of), as the soprano is the highest pitch human voice, often given to the leading female roles in operas. "Soprano" refers mainly to women, but it can also be applied to men; "sopranist" is the term for a male countertenor able to sing in the soprano vocal range, while a castrato is the term for a castrated male singer, typical of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries,
The low extreme for sopranos is roughly A<sub>3</sub> or B<sub>3</sub> (just below middle C). Within opera, the lowest demanded note for sopranos is F<sub>3</sub> (from Richard Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten). Often low notes in higher voices will project less, lack timbre, and tend to "count less" in roles (although some Verdi, Strauss and Wagner roles call for stronger singing below the staff). However, rarely is a soprano simply unable to sing a low note in a song within a soprano role.
In opera, the tessitura, vocal weight, and timbre of voices, and the roles they sing, are commonly categorized into voice types, often called ( , from German or , "vocal category").
Subtypes and roles in opera
Within the soprano voice type category are five generally recognized subcategories: coloratura soprano, soubrette, lyric soprano, spinto soprano, and dramatic soprano.
Coloratura
The coloratura soprano may be a lyric coloratura or a dramatic coloratura. The lyric coloratura soprano is a very agile light voice with a high upper extension capable of fast vocal coloratura. Light coloraturas have a range of approximately middle C (C<sub>4</sub>) to "high F" (in alt) (F<sub>6</sub>) with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat lower or higher,
The dramatic coloratura soprano is a coloratura soprano with great flexibility in high-lying velocity passages, yet with great sustaining power comparable to that of a full spinto or dramatic soprano. Dramatic coloraturas have a range of approximately "low B" (B<sub>3</sub>) to "high F" (F<sub>6</sub>) with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat higher or lower. The tessitura of the soubrette tends to lie a bit lower than the lyric soprano and spinto soprano.