Spinto ( Italian for "pushed") is a vocal term used to characterize a

soprano 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 (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

voice of a weight between lyric and dramatic that is capable of handling large musical climaxes in

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

at moderate intervals. (Sometimes the terms ' or ' are used to denote this category of voice.) The spinto

voice type A voice type is a classification of the human singing voice into perceivable categories or groups. Particular human singing human voice, voices are identified as having certain qualities or characteristics of vocal range, vocal weight, tessitura ...

is recognisable by its tonal "slice" or ''squillo''. This enables the singer to cut through the wall of sound produced by a full Romantic

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

in a wide variety of roles, excluding only the most taxing ones written by the likes of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

(such as ''Brünhilde'', ''Isolde'', ''Tristan'' and ''Siegfried''),

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...

(''John of Leyden''), Verdi (''Otello''), Puccini (''Turandot'', ''Calaf'') and

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

(''Elektra''). * : A fundamentally lyric soprano with a fair amount of extra "pulp" in her tone and a distinct thrust in her vocal attack. As they possess both a lyric and a dramatic quality, spinto sopranos are suitable for a broad spectrum of roles, ranging from genuine lyric parts such as Micaela in '' Carmen'' and Mimì in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'' through to histrionically demanding Verdi heroines such as Leonora (in '' Il trovatore'' and '' La forza del destino'') and Aida, not to mention Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Tosca. Lighter Wagnerian roles such as Elsa in '' Lohengrin'' or Elisabeth in '' Tannhäuser'' also fall within their domain. Elisabeth Rethberg is a famous example of a soprano who sang exactly this kind of mixed Italian and German repertoire. * : The tenor equivalent of the above. He can convincingly sing roles as lyrical as Rodolfo in ''La bohème'', the Duke in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'' and Alfredo in '' La traviata'', yet still excel in parts as heavy as Cavaradossi in '' Tosca'', Don Jose in '' Carmen'' and Radames in '' Aïda''. Canio, in ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'', and '' Lohengrin'' are other well-known examples of spinto tenor roles.

References

External links

A recording of six different sopranos
singing " Vissi d'arte", illustrating the sound of a spinto voice and how it differs from a lyric voice; hosted at parterre box. In order: 1) Lyric ( Claudia Muzio); 2) Spinto ( Leontyne Price); 3) Spinto ( Renata Tebaldi); 4) Spinto ( Zinka Milanov); 5) Lyric (

Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...

); 6) Spinto ( Antonietta Stella) Italian opera terminology Voice types {{Opera-stub

See also

References

External links