Soprano sfogato

In the art of singing, the term "soprano sfogato" designates a singer (contralto or mezzo soprano) capable of by sheer industry or natural talent to extend her upper range and be able to encompass the coloratura soprano tessitura.

Origin

In the early 19th century as well as in the baroque and classical periods, distinctions between voices were not based so much based on the range as in the tessitura and color of the voice. There were only two main groups: soprano and contralto.The range for contralto and soprano was often blurred, relying more on tessitura to cast different roles in opera. Also, in Italian bel canto, the soprano didn't have very many high notes actually written (often just to high C or Db) and it wasn't until the 1880s with Adelina Patti and her imitators that ending the cabalettas in a climactic high Eb or high E became customary, 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.

For contraltos in the other hand, they started to be more used on bel canto operas of Rossini for example, and to assume roles replacing the castrati that 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.

Characteristics

By definition, the soprano sfogato was linked to the contralto. She possessed 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 were typically large, 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.

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

Exponents

The term soprano sfogato appeared at the same time as its greatest exponents: Isabella Colbran, Giuditta Pasta and Maria Malibran. Other example was Pauline Viardot, who alternated roles of soprano and contralto. In the 20th century the main exponent of this voice category was probably Maria Callas, though she didn't alternate roles of contralto, she did sing a couple of roles for mezzo in the mezzo keys, as well as singing many of the roles written for Giuditta Pasta, using overall a range of 3 octaves.

In modern time it could be said that another exponent is Cecilia Bartoli, though without a very large voice she is capable of singing contralto roles as well as the bel canto soprano roles and utilizes an extension up to E or even F above high C as well as a low register down to the low E below middle C.