The lyric soprano has probably the widest choice available in both repertoire and dream roles. The quality of the voice lends itself to many differing roles, some verging into coloratura and others into more dramatic territory. The voice is in all respects lyrical: it is capable of long, broad phrases, possessing warmth and fullness of tone, and capable of extreme beauty with emotional commitment.
For those lyric sopranos with a capacity for coloratura (what is ingeniously termed “lyric-coloratura”), one role springs immediately to mind – Violetta in La traviata. It is the Act I cabaletta “Sempre libera” that demands so much from the coloratura; and yet, most of the role is in essence lyric. There are moments during the opera where Violetta has outbursts of coloratura, but it is this cabaletta by which many a soprano has either launched or crashed her career. Simply, this cabaletta takes no prisoners! (Consider Angela Gheorghiu’s resounding success at Covent Garden in 1993-4.) Generally, the more lyric the soprano tackling this role, the less capacity it has for coloratura, and the more difficult this aria becomes. Verdi’s relentless building towards the climax at the end of the aria is what proves to be the biggest demand on the artist. No matter how well the rest of the role is sung, it is this cabaletta by which the audience will judge theirVioletta. So why does the role appeal?
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It must be this very challenge which sopranos wish to attempt, like climbing Mount Everest, and saying: “I am not just a lyric soprano, look at what else I can do!” We have all seen, or heard, of productions where the soprano looks as likely to be suffering from consumption as an elephant in Paradise; fortunately, opera companies and casting directors have begun to find sopranos with not only the right vocal, but also the right physical attributes. (My apologies to any soprano of a more fuller figure, but since Callas sang Violetta, this has been the trend.)
Musically, the role is a real showpiece for the soprano. It displays all that the lyric voice can offer. Although Verdi demands much from his soprano, he also gives much, allowing her time and space to recover from the cabaletta of Act One before her confrontation with Germont Père in Act Two, Scene Two. He also gives her a most satisfying finale in Act Three.
For those lyric sopranos who do not possess the capacity for coloratura to convincingly portray Violetta, what roles can they aspire to? There is Mimi, in La Bohème, which is probably the essential lyric dream role of all (and another, very different, consumptive victim); or the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. I will be considering them both in my next article.
Ian Wilson-Pope
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