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soprano

(Encyclopedia)soprano [Ital.,=above], female voice of highest pitch. The three basic types of solo soprano are coloratura, lyric, and dramatic. The coloratura has a great range and impressive vocal agility; the lyr...

Fremstad, Olive Nayan

(Encyclopedia)Fremstad, Olive Nayan frĕmˈstăd [key], 1871–1951, Swedish-American soprano; pupil of Lilli Lehmann. She came to the United States as a child. After her European debut (Cologne, 1895), she sang co...

Grisi, Giulia

(Encyclopedia)Grisi, Giulia jo͞oˈlyä grēˈzē [key], 1811–69, Italian operatic soprano. She toured the United States in 1854 with Giuseppe Mario, whom she married in 1856. Roles were written for her by Bellin...

Flagstad, Kirsten

(Encyclopedia)Flagstad, Kirsten kĭrˈstən flăgˈstăd, Nor. khĭshˈtən flägˈstä [key], 1895–1962, Norwegian soprano. She made her debut in 1913 but sang only in Scandinavia until 1934, when she appeared a...

Babbitt, Milton

(Encyclopedia)Babbitt, Milton, 1916–2011, American composer, b. Philadelphia. Babbitt turned to music after studying mathematics. He studied composition with Roger Sessions at Princeton, and taught there from 193...

treble

(Encyclopedia)treble, highest part in choral music, thus corresponding in pitch to soprano, but associated with the voice of a boy or a girl. The term appeared in 15th-century English polyphony, probably as an angl...

Sontag, Henriette

(Encyclopedia)Sontag, Henriette kôntĕsˈsä rôsˈsē [key], 1806–54, German operatic soprano, studied at the Prague Conservatory. In Vienna in 1823 she created the leading role in Weber's Euryanthe and in 1824...

Ponselle, Rosa

(Encyclopedia)Ponselle, Rosa pŏnzĕlˈ [key], 1897–1981, American operatic soprano, b. Meriden, Conn. First appearing in vaudeville, she made her debut (1918) at the Metropolitan Opera in Verdi's La forza del de...

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