Who’re the very best sopranos of all time? Choosing the highest 10 biggest sopranos is an inconceivable process. Do you go for old-school divas like Maria Callas or Montserrat Caballé or at this time’s superstars – Anna Netrebko or Renée Fleming? Pure, excellent early-music voices or huge Wagnerian ones? We’ve mentioned and debated and compiled our record of the best sopranos that includes old-school divas and at this time’s superstars. Scroll right down to learn and hearken to our choice of the very best sopranos of all time.
Take heed to Renée Fleming’s Lieder on Apple Music and Spotify.
Maria Callas
“The Queen of La Scala,” “La Divina,” “The Bible of Opera” – who else however Maria Callas? The soprano noticed herself as two individuals – Callas the artist, and Callas the girl – however for audiences it was the intoxicating blur of the 2 that might elevate her from performer to legend. Callas’s repertoire prolonged from the frothy bel canto of Donizetti to Wagner. Tosca, nevertheless, will all the time be Callas’s biggest position. Her passionate declaration ‘Vissi d’Arte, Vissi d’Amore’ (‘I Lived For Art, I Lived For Love’) would possibly simply as simply have been the singer’s personal.
Joan Sutherland
When Pavarotti calls you “the voice of the century”, you understand you’re one thing particular. Maybe the very best coloratura soprano of all time, Sutherland was celebrated for her extraordinary vary, silvery tone, and for her agility. An opportunity encounter with “a young pianist from Bondi” modified her life; Richard Bonynge grew to become her husband and musical mentor, steering her away from Wagner and into bel canto repertoire. Famously right down to earth, Sutherland however discovered her area of interest in Donizetti and Bellini’s histrionic and highly-strung heroines – Lucia, Norma, Amina – although her personal favourite was tomboy Maria in joyous comedy La Fille Du Régiment.
Montserrat Caballé
In April 1965, American mezzo Marilyn Horne pulled out of a efficiency of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia at Carnegie Corridor. By Might, her last-minute substitute had change into a star. Caballé’s swift success, and a profession that noticed her carry out at New York’s Metropolitan Opera an astonishing 99 instances, was pushed by her infamously good approach. Able to huge feats of breath management and excessive pianissimos, she shortly established herself as a significant participant within the bel canto revival. Singing all the main Verdi, Donizetti, and Bellini heroines, Caballé’s biggest (and most surprising) hit was her transient foray into pop music – duetting with Freddie Mercury on ‘Barcelona.’
Kiri Te Kanawa
A voice of surprising heat and mellowness set New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa aside. Sir Colin Davis remembers an early audition: “I couldn’t believe my ears, it was such a fantastically beautiful voice.” It was a voice made for noble, sensuous roles – Strauss’s Marschallin, Elisabeth de Valois, Anna Bolena. Her massive break got here as Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro at Covent Backyard, however extra dramatic was her Met debut – stepping in to sing her first Desdemona at three hours’ discover. Offstage, Kanawa made headlines along with her rendition of ‘Let The Bright Seraphim’ at Charles and Diana’s marriage ceremony.
Lucia Popp
Singing was solely Austrian-Slovak soprano Popp’s third profession selection, flirting with medication and theatre earlier than deciding on music. Her gilded voice went via an analogous metamorphosis, maturing from a pupil mezzo to a younger coloratura soprano (singing maybe the best ‘Queen Of The Night’ on file), earlier than growing a weightier, lyric high quality suited to Wagner in addition to Mozart – ultimately Eva from Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg would change into one in every of her most profitable roles. Popp was something however a basic diva, and this similar sweetness pervades her many recordings, which embrace lieder in addition to the basic operatic roles.
Renée Fleming
“In my long life, I have met maybe two sopranos with this quality of singing.” However who had been Sir Georg Solti’s star sopranos? Renata Tebaldi and Renée Fleming. Profitable the Metropolitan Opera Auditions was a significant turning level for Fleming; she was booked to sing the Countess in The Marriage Of Figaro at Houston Grand Opera, making a spectacular debut. Since then, this wealthy, lyric soprano, the Met’s go-to diva, has roamed broadly throughout conventional boundaries of repertoire, singing Strauss, Verdi, and Mozart, in addition to up to date music. Fleming is among the biggest sopranos of our time and captivates audiences along with her luxurious voice, consummate artistry, and compelling stage presence.
Victoria De Los Ángeles
A soprano with no actual curiosity within the limelight, an harmless taking part in opera’s scandalous ladies, Victoria de los Ángeles was opera’s most pleasant paradox. After profitable a significant singing competitors, the 24-year-old De los Ángeles obtained a cellphone name from La Scala: may she come instantly and audition? She declined; she had promised to go straight residence to her dad and mom. It proved no setback, and the soprano made her debut on the Met, Covent Backyard and La Scala in a single triumphant season. Puccini, Debussy, Wagner –De los Ángeles sang all of it, however was all the time happiest on the live performance platform.
Jessye Norman
With a character to match her highly effective voice, Jessye Norman is a fixture amongst opera’s legends. The African-American soprano {couples} sheer energy with a richness and depth of tone that was made for Wagner’s heroines – Isolde, Elisabeth, Kundry, Sieglinde – Strauss’s songs, in addition to Purcell’s Dido and Gluck’s Alceste. Norman was additionally the primary singer to look on the Met in a single-character manufacturing – Schoenberg’s Erwartung. Norman’s voice has been resoundingly praised for its mastery of expression, technical management, and sheer energy, whereas her numerous tune repertoire spans commonplace and obscure operas to German lieder, avant-garde works, and even in style ballads.
Anna Netrebko
In 2007 Anna Netrebko grew to become the primary soprano to function in Time journal’s Time 100 record. Her story is a musical fairy story, from cleansing flooring on the Mariinsky Theatre to creating her debut at simply 22. Her breakthrough Donna Anna on the Salzburg Pageant in 2002 led to engagements at La Scala, Covent Backyard, and Carnegie Corridor. Netrebko’s gilded, lyric soprano and performing talents make her a pure match for opera’s nice heroines – Mimì, Violetta, Juliette. Anna Netrebko’s lovely, darkish and distinctive sound, coupled along with her elegant and alluring stage presence have gained her each in style and significant acclaim worldwide.
Lise Davidsen
Lise Davidsen shot to prominence in the summertime of 2015 when she was topped winner of the Queen Sonja singing competitors in her native Norway. Davidsen went on to win three awards – the First Prize, Birgit Nilsson Award, and Viewers Prize – at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competitors, the place she was hailed as “the real deal” by the Monetary Occasions. Since her breakthrough Lise has made a sequence of acclaimed opera debuts. She is the primary operatic soprano to debut at No. 1 within the UK Classical Charts along with her self-titled album of Strauss and Wagner songs.
