# Favorite Female Operatic Voice Type



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

What is your favorite female operatic voice type? I am keeping it very simple and only listing the three main categories.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Most of my favorite sopranos could pass as mezzos and sang mezzo late in their lives/careers, so I guess the answer is mezzo.

(For the curious: Ponselle, Flagstad, Callas)


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Sopranos by miles for me.
Like the others also though.


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## cheftimmyr (Oct 28, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Most of my favorite sopranos could pass as mezzos and sang mezzo late in their lives/careers, so I guess the answer is mezzo.
> 
> (For the curious: Ponselle, Flagstad, Callas)


Add Astrid Varnay to that list and I'm with you!


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## Jacred (Jan 14, 2017)

"None. I don't like the female voice." What an answer, this!

Actually, I voted for mezzo. Flexible and has many of the qualities of sopranos.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Most of my favorite sopranos could pass as mezzos and sang mezzo late in their lives/careers, so I guess the answer is mezzo.
> (For the curious: Ponselle, Flagstad, Callas)


don't forget Traubel!


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

I respect the intention of forcing people to make a decision (pseudo-open-minded deflections of "but I like all voices equally" reek of insincerity and lack of nuance); however, this is too simple for me to answer nonetheless. most of my favorite voices are sopranos, but that doesn't necessarily mean I enjoy sopranos most overall. even without being a rigorous defender of the fach system, if you compare Beverly Sills to Leontyne Price, Ghena Dimitrova to Diana Damrau or Joan Sutherland to Kiri te Kanawa, it's not difficult to see how much more variability the soprano voice has within itself than any other voice type. accounting for other factors (ex: assuming they're all properly trained), I am more likely to enjoy your average mezzo than your average soprano, because a lot of the lighter sopranos come off white, colorless, like a generic vanilla cookie with cheap icing. 


however, if one were to extend this to pop music, DEFINITELY contralto/low mezzo <3


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Contralto. Marilyn Horne (!) and Ewa Podles, to name but two.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

I love the three of them, but deep in my mind, I'm first a soprano-fan kind of guy.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

schigolch said:


> I love the three of them, but deep in my mind, I'm first a soprano-fan kind of guy.


So far the soprano leading comfortable. :angel:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

SimonTemplar said:


> Contralto. Marilyn Horne (!) and Ewa Podles, to name but two.


What do you think of Sonia Prina?


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## SuspiciousMilk (May 15, 2017)

Soprano, the likes of Joan Sutherland and Maria Callas.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

SuspiciousMilk said:


> Soprano, the likes of Joan Sutherland and Maria Callas.


Welcome to TalkClassical, hope we see you around more.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I like sopranos with big voices best:Sutherland, Flagstad, Traubel, Nilsson, early Callas,Nilsson, Jones, Norman, Ponselle, Milanov, Dimitrova, Goerke, Varnay, Verrett.


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## VladaNS (May 24, 2017)

Dramatic sopranos!
Have to concur with Seattleoperafan and SuspiciousMilk, Joan Sutherland is also my favorite.


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