Sopranos Becoming Scarce?

well, most belters on Broadway can hit really high notes as mezzos as well, example: Sutton Foster, Shoshana Bean, and more

Maybe Im going crazy though

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HA

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oh oh ooooooooooh

right i get it

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One great legit role is Marian in Music Man. There's also Lily in Secret Garden...Funny enough that all these are Rebecca Luker roles, but she did them all well. The revivals are what will really bring back the legit soprano roles.

C.

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well today scores for women are being written for belting alto/mezzo's and tend to cover a broad lower and middle range and the same goes for men. Right now baritenors are doing great. There just isn't much being written for true soprano's or bases or ture altos or true tenors. There's alot of voice distinction blending going on right now, unlike in days gone by.

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I concur. There aren't musicals written with a coloratura lead because today's audience's want big belts rather than gorgeous soprano. I'd like to see more musicals in the future written for sopranos, such as Cheno.

I've noticed that, too. I'm a soprano and I always feel like such a minority. Every female around me seems to be a mezzo.

I think the popular thing is the belty/riffing/screaming style of what is being referred to as singing, and there aren't many soprano roles being written as much because it's not what people want to hear. Maybe they figure you can find sopranos in opera. I hope that changes though, or some classic shows with soprano roles get revived soon!

Just think you can always do "Glitter and Be Gay" for an audition and get that role of Christine. hehe

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Looks like we need a soprano support group!! I've noticed the same thing, and really thought it was becoming apparent around the time that Miss Saigon came out (ugh...can't remember the year, but it feels like it was maybe 93-ish?). Anyway, I know that lately, to get parts, the deal is that you have to belt, but as a classically trained singer, I just hate doing it. It feels like screaming, even when I support it the way you're supposed to, and at the moment I would die for a role that would let me soar into the stratosphere instead.

Does anyone see any hope of better soprano roles coming any time soon? Adam Guettel writes gorgeous stuff for sopranos (think "Migratory V" from Myths and Hymns), so maybe he'll come to the rescue....

I have noticed it too. I'm a soprano and have been annoyed that there aren't any good soprano parts on Broadway besides Glinda and Christine (and everyone and their third cousin had played that part). I can belt and have a strong lower voice but I like using my soprano voice. Where have the writers for soprano's gone? I get that people want to hear belters and hear lower voices but when I saw "Wicked" everyone was cheering their guts out for Glinda's coloratura part in the opening number. If they didn't like sopranos, why cheer one on? Also the great revivals have soprano parts, and people go to see them. The people need to make up their minds. Its either sopranos or not. That way I can know if I want to go classical or take Broadway training. lol

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I think that it has to do with the kind of shows that are being written now. Women on broadway are being portrayed as strong leaders more and more, and I think that people associate that with belting more than a soprano. I believe thatwe do have some sopranos now though:

Marin Mazzie
Rachel York
Cheno
Bernadette Peters

But it's true that the whole voice of the theater has changed a bit from say, 1950!

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Updated On: 3/4/05 at 06:50 AM

First of all, twogaab, that's not necessarily on a few points. There are so many terms for what today's "belters" are doing. It ranges from being called "mix" to "belt" to "beam" to "belt-mix" and many others. There's no REAL term for what they're doing, because they all have their own little twist on it. And NOT all of today's belters are sopranos. I may be wrong, but I don't think Idina Menzel has a legit voice. Daphne Ruben Vega doesn't. I don't know if Lillias White does. It's just way too specific to give the categorization that all high belters also have legit voices. Many do, like Eden, Heather Hedley and Shoshana, but many don't as well.

Sopranos are becoming more scarce because the style of music audiences want to see in musicals doesn't require sopranos, but belting mezzos. That's all. Cheers for Krisin doing her high stuff is just because she can do it. If she sang like that the entire show, I'm sure many people would be bored very quickly.

And while not many NEW musicals have sopranos in them, we will always need sopranos for revivals and such. Besides Chenoweth we still have Audra McDonald, Melissa Ericco, Marin Mazzie, Patti Cohenour, Kelly O'Hara, Jennifer Laura Thompson, etc. They're out there. It's not a dead species.

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