View source for Spinto

{{Short description|Soprano or tenor operatic voice weight between lyric and dramatic}}
{{Refimprove|date=January 2022}}

'''Spinto''' ([[Italian language|Italian]] for "pushed") is a vocal term used to characterize a [[soprano]] or [[tenor]] voice of a weight between [[Lyric soprano|lyric]] and [[Dramatic soprano|dramatic]] that is capable of handling large musical climaxes in [[opera]] at moderate intervals. (Sometimes the terms ''{{lang|it|lirico-spinto}}'' or ''{{lang|de|jugendlich-dramatisch}}'' are used to denote this category of voice.)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-spinto-tenor/|title=Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Spinto Tenor|date=2017-01-07|website=Interlude.hk|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-14}}</ref>

The spinto [[voice type]] is recognisable by its tonal "slice" or ''squillo''. This enables the singer to cut through the wall of sound produced by a full [[Romantic Music|Romantic]] [[symphony orchestra|orchestra]] in a wide variety of roles, excluding only the most taxing ones written by the likes of [[Richard Wagner]] (such as ''Brünhilde'', ''Isolde'', ''Tristan'' and ''Siegfried''), [[Giacomo Meyerbeer]] (''John of Leyden''), [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] (''Otello''), [[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]] (''Turandot'', ''Calaf'') and [[Richard Strauss]] (''Elektra'').

* '''{{lang|it|[[Spinto soprano]]}}''': A fundamentally lyric soprano with a fair amount of extra "pulp" in her tone and a distinct thrust in her vocal attack. As they possess both a lyric and a dramatic quality, spinto sopranos are suitable for a broad spectrum of roles, ranging from genuine lyric parts such as Micaela in ''[[Carmen]]'' and Mimì in ''[[La bohème]]'' through to histrionically demanding [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] heroines such as Leonora (in ''[[Il trovatore]]'' and ''[[La forza del destino]]'') and Aida, not to mention [[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]]'s Madama Butterfly and Tosca. Lighter Wagnerian roles such as Elsa in ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' or Elisabeth in ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' also fall within their domain. [[Elisabeth Rethberg]] is a famous example of a soprano who sang exactly this kind of mixed Italian and German repertoire.
* '''{{lang|it|[[Tenor]]e spinto}}''': The tenor equivalent of the above. He can convincingly sing roles as lyrical as Rodolfo in ''La bohème'', the Duke in ''[[Rigoletto]]'' and Alfredo in ''[[La traviata]]'', yet still excel in parts as heavy as Cavaradossi in ''[[Tosca]]'', Don Jose in ''[[Carmen]]'' and Radames in ''[[Aida|Aïda]]''. Canio, in ''[[Pagliacci]]'', and ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' are other well-known examples of spinto tenor roles.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Opera}}
* {{Lang|de|[[Fach]]}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://parterre.com/mp3/tosca_quiz.mp3 A recording of six different sopranos] singing "[[Vissi d'arte]]", illustrating the sound of a spinto voice and how it differs from a lyric voice; hosted at [[parterre box]]. In order: 1) Lyric ([[Claudia Muzio]]); 2) Spinto ([[Leontyne Price]]); 3) Spinto ([[Renata Tebaldi]]); 4) Spinto ([[Zinka Milanov]]); 5) Lyric ([[Montserrat Caballé]]); 6) Spinto ([[Antonietta Stella]])

{{Opera terms}}

[[Category:Italian opera terminology]]
[[Category:Voice types]]

{{Opera-stub}}