In opera, vocal weight is a term used to describe how "light" or how "heavy" that a voice is and by extension what kind of roles that it is suited to.
Lighter voices are associated with lyric voices while heavier voices are associated with dramatic voices; lyric voices are usually brighter, sweeter, and more agile while dramatic voices are usually powerful, rich, and darker than their lyric counterparts.
Spinto voices, usually limited to tenors and sopranos, are a kind of bridge between lyric and dramatic voices, "light heavyweights" in a manner of speaking.
Lighter voices are associated with lyric voices while heavier voices are associated with dramatic voices; lyric voices are usually brighter, sweeter, and more agile while dramatic voices are usually powerful, rich, and darker than their lyric counterparts.
Spinto voices, usually limited to tenors and sopranos, are a kind of bridge between lyric and dramatic voices, "light heavyweights" in a manner of speaking.
Vocal weight may or may not be obvious immediately; a singer needs a number of opinions before any determination is reached. Vocal weight is also a strong mark of who gets to sing what in opera. Lyric voices usually play more vulnerable characters while dramatic voices usually play bold, strong characters.
Lyric voices are strong, but they're light; they don't like to sing very loudly very often and often sound forced when they do so. Lyric voices are designed for smooth, sweet singing, agile passages and clear diction.
Dramatic voices are bigger and heavier than lyric voices and their power makes them more difficult to maneuver through flowery coloratura passages, but dramatic voices are designed to sing loudly; they can sing over a large orchestra more easily than lyric voices can and are filled with emotion in addition to power.
Spinto voices are light but powerful and are essentially lyric voices with a strong dramatic edge (squillo, or "ping"), which allows them to cut through a full orchestra (rather than sing over it like a true dramatic voice).
Lyric voices are strong, but they're light; they don't like to sing very loudly very often and often sound forced when they do so. Lyric voices are designed for smooth, sweet singing, agile passages and clear diction.
Dramatic voices are bigger and heavier than lyric voices and their power makes them more difficult to maneuver through flowery coloratura passages, but dramatic voices are designed to sing loudly; they can sing over a large orchestra more easily than lyric voices can and are filled with emotion in addition to power.
Spinto voices are light but powerful and are essentially lyric voices with a strong dramatic edge (squillo, or "ping"), which allows them to cut through a full orchestra (rather than sing over it like a true dramatic voice).
by Lorelili July 09, 2011
"Art thou yet a wencher, my husband? Wherefore must thou surrender to such lust that thou shalt tumble in a stable with some flax-wench of a dairymaid and forget the wife that awaits thee?!"
"From the beginning, Frida knew that her husband would be a wencher."
"From the beginning, Frida knew that her husband would be a wencher."
by Lorelili January 16, 2008
When Puffs Tissues began marketing to Germany, they did not find out until it was too late that "puff" is colloquial slang for a whorehouse.
by Lorelili February 19, 2006
Scottish Gaelic term referring to a slapper, a total slut. Not to be confused with "leòdag", which simply means "a flirt".
Chan dh'atharraich a smadan a-chaoidh leòghann-craoibhe agus chan dh'atharraich leodag mar thu a dòigh le fir a-chaoidh!
(A leopard never changes its spots and a slapper like you never changes her way with men!)
(A leopard never changes its spots and a slapper like you never changes her way with men!)
by Lorelili February 23, 2006
A fictitious word introduced in Mary Poppins. Thought to be a nonsense word, but it contains elements of real Greek and Latin roots:
super: above, over, extreme
cali: beauty
fragilistic: delicate
expiali: to atone, to make amends
docious: educable, able to learn
super: above, over, extreme
cali: beauty
fragilistic: delicate
expiali: to atone, to make amends
docious: educable, able to learn
Put together, "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" translates roughly to "atoning for educability through delicate beauty" or "atoning for extreme and delicate beauty while remaining highly educable".
by Lorelili July 17, 2011
1) A low-lying plant growth.
2) Slang for a female's pubic hair, but can refer to a male's pubic hair.
3) The 41st and 43rd "presidents". Both of them suck(ed).
4) One of the most hated, inept, uninclusive, idiotic "president"s. He wanted to be president merely for the glory of being the son of a previous president and won dur to a rigged election. He is not known for his leadership skills or for proficiency in his own language. He is known, however, for creating elaborate lies/misleading the American people; for contradicting himself; for failing to find Osama Bin Laden; for starting a war in Iraq when they had nothing to do with the September 11th attacks; for responding to the attacks by just reading to elementary-school children; for leading the U.S. to believe that there were weapons of mass distruction all over the Middle East when there was really nothing there; for mangling names/words; for stunting so much progress in women's rights, gay rights, and protecting the environment, thanks to his bigoted, short-sighted beliefs; and for disgracing the United States.
2) Slang for a female's pubic hair, but can refer to a male's pubic hair.
3) The 41st and 43rd "presidents". Both of them suck(ed).
4) One of the most hated, inept, uninclusive, idiotic "president"s. He wanted to be president merely for the glory of being the son of a previous president and won dur to a rigged election. He is not known for his leadership skills or for proficiency in his own language. He is known, however, for creating elaborate lies/misleading the American people; for contradicting himself; for failing to find Osama Bin Laden; for starting a war in Iraq when they had nothing to do with the September 11th attacks; for responding to the attacks by just reading to elementary-school children; for leading the U.S. to believe that there were weapons of mass distruction all over the Middle East when there was really nothing there; for mangling names/words; for stunting so much progress in women's rights, gay rights, and protecting the environment, thanks to his bigoted, short-sighted beliefs; and for disgracing the United States.
I was hoping that Gore (and later, Kerry) would lick Bush, but my hope was crushed and we have to deal with the stupid fuck for two terms, and be disgraced and sunken even further. While he and his goddamn W.A.S.P. conservative cronies celebrate extravagantly, there's animals and plants in danger of extinction, and there's people who have next to nothing.
by Lorelili November 26, 2005
The lower womans voice in a choir.
In opera, and especially for women, the alto is known as the contralto while singers in choirs and child singers with the same range are known simply as altos.
Strictly speaking, the alto range is really the mezzo-soprano and contralto ranges put together, mezzo soprano being the higher of the two.
In opera, and especially for women, the alto is known as the contralto while singers in choirs and child singers with the same range are known simply as altos.
Strictly speaking, the alto range is really the mezzo-soprano and contralto ranges put together, mezzo soprano being the higher of the two.
by Lorelili July 02, 2005