ソプラニスタ
ソプラニスタ（ソプラニスト）は女声のソプラノと同じ声質及び声域を持つ男性のクラシック音楽歌手。
ソプラニスタのテクニック
A countertenor is normally defined by a male singer whose falsetto is naturally stronger than the common, weak, falsetto and can be used to sing professionally without any damage to the vocal chords. Furthermore, unlike with normal male singers, the countertenor falsetto is technically equivalent to that of female ranges, in relation to sound production, passaggios and range (though some vocal tutors report that countertenors require more "support" in order to maintain their head voice, as opposed to maintaining their chest- or base-voice).
A sopranist is, specifically, a countertenor whose passagios (normally on the Fs) and register are equivalent to those of a soprano (normally on the Fs). The "sopranist range" is mostly attributed to F#5 and above, though it is sometimes further divided further to "soprano range", F#5-C6, and "sopranino range", C#6 and above. Some sopranists, like Philippe Jaroussky, are not able to reach a soprano C, which is C6 (Jaroussky can reach up to B5), but unlike tenors, sopranos are not required to produce any note to prove that they are indeed sopranos. As said above, much like alto and mezzo countertenors, a sopranist can either possess a particularly capable falsetto or alternatively a natural headvoice. A simple test to prove which nature applies is whether the singer can go into falsetto from his base-voice, thereby producing a weak and unsingable sound with very limited range (normally A4 for baritone based singers and C5 for tenor based singers), and whether the singer can descend to chest voice using his natural head voice (sometimes referred to as "contra-voice"), with a range below middle C and below F#3 (the lowest note for an alto) and down to C#3. However, most singers are not able to achieve this capability (employing falsetto or descending from head-voice to chest-voice) without a fair amount of tutoring and experience, though this test cannot be applied to beginning singers.
Many times, a countertenor who is for some time believed to be an alto or mezzo type, at some point (most likely after achieving good technique and support) discovers a higher range. Normally, this range begins at F#5 or G5. Sometimes, a countertenor that in training only achieved G5 is thought to be a mezzo, when if fact with proper training he can reach higher, as happens in due course many times. The reason behind this, most likely, is that the soprano range, especially for male singers, requires an even greater amount of support and well learned and implemented technique (which is already greater compared to other kind of classical singers). Therefore, only at a certain point a singer discovers a further range and begins to develop it.
Because sopranists are currently rather scarce, it is as of yet hard to classify and distinguish types of sound they produce. It is evident, however, that much like alto and mezzo countertenors, vocal qualities differ greatly between various sopranist, from having small and thin voices to large and thick (or "dark timbered") voices, the latter normally rarer.
ソプラニスタのレパートリー
カストラートのために作成された多量の男声ソプラノのための作品が存在する。ソプラニスタは非常に少数であり、大部分のカウンターテナーはアルトまたはメゾソプラノである。おそらくアルフレッドデラーのような初期の有名なカウンターテナーがアルト・メゾソプラノであったため、長い間カウンターテナーはアルト・メゾソプラノだけであると思われていた。最近、カウンターテナーのためにつくられた作品がある。アルフレッド・デラーのためにブリテンが作ったベニスに死すやデビッド・ダニエルズのために作られたカンタータのような特定の歌手のための作品が製作されている。一方、ソプラニスタのために作られた作品としてはフランスのソプラニスタ、パトリック・ユッソンのために作られた『Christ Hall』がある。
最初に知られるようになったソプラニスタは1970年代に公演を始め数々の録音を行ったアリス・クリストフェリスである。
