Famous sopranos
52 cited ranges on one keyboard — the highest female category, with the most headroom above the staff.
What a soprano is
Sopranos carry the lightest fold mass and the most usable range above middle C, which is what makes coloratura and whistle register possible at all. In this library the soprano group holds most of the extreme top figures, and nearly all of the whistle-register entries.
A soprano's cited top note is usually the least representative number about them — it is a one-off recorded moment, not where the voice actually works.
What the 52 sopranos here show
- Widest cited span: Mariah Carey at F2–G7 (5.2 octaves); narrowest is Emmylou Harris at G3–D5.
- Both extremes belong to the same singer: Mariah Carey holds the category’s floor at F2 and its ceiling at G7, 62 semitones apart.
- Prominence spans 1947 to 2020, and the median cited span is 31.5 semitones against C4–C6 for the conventional soprano band.
Voice categories are guides borrowed from choral and operatic practice, not boxes. Plenty of these singers are filed differently by different sources, and a category says more about where a voice is comfortable than about the notes it can reach.
- Alison KraussG3–D5G3–D51.6 oct
- Anna NetrebkoG3–D6G3–D62.6 oct
- Ariana GrandeD3–E7D3–E74.2 oct
- Audra McDonaldF3–C6F3–C62.6 oct
- Bernadette PetersG3–A5G3–A52.2 oct
- BjörkE3–C6E3–C62.7 oct
- Carrie UnderwoodF3–C6F3–C62.6 oct
- CeCe WinansF3–C6F3–C62.6 oct
- Celine DionA#2–C6A#2–C63.2 oct
- Chappell RoanE3–A#5E3–A#52.5 oct
- Cyndi LauperF3–C6F3–C62.6 oct
- Diana RossD#3–C6D#3–C62.8 oct
- Dolly PartonF3–A#5F3–A#52.4 oct
- Emmylou HarrisG3–D5G3–D51.6 oct
- Floor JansenE3–E6E3–E63.0 oct
- Hayley WilliamsF3–D6F3–D62.8 oct
- IUD3–C6D3–C62.8 oct
- Jessye NormanE3–C6E3–C62.7 oct
- Joan BaezF3–B5F3–B52.5 oct
- Joan SutherlandG3–F6G3–F62.8 oct
- Joni MitchellE3–C6E3–C62.7 oct
- Julie AndrewsG3–C6G3–C62.4 oct
- Karen Clark SheardF3–D#6F3–D#62.8 oct
- Kate BushC3–C6C3–C63.0 oct
- Kristin ChenowethG3–F6G3–F62.8 oct
- Lata MangeshkarG3–A#5G3–A#52.3 oct
- Lea SalongaF3–D6F3–D62.8 oct
- LeAnn RimesF3–F5F3–F52.0 oct
- Leontyne PriceG3–C6G3–C62.4 oct
- Linda RonstadtE3–A#5E3–A#52.5 oct
- Maria CallasF#3–D#6F#3–D#62.8 oct
- Mariah CareyF2–G7F2–G75.2 oct
- Martina McBrideF3–F5F3–F52.0 oct
- Minnie RipertonD3–F#7D3–F#74.3 oct
- MisiaF3–F6F3–F63.0 oct
- Montserrat CaballéG3–C6G3–C62.4 oct
- Natalia LafourcadeF3–A#5F3–A#52.4 oct
- Patti LaBelleA#2–E6A#2–E63.5 oct
- Regina SpektorF3–C6F3–C62.6 oct
- Renée FlemingG3–C6G3–C62.4 oct
- RoséF3–C6F3–C62.6 oct
- Sabrina CarpenterE3–C6E3–C62.7 oct
- Sandi PattyF3–C6F3–C62.6 oct
- Sarah BrightmanG3–E6G3–E62.8 oct
- Sarah McLachlanF3–B5F3–B52.5 oct
- Sharon den AdelG3–D6G3–D62.6 oct
- Sierra BoggessG3–E6G3–E62.8 oct
- SohyangE3–C7E3–C73.7 oct
- TaeyeonE3–C6E3–C62.7 oct
- Tarja TurunenF3–E6F3–E62.9 oct
- ThalíaF3–A#5F3–A#52.4 oct
- Yma SumacB2–C#7B2–C#74.2 oct