What am I referring to? Many child singers exhibit talent that they lose later. The reasons are so many. First there is the very real chance of damaging the voice due to over-use when the child is too young. This has to be constantly monitored by a professional trainer. This is especially true during puberty. This is why Amira's performances have been limited and her octave range has been restricted also to preserve her voice. But even if the voice is not damaged, there are major changes in a girl's voice that occur during puberty and beyond. In fact a girl's voice does not stop changing until she is 22. Amira is only 17. A singer that began as a soprano can wind up a mezo-soprano or even lower.
I have included a recent conversation by people more knowledgable than me about Amira's complex and delicate voice below.
Can anyone PLEASE tell me "The Princess" true vocal range? Is she a mezzo soprano?There is one more threat to Amira's voice that I hate to bring up but must. Amira plans to get the Covid 19 vaccine in March of this year. Among the negative reactions people have, especially young people, is blood clots on the lungs. This would not only end Amira's singing career completely, but also her athletic career. This is why I say watching Amira's career is like watching a crystal glass on the edge of a table in a bustling restaurant. It is sometimes painful to watch.Marilyn Klinger Amira is a first (high) soprano.
Daniel Mills Marilyn Klinger -- The term "First Soprano" applies to a part sung in a choir, when the soprano part requires "divisi," which means "divided." All parts can be divided, thereby producing 8 parts or more.
Albert Tenfoot Doesn't the vocal range of the mezzo-sopranos lie between the soprano and the contralto voice types. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a heavier, darker tone than sopranos. If that is correct, I would say that Amira is a soprano.
Paul Roger Derby As she still has her final vocal change to go through (normally from approximately age 18 to 22) it's hard to be precise at this time.
Richard Foster Author Thank you. I have forgotten much in 66 years.
Christopher Van Soprano. She has the high b flat.
Daniel Mills Christopher Van -- Amira has also performed an augmented 4th higher!
Richard Foster Author Can/would the group please refresh my memory on the subject? I have forgotten much since I recieved my degree in classical music history (tears shed). I was a base in choir. I now (with my very new hearing aids) have started to hear again. Sarah Brightman and her baby sister Amelia are my best frequencies. If I have over stepped the rules of this group or offended anyone please forgive.
Dafydd Llewellyn Moderator Richard Foster You have not overstepped any rules; however we only know the range Amira is exhibiting in her current singing - which may be quite a bit less than her actual capability. At 13, she was singing from about A4 to Eb6. The nominal range in their main voice for a soprano is C4 to C6, but most adult sopranos exceed that at both ends of their range. She started to restrict her singing to about C4 to C6 in her 14th year, presumably on the advice of her coach, and her voice seems to be of the type that the low end of her range comes in first - so it may be several years before we get any proper indication of how far she can go. Note that singers who exhibit a four-octave range, get the fourth octave by going into "falsetto" mode (i.e. the second harmonic becomes dominant in their voice, which we hear as an octave higher), but usually at the penalty of a large reduction in power. This is how singers like Dimash do what many people find amazing - but you will never find one doing that without a microphone, probably a close-held one. Amira started using a microphone about two feet from her face in December 2020, so I believe that she is starting to develop full adult power.
Richard Foster Author That is what I want to know. Holy crap!!!!!!
Richard Foster Author Is there, CAN THERE be any comparative in frequency to her/ their early years to use as a comparison towards the likes of "my queen:" Sarah Brightman? My nature attempts to try and comprehend similarities towards development and the future of Princess Amira.
Reply to Richard Foster… Grant Trumbo More like a spinto soprano. A spinto soprano (also lirico-spinto, spinto lyric soprano or "pushed lyric") is a type of operatic soprano voice that has the limpidity and easy high notes of a lyric soprano, yet can be "pushed" on to achieve dramatic climaxes without strain. This type of voice may possess a somewhat darker timbre, too, than the average lyric soprano. It generally uses squillo to "slice" through the sound of a full orchestra, rather than singing over the orchestra like a true dramatic soprano.
Richard Foster Author Grant Trumbo, so spinto soprano can be considered a much more versital/adaptive vocal.......able to push standard boundaries at will yet knowing and recognizing limitations? You folks are much more advanced than I ever was.
Dafydd Llewellyn Moderator Yes - I didn't mention her "Squillo" - but it was evident in her performance with Andre Rieu, at 10 years and 4 months. See https://www.oxfordsinginglessons.co.uk/understanding-resonance-with-mri-scans/ (go to the end of the article and see who he cites) and and it was staggering in 2016 - her high notes would blow you off the stage. By the time she was 13, it was starting to make her voice sound shrill, but I think Corlea Botha had taught Amira how to control it, (by reducing the air pressure at which she was singing) by the time she recorded her third album. So now it is there whenever she wants it, but it is not obtrusive.
Reply to Grant Trumbo… Nick Senior An example of Soprano I and II can be found at https://youtu.be/Weauc3fVSFM The Mysterious Barricades, arranged by Alma Deutscher
It is my belief that Amira actually nearly lost her beautiful voice and was able to bring it back just in time through careful training. In December 2019, after a year of very few performances Amira returned to Europe for a series of Christmas concerts. While it was uncomfortable to talk about, one could hear her straining to reach notes at her 5 Years of Gelukskinders concert. But luckily during that time she ran into her old teacher Marijke Hoksbergen. Marijke is a pro who studied classical solo singing at the Conservatory in Tilburg. Marijke came to Amira's performances and I believe she heard the problems. In fact I think you can see the concern on Marijke's face in the pictures of them together at one of those events.
I believe Marijke offered to help her. Later Marijke began coaching Amira back to health via Skype in time for Amira's two streaming concerts in Africa in 2020. People who were in the know could immediately see in those concerts that Amira was back, and several said it. Amira brought down the roof as they say.
But this just shows what a delicate thing a growing girl's voice is, especially the Stradivarius of a voice that God chose to give to Amira Willighagen.
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