Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov · section 80 of 100

Solo voice with chorus

When an aria or recitative is coupled with the chorus great care must be taken in the choral writing. A woman's solo voice stands out well against a male voice chorus, likewise a solo male voice against a women's chorus, for in both cases, the timbre of the solo voice differs from the rest. But the combination of solo voice and chorus, of the same timbre, or mixed chorus, creates a certain amount of difficulty. In such cases the soloist should sing in a higher register than the chorus, the former a piena voce, the latter piano. The soloist should stand as near to the footlights as possible; the chorus up-stage. The orchestration should be adapted to the soloist, not to the chorus.

Examples:

No. 298. Snegourotchka 143.

Ivan the Terrible. Act II 37 (cf. Ex. 296).

When the chorus sings in the wings the soloist is always heard distinctly.

Examples:

Ivan the Terrible, Act I 25-26.

* The May Night, Act III Ccc.

* Sadko 102, 111.