spinto means A soprano or tenor voice of a weight between lyric and dramatic, capable of handling large musical climaxes in opera at moderate intervals. It carries an Arena rating of 1504, earned across 46 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, spinto ranks #2,146 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #4,066 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #4,684 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #4,729 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words.
Why “spinto” is a great word
SPINTO — [Noun] A soprano or tenor voice of a weight between lyric and dramatic, capable of handling large musical climaxes. From Italian spinto, past participle of spingere ("to push, thrust"), literally meaning "pushed"; first attested in English in 1955. Unlike a “lyric” voice (which floats on melody with agile sweetness) or a “dramatic” one (which commands with elemental, sustained power), a spinto is an instrument of controlled propulsion—a voice that has been pushed. It is the gleaming sound that cuts through an orchestral swell, the controlled sob that cracks at an aria's climax, the vocal embodiment of a storm held in check. This is the poignant beauty of a power that knows precisely when, and how, to be unleashed.
Etymology
From Italian spinto (literally “pushed”).
noun
- A soprano or tenor voice of a weight between lyric and dramatic, capable of handling large musical climaxes in opera at moderate intervals.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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