About Gisele Afeche Expertise I have been a musician and music teacher for over 25 years. I sang in the most important theatre in Brazil for 7 years, in the choir and solo. I also conduct choirs and teach singing and I did my studies in music in Brazil and France. I play the piano, harpsichord and am a singer - soprano.
Experience Professional Opera singer
Organizations I sang professionally in an opera choir in Brazil for 7 years
Question Say I want to be a dramatic soprano when I get older (I'm 13) But I've heard trying to sing tough arias/roles made for an adult and pushing too hard to get the desired volume, range, etc, will wreck a young voice full of potential...so should I just stick to the children's chorus and church choir? And if there are any arias written for a kid/teen girl, I would love to hear about them!
Answer Hello Calla and sorry for the delay.
To start with, you said: I want to be a dramatic soprano...Unfortunately you don't choose the voice you want to have, you have to accept it. You might not be a dramatic soprano, you might be a contralto, mezzo soprano, a soprano leggiero, or a lyric soprano. Don't try to push your voice in the way you want it to be but just accept it for what it is.
Secondly, I hope you have a singing teacher, as trying to do things your own without guidance is slightly dangerous because you can push on your voice without noticing it.
You can study opera arias in time, when your voice is mature and ready enough to do it. Attempting to jump straight to the operas without the adequate training is again not recommended.
You are young. Take your time, start learning the technique choosing arias you are capable of performing, Becoming a singer takes time and patience and you can't wake up one morning singing everything you want. You need to train, acquire repertoire, learn languages, styles, acting, being an opera singer is a lot of hard work.
Don't be discouraged, I am sure you will be successful.
