11.   Ms. Mattila began her career as a bright-toned lyric soprano.

12.   One is a serious cabaret singer whose lyric soprano suggests she spent years studying the mother of them all, Barbara Cook.

13.   She can sound like a contralto or like a high lyric soprano, and every phrase lives, even in the less inspired songs.

14.   The Chilean-born lyric soprano is equally wonderful as the coquettish Nedda.

15.   The classic Broadway hero is a high baritone, the heroine a lyric soprano.

16.   The exception was the Korean lyric soprano Hei-Kyung Hong, who brought shimmering clear sound, lovely phrasing and affecting directness to the role of Micaela.

17.   Though some of the rosy bloom of the sound has faded, her lyric soprano voice retains some impressive qualities.

18.   Throughout the program, Ms. Cook, whose lyric soprano has developed some autumnal shadings, brought fresh perspectives to familiar material.

19.   Twenty years ago, Ms. Ewing was a beguiling lyric soprano.

20.   What saved her from making harmful choices was an acute understanding of the nature of her voice, which she calls a full lyric soprano.