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The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2019-10-12 11:54:07 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
French to English translations [Non-PRO] Art/Literary - Music / Stated occupation on a Birth Certificate (occupation of the mother)
French term or phrase:chanteuse lyrique
When I google "chanteuse lyrique" I get opera singers as results.
Against that, there are plenty of results for "lyrical singer", so who knows...you? Then answer here!
I'm out of my depth here, but what would you call artists like Céline Dion, Adele, Mariah Carey, Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli and myriad others? Not opera singers, but all of them highly trained and talented with a vast repertoire.
Language is crazy. In classical music (in French and in English) we contrast a lyrical soprano with a dramatic soprano, basically following the idea of lyricism Conor mentions. BUT in French, a dramatic soprano IS a lyrical artist and a lyrical singer.
I felt it in my gut that there must be more to it, and you seem to have nailed it on the head. Whether there's a lexical gap in English, or whether you can say "lyrical singer" in English is not something I am equipped to answer. But please note that lyricism is defined as "an artist's expression of emotion in an imaginative and beautiful way; the quality of being lyrical". Lyric poetry is understood to be one of the three genres of poetry (the other two being narrative and dramatic). "So in lyric poetry, the mood is melodic and emotional." For use of the term "lyrical singer" and a great technical discussion of these points, see here https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/dramatic-vs-lyrical....
If I had chanteuse lyrique on my CV and someone reduced that to a vocalist of any sort in English, I'd be livid. Classically trained singer, opera singer, concert singer, Lieder singer etc. Opera singers vocalise but as singers, they are not 'vocalists'. Of course I only studied and worked in that field so I can't really be expected to "know".
(And, as a translator, it's important to realise when you're out of your depth. The translation of this term will, of course, not change the substance of the birth certificate, but of course the debate is fascinating. Why is it not just "chanteuse d'opéra" in French? When they let me in to the Académie Française I will tell you.)
I find the terms "opera singer" or "classical singer" to be more natural than "opera vocalist" or "classical vocalist", which sound more like categories for record awards than something used in the classical music milieu. "Vocalist", in this context, sounds off to my ear.
If you do know that the person sings opera, I find "opera singer" reasonable for a birth certificate. I also suggest possibly sidestepping the question with "classical singer".
Daryo's reference is full of errors about the singers themselves and does nothing to disprove that a chanteur lyrique is an opera singer. An opera singer can also sing Lieder, oratorios etc. It does NOTHING to change the fact that a chanteur/chanteuse lyrique is an opera singer. It implies a classically trained singer as opposed to a pop star.
I can confirm that the person in question does indeed sing opera (e.g. Rameau, Handel and Bach) but not just opera...Daryo might be on to something. Is there a lexical gap in English? Then again: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artiste_lyrique "En musique classique, un artiste lyrique est un chanteur (homme ou femme) spécialisé dans le genre lyrique (opéra, opérette)." And when you click on the English version you are taken to a Wiki page about...opera. Please note this page did not come to my attention earlier.
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Answers
1 min confidence:
vocalist
Explanation: A good cover-all!
Rowena Fuller (X) France Local time: 11:34 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 4