A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range (using scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C₄) from approximately middle C (C₄) to "high A" (A₅) in choral music, or to "soprano C" (C₆, two octaves above middle C) or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody. For other styles of singing see Voice classification in non-classical music.

Typically, the term "soprano" refers to female singers but at times the term "male soprano" has been used by men who sing in the soprano vocal range using falsetto vocal production instead of the modal voice. This practice is most commonly found in the context of choral music in England. However, these men are more commonly referred to as countertenors or sopranists. The practice of referring to countertenors as "male sopranos" is somewhat controversial within vocal pedagogical circles as these men do not produce sound in the same physiological way that female sopranos do. The singer Michael Maniaci is the only known man who can refer to himself as a true male soprano because he is able to sing in the soprano vocal range using the modal voice as a woman would. He is able to do this because his larynx never fully developed during puberty.

In choral music, the term soprano refers to a vocal part or line and not a voice type. Male singers whose voices have not yet changed and are singing the soprano line are technically known as "trebles". The term "boy soprano" is often used as well, but this is just a colloquialism and not the correct term.

Historically, women were not allowed to sing in the Church so the soprano roles were given to young boys and later to castrati—men whose larynxes had been fixed in a pre-adolescent state through the process of castration.

The term soprano may also be used to refer to a member of an instrumental family with the highest range such as the soprano saxophone.

Types and roles in opera

In opera, the tessitura, vocal weight, and timbre of soprano voices, and the roles they sing, are commonly categorized into voice types, often called ( , from German or , "vocal category"). A singer's tessitura is where the voice has the best timbre, easy volume, and most comfort. For instance a soprano and a mezzo-soprano may have a similar range, but their tessituras will lie in different parts of that range.

The low extreme for sopranos is roughly B₃ or A₃ (just below middle C). Often low notes in higher voices project less, lack timbre, and tend to "count less" in roles (although some Verdi, Strauss and Wagner roles call for stronger singing below the staff). Rarely is a soprano simply unable to sing a low note in a song within a soprano role.

The high extreme: at a minimum, non-coloratura sopranos have to reach "soprano C" (C₆ two octaves above middle C), and many roles in the standard repertoire call for C₆ or D₆. A couple of roles have optional E₆’s, as well. In the coloratura repertoire several roles call for E₆ on up to F₆. In rare cases, some coloratura roles go as high as G₆ or G₆ such as Mozart's concert aria "Popoli di Tessaglia", or role of Dinorah in Meyerbeer's opera ''Le pardon de Ploërmel''. While not necessarily within the tessitura, a good soprano will be able to sing her top notes full-throated, with timbre and dynamic control.

The following are the operatic soprano classifications (see individual articles for roles and singers):

Coloratura soprano

Lyric coloratura soprano—A very agile light voice with a high upper extension, capable of fast vocal coloratura. Light coloraturas have a range of approximately middle C (C4) to "high F" (F6) with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat higher or lower.

Dramatic coloratura soprano—A coloratura soprano with great flexibility in high-lying velocity passages, yet with great sustaining power comparable to that of a full spinto or dramatic soprano. Dramatic coloraturas have a range of approximately "low B" (B3) to "high F" (F6) with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat higher or lower.

Soubrette

In classical music and opera, the term soubrette refers to both a voice type and a particular type of opera role. A soubrette voice is light with a bright, sweet timbre, a tessitura in the mid-range, and with no extensive coloratura. The soubrette voice is not a weak voice for it must carry over an orchestra without a microphone like all voices in opera. The voice however has a lighter vocal weight than other soprano voices with a brighter timbre. Many young singers start out as soubrettes but as they grow older and the voice matures more physically they may be reclassified as another voice type, usually either a light lyric soprano, a lyric coloratura soprano, or a coloratura mezzo-soprano. Rarely does a singer remain a soubrette throughout their entire career. A soubrette's range extends approximately from middle C (C4) to "high D" (D6). The tessitura of the soubrette tends to lie a bit lower than the lyric soprano and spinto soprano.

Lyric soprano

A warm voice with a bright, full timbre, which can be heard over a big orchestra. It generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have a range from approximately middle C (C₄) to "high D" (D₆). There is a tendency to divide lyric sopranos into two groups:

Light lyric soprano—A light-lyric soprano has a bigger voice than a soubrette but still possesses a youthful quality. Full lyric soprano —A full-lyric soprano has a more mature sound than a light-lyric soprano and can be heard over a bigger orchestra.

Spinto soprano

Also lirico-spinto, Italian for "pushed lyric". This voice has the brightness and height of a lyric soprano, but can be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes without strain, and may have a somewhat darker timbre. Spinto sopranos have a range from approximately middle C (C₄) to "high D" (D₆).

Dramatic soprano

A dramatic soprano (or ''soprano robusto'') has a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over a full orchestra. Usually (but not always) this voice has a lower tessitura than other sopranos, and a darker timbre. Dramatic sopranos have a range from approximately middle C (C4) to "high D" (D6).

Some dramatic sopranos, known as Wagnerian sopranos, have a very big voice that can assert itself over an exceptionally large orchestra (over eighty pieces). These voices are substantial and very powerful and ideally even throughout the registers.

Intermediate voice types

Two types of soprano especially dear to the French are the ''Dugazon'' and the ''Falcon'', which are intermediate voice types between the soprano and the mezzo-soprano: a Dugazon is a darker-colored soubrette, a Falcon a darker-colored soprano drammatico.

See also

Bel canto

List of sopranos in non-classical music

References

Further reading

External links

Beverly Sills in the title role from Donizetti's ''Linda di Chamounix''—an example of a Lyric coloratura soprano

Joan Sutherland singing the title role from Donizetti's ''Lucrezia Borgia''—an example of a Dramatic coloratura soprano

Dawn Upshaw as Susanna in Mozart's ''The Marriage of Figaro''—an example of a Soubrette

Lucia Popp as Pamina in Mozart's ''The Magic Flute''—an example of a Light lyric soprano

Kiri Te Kanawa as Marguerite in Gounod's ''Faust''—an example of a Full lyric soprano

Leontyne Price in the title role of Puccini's ''Tosca''—an example of a Spinto soprano

Jessye Norman in the title role of Strauss' ''Ariadne auf Naxos''—an example of a Dramatic soprano'

Birgit Nilsson as Isolde in Wagner's ''Tristan und Isolde''—an example of a Wagnerian soprano

Category:Vocal music Category:Voice types Category:Opera terminology Category:Italian loanwords Category:Pitch (music)

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real name	Anthony John Soprano
portrayer
creator	David Chase
gender	Male
first	"The Sopranos"
last	"Made in America"
date of death	(2007)
occupation	Crime boss, various business enterprises
title
alias	"Tony Uncle Johnny", "Ronald 'Big Ron' F. Spears", "Don Antonio", "Kevin Finnerty", "Mr. Petraglia", "Bada Bing" (FBI code name), "Skip", "T", "Ton" "Leadbelly"
family	Livia Soprano (mother), Johnny Boy Soprano (father), Ercoli Soprano (uncle), Junior Soprano (uncle), Quintina Blundetto (aunt), Janice Soprano (sister), Barbara Giglione (sister), Tony Blundetto (cousin)
spouse	Carmela Soprano (wife)
children	Anthony Soprano, Jr. (son), Meadow Soprano (daughter)
relatives	Hugh De Angelis (father-in-law), Mary De Angelis (mother-in-law), Christopher Moltisanti (cousin in-law), Bobby Baccalieri (brother-in-law), Bobby Baccalieri III (step-nephew), Sophia Baccalieri (step-niece), Domenica Baccalieri (niece)
religion	Roman Catholicism }}

Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series ''The Sopranos'', on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by ''The Sopranos'' creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely responsible for the character's story arc throughout the show's six seasons. Bobby Boriello portrayed Tony Soprano as a child in one episode and Danny Petrillo played the character as a teenager in three episodes. The character is loosely based on real-life New Jersey mobster Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo (born 1944), who is a former caporegime (capo) and de facto street boss of the DeCavalcante crime family of New Jersey. The DeCavalante Family is widely considered to be the model for the Soprano family; some incidents that the DeCavalcantes were involved in have been incorporated into ''Sopranos'' scripts.

In the series, Tony begins as a capo in the DiMeo crime family during the first season. Between the first and second seasons, he is promoted to acting boss, a title he retains until the sixth season (his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano is the official boss up until early on in season 6, but has little or no actual power). Throughout the series, Tony struggles to balance the conflicting requirements of his "two families": his actual family—wife Carmela, daughter Meadow, son Anthony "A.J." Soprano, Jr., and mother Livia — and the criminal organization he heads. He also struggles with depression and is prone to panic attacks. Because of this, he seeks treatment from Dr. Jennifer Melfi in the show's first episode, and remains in therapy on and off up until the penultimate episode of the series.

Plot details

Early life

Tony was born on August 24, 1960, to Livia and "Johnny Boy" Soprano. He grew up living with his mother, father, and two sisters, Janice and Barbara, in the Ironbound neighborhood—known to locals as "Down Neck"—in Newark, New Jersey. His father was involved in crime, and Tony recalls some of his activities in flashbacks on the show. Tony's grandfather, Corrado Soprano Sr., was a master stonemason who emigrated from Avellino, Italy in 1910. He helped to build a church in Tony's old neighborhood in Newark. Tony takes his children there so he can tell them about their heritage and the value of hard work.

Bobby Boriello played Tony in the episode "Down Neck", in which Tony recalls childhood events relating to his realization that his father was involved in organized crime. He recalls how his father, "Johnny Boy" Soprano, used his older sister, Janice, as a cover for attending meetings with criminal associates at a children's amusement park. At the time, Tony thought Janice was his father's favorite child. In therapy, when asked to remember happy childhood memories about his mother, Tony struggles to come up with any, eventually recalling that he witnessed his father falling down the stairs, causing the whole family to laugh, even his mother; he later describes his mother as a cruel, joyless woman who wore his father down "to a little nub". Tony has a distant relationship with Janice, because she is always asking him for money and once tried to sell Livia's house by herself. Tony had to dispose of the body of Janice's re-acquainted boyfriend Richie Aprile, after Janice killed him.

Tony went to high school (school letters "WOHS", suggesting West Orange High School, were seen in the episode "The Test Dream") with Artie Bucco and Davey Scatino, and remains friends with them into adult life. He played baseball and football, and according to Sal Bonpensiero, he nearly made All-County. He met his future bride, Carmela DeAngelis, in high school. Tony was close to his cousin Tony Blundetto, and neighborhood kids called them Tony Uncle-Al and Tony Uncle-Johnny (after their fathers) to tell them apart.

In their teenage years, the two Tonys spent summers at their Uncle Pat Blundetto's farm—Pat was a soldier in the DiMeo organization. Blundetto was arrested for his part in a hijacking when the two Tonys were young men. Tony was supposed to join Blundetto on the job but failed to appear because of a panic attack; at the time, he told people he had been attacked and injured. Tony attended Seton Hall University for a semester and a half before dropping out to pursue a life of crime.

Tony was part of an unofficial crew of young criminals consisting of Silvio Dante, Ralph Cifaretto, and Jackie Aprile, Sr. Tony gained notoriety in the DiMeo crime family by robbing a card game run by Michele "Feech" La Manna along with Silvio and Jackie. From then on, he was on a fast track to becoming a made man. He committed his first murder in 1982 at the age of 22, killing a small-time bookie named Willie Overall. In season one Tony states that he knew Mafia boss John Gotti in the 1980s, but he may have been kidding.

His father shepherded Tony through his ascendancy until his death in 1986 from emphysema. When he died, Johnny Boy had risen to the level of captain of his own crew—as had his brother, Junior. Junior took over the paternal role and continued to advise and assist Tony. Tony remembers having to buy expensive dinners for Richie Aprile as a newly made man. Soldiers from Johnny Boy's crew, Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero and Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri, passed their loyalty on to Tony after Johnny Boy died. Tony then became acting capo of his father's old crew in 1986, making him the youngest capo in the family, at age 26. He was elevated to permanent capo in the late 1980s. His old friend, Silvio Dante, joined him as a soldier in his crew.

By 1995, Tony was a well-respected caporegime in the organization when the boss of the family, Ercole "Eckley" DiMeo, was sent to prison. Tony's longtime friend and fellow captain Jackie Aprile, Sr. took on the role of acting boss in December 1995. With DiMeo in prison, Aprile became the official "Street Boss" of the family.

Under Jackie's rule, the DiMeo Family was peaceful and prosperous until 1998, when Jackie was diagnosed with intestinal cancer; afterward, the family slowly descended into turmoil. With Jackie in and out of the hospital, and as such not able to fully run the family, Tony began to take on many of his duties, much to his Uncle Junior's chagrin.

For a time in early 1999, Jackie seemed cured and was back on the street as boss and the family's woes were eased. By late spring, however, he was back in the hospital and had begun chemotherapy treatments. With Tony's role in the family's operation increasing and disagreements, including Tony thwarting Junior's plot to kill "Little Pussy" Malanga in Artie Bucco's restaurant, tensions between Tony and Uncle Junior rose and reached an all-time high as Jackie's condition turned for the worse.

With Jackie's death in mid-1999, a crisis emerged as to who would run the family, and the soldiers and other captains began to prepare for all-out war within the family. Tony brought a quick end to the conflict by making Junior the official boss of the family. Junior would unknowingly act as the lightning rod for the feds, while Tony would run the family from behind the scenes as a de facto boss starting in 2000.

Narrated killings committed by Tony Soprano

Tony has personally committed eight murders in the show. Furthermore, as a Boss, he is responsible for the deaths of others killed on his orders. The eight known murders, all explicitly presented onscreen, were:

Willie Overall, shot and killed by Tony to "make his bones", or become a made man (1982).

Fabian "Febby" Petrulio, strangled by Tony for ratting out members of Paulie and Pussy's crew and joining the witness protection program (1999).

Chucky Signore, shot and killed by Tony for conspiring to kill him with Junior (1999).

Matthew Bevilaqua, killed by Tony and Big Pussy for attempting to kill Christopher Moltisanti (his cousin in-law) (2000).

Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, executed by Tony, Silvio, and Paulie on a yacht, after they discovered that he was an FBI informant (2000).

Ralph Cifaretto, choked/bludgeoned to death in a fight over Ralph's supposedly killing of their prize-winning race horse "Pie-O-My" for insurance money. (2002).

Tony Blundetto, shot and killed by Tony with a shotgun for the unauthorized killings of Joe Peeps and Billy Leotardo, in order to spare him from being the subject of torture from Phil Leotardo in revenge for his brother's death (2004).

Christopher Moltisanti, suffocated by Tony after a major car accident (2007).

It is made clear that some of these murders leave Tony perplexed as to how to cope with the situation; most notably, after murdering Christopher Moltisanti, he feels a rush of relief for finally being rid of an associate whom he feels he can no longer trust. He has to "show the sad face" while the rest of the family grieves, but Tony reassures himself that Moltisanti's murder was necessary, despite the hurt caused to the family.

The murder of "Big Pussy" in "Funhouse" weighs heavily on Tony. He is at first tempted to spare his old friend, but in the end knows what his priorities are. In the years to follow, Tony—along with Silvio and Paulie—have haunting dreams of the murder of their friend.

Tony kills Ralph Cifaretto after their horse, Pie-O-My, dies amid suspicious circumstances in "Whoever Did This". Tony tries to confront Ralph about the situation but, after some heated words, Tony loses control and violently murders Ralph. Though no solid proof was found that the fire killing Pie-O-My was arson, Tony is convinced Ralph did it.

The murder of Matthew Bevilaqua was vengeance, an act that had to be carried out since the fact that Christopher was shot was a direct affront to him as Boss. Tony takes satisfaction in it, as it is revenge for an attempt on the life of one of his relatives.

The murder of his cousin, Tony Blundetto, is solely to save him from a far worse death if he were to fall into Phil's hands, and so that Tony does not lose his reputation as a Boss.

The murder of his nephew, Christopher Moltisanti, is done out of necessity; Moltisanti presents a threat to Tony's life and the New Jersey Mob. Christopher has been addicted to heroin, cocaine, and alcohol for many years and could not defeat his addiction in rehab. His addiction caused many problems for the family, especially for Tony. Additionally, Christopher's methods often violated the Mafia's code. When Tony was about to call 911 for help, he sees that a baby seat in the back seat of the SUV has been destroyed by a tree branch; he closes his phone and suffocates Christopher by holding his nose shut so he chokes to death on his own blood. Tony did not plan to murder Christopher but saw the opportunity after the car accident. After killing Christopher, Tony tries to discover whether other mobsters or family members had similar feelings; it seems that they do not. Tony is never suspected of this murder.

As a father

Tony has two children: Meadow Soprano and Anthony (A.J.) Soprano. He also treats Christopher Moltisanti, his wife's first cousin once removed, as a son in many ways.

Tony is often portrayed as a loving father—he attends his children's sporting events on a regular basis and does all he can to insure they have luxuries and opportunities. He hopes that both his children will escape the life of crime he has led. Tony takes great pride in Meadow's achievements. In Season 1, he is moved to tears by her performance at a choir recital. He often tells people about her aspiration to become a pediatrician.

He also sometimes alienates his children with his behavior. He has always tried to conceal his criminal life from them—something that Meadow saw through early on and A.J. also realized with guidance from his sister.

Tony's over-protectiveness of Meadow led to feuds between them on several occasions. For example, her first boyfriend at college was of part black heritage, and Tony's racism led him to try to drive him away. Meadow learned of her father's actions and did not speak to him for several months, eventually reconciling at Christmas in 2001.

Meadow's next boyfriend was Jackie Aprile, Jr., the son of Tony's old friend Jackie Aprile, Sr. Tony had promised Jackie Jr.'s father that he would try to keep his son on the straight path. Tony was initially pleased with the relationship, believing Jackie to be a hard-working pre-med student from a good family.

However, since his Uncle Richie's release from prison and subsequent death, Tony realized that Jackie had become more involved in the Mafia when he saw him at strip clubs and a casino. He eventually beat Jackie up to warn him about abusing his daughter's feelings and confiscated his gun. Jackie was killed by Vito for his involvement in a robbery at Christopher's and Furio's executive card game, and for shooting a made man, Furio. This drove Meadow to drinking and depression, although they'd broken up shortly before his death.

After Jackie's death, Tony accepts Meadow's college friends and gets along well with her fiancé, Finn, before the two separated under unrevealed circumstances.

When Meadow is out for dinner with her "mystery" boyfriend Patrick Parisi, New York mob member Coco walks up to the table and makes drunk remarks about her looks and how "Tony must love tucking you in at night". After taking advice from her mother, Meadow tells Tony, who hides his rage and says Coco is "harmless" and "an idiot". Tony then tracks down Coco and Butch DeConcini at John's Restaurant on East 12th Street in Manhattan. Tony viciously pistol-whips Coco several times with a snubnose revolver and warns Butch at gunpoint to shut up and remain seated at his table. After breaking off some of Coco's teeth with a curb stomp, Tony leaves the restaurant.

Tony's feelings toward his son are mixed; he worries about his future. From the beginning, Tony had doubts that his son could succeed him as Boss. His fears are confirmed as A.J. consistently demonstrates throughout the series that he lacks his father's cunning and dominating persona. Tony tells A.J. numerous times that he is proud that his son is gentle and kind. Tony was especially proud of A.J.'s prowess on the football field, even amid his failing grades in high school, but is frustrated with A.J.'s lack of focus after graduation.

After flunking out of Ramapo State, A.J. loafs around the house, parties, and for a time holds a job at Blockbuster, until his father, hoping to keep A.J. away from a life of crime, gets him a job working construction. There, A.J. meets Blanca, and in Tony's opinion, A.J. was doing well until he and Blanca broke up. Tony worries about A.J.'s depression, a 'rotten putrid gene' that Tony believes he passed down to his son.

Hoping to get A.J. back on track, Tony rekindles A.J.'s friendship with "the Jasons", sons of two of his associates, and A.J. seems to be doing better. With the help of a therapist and medication, A.J. is finally getting back to college, this time at Rutgers University, to take classes and party with girls as Tony believes every college kid should. This later turns sour after A.J. sees his new friends attack a Somalian student on a bike and he regresses into depression. A.J. tries to drown himself in a swimming pool, but decides he wants to live; he is unable to escape the pool, however. Tony hears his cries for help, and rescues him. After A.J. is released from a mental health ward, Tony and Carmela dissuade him from joining the Army, and convince him instead to become involved in a film bankrolled by Carmine Lupertazzi, Jr., with the possibility of opening his own club.

Interests and hobbies

Tony is an avid animal lover, and enjoys feeding the ducks which visit his pool. He has a sentimental attachment towards animals, as he had been traumatized by the loss of his childhood dog (as revealed in the episode "In Camelot"). In Christopher Moltisanti's intervention, when Tony hears Christopher accidentally suffocated Adrianna's dog, he went furious saying "I oughta suffocate you, you little prick!" He becomes involved in horse racing through his friend Hesh, who owns a stable, and invests in a racehorse named Pie-O-My. When his horse is killed in a fire – possibly set by Ralph Cifaretto – Tony is deeply upset and saddened. When informed by Carmela that a black bear has been foraging in his home's backyard while they were separated, during Season 5, he reacts with interest, rather than fear. During his stay in the hospital after his shooting, he can be seen reading a book about dinosaurs.

Tony is seen many times over the course of the show engaging in both freshwater and saltwater angling. His son Anthony Jr. frequently accompanies him on fishing outings. During the second season he presents his son with a Fenwick rod and a Penn International reel, both extremely high quality products. In the sixth season, while in Florida with Paulie, he rents a sport fishing boat. He is sometimes haunted by visions of Pussy Bonpensiero incarnated in the form of a fish – presumably a reference to the disposal of his body in the ocean. A Big Mouth Billy Bass novelty singing fish, brought into the Bada Bing by Georgie, recalled his nightmare and disturbed him greatly.

Tony enjoys sports, particularly baseball, football, basketball, golf, and horse racing. He played varsity baseball and football in high school, and is a fan of the New York Yankees and New York Jets. A large portion of his income is derived from illegal sports betting.

Tony is an amateur yachtsman and has owned two motor yachts over the course of the show – ''Stugots'' and ''Stugots II''. The name comes from the Southern Italian phrase ''stu cazz'' meaning "This dick," or in paraphrase "Fuck it."

Tony maintains an avid interest in history, particularly World War II. He is often shown watching programs on the History Channel about great leaders such as George Patton, Erwin Rommel, and Winston Churchill. He reads ''The Art of War'' by Sun Tzu, a work which is quoted by several other characters on the show, particularly Paulie Gualtieri.

Tony is often seen watching classic black and white films. Tony listens to classic rock and pop music, particularly of the 1960s and 70s. Over the course of the show he is seen to enjoy Jefferson Airplane, Eric Clapton, The Clash, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, AC/DC, Rush, Eagles, The Lost Boys, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Van Morrison, Journey .

Like most of the mobsters in the series, Tony is shown to be partial to Cadillac and Lincoln vehicles. When discussing with Dr. Melfi a bizarre dream in which his penis fell off, he mentions that he went to the guy who used to "work on my Lincoln, when I drove Lincolns." For the first four seasons, Tony drives a burgundy 1999 Chevrolet Suburban LT 4x4, but in season 5, this has been replaced with a black Cadillac Escalade ESV. This black Escalade is totaled in an accident, and quickly replaced with a white Escalade ESV. Tony has this Escalade until the end of the series.

Extramarital affairs

Tony has a penchant for carrying on extramarital affairs. His wife Carmela seems to know about this and usually turns a blind eye, though sometimes the bottled-up tensions explode in domestic arguments – particularly at the end of Season 4, when Tony's affairs drive Carmela to separate from him. He typically has mistresses who he consistently sees for long periods of time, though he also has a number of brief one-night stands with strippers from the Bada Bing.

Tony has a strong preference for women of European, particularly Italian descent, with dark hair and eyes and exotic features. His mistresses have been, in chronological order, of Russian, Italian, Italian/Cuban, and Jewish descent. He favors dark features but also had a few brief flings with blond European women, including a Russian housekeeper and a stewardess from Icelandic Airways. He had one very short encounter with an Asian-American escort during "The Test Dream".

Mistresses:

Irina Peltsin – a young Russian woman who he sees consistently throughout the first two seasons. She is a severe alcoholic and frequently calls Tony's house when drunk, and when Janice hints that she knows that he is seeing her, he breaks off the relationship.

Gloria Trillo – an Italian-American Mercedes-Benz saleswoman with stylish tastes and exotic looks. Tony dates her throughout Season 3 after meeting her at Dr. Melfi's office. He eventually stops seeing her when she begins stalking him and calling his house. She commits suicide after the breakup.

Valentina La Paz – a beautiful art dealer of Italian and Cuban descent. Initially the mistress of Ralph Cifaretto, Tony dates her throughout Season 4. They share a love of horses, and she visits Pie-O-My at the stable with Tony. She accidentally sets her robe on fire in Season 5 while cooking eggs for Tony. Shortly thereafter he decides to get back together with Carmela, and he breaks up with Valentina while she is in the hospital recovering from second degree burns to her head, face, and arm. Their relationship ends on bad terms.

Julianna Skiff – a real estate developer of Jewish descent. She meets Tony in Season 6 when offering to buy a building that he owns, to be converted into a Jamba Juice. They later begin an affair, along with a business relationship, but never consummate their relationship sexually; Tony backs off and decides to be faithful to Carmela, who stuck with him after the shooting and seemed re-devoted to him. Julianna eventually dates Christopher Moltisanti and the two begin a very destructive, co-dependent drug habit; she is last seen attending Christopher's funeral service, where she mentions that they had split up.

Therapy

Tony has suffered from panic attacks, that sometimes cause him to lose consciousness, since his childhood. He has his first on-screen panic attack while cooking sausages at his son's birthday party—this occurs in a flashback in the pilot episode. Tony loses consciousness and causes a small explosion when he drops a bottle of lighter fluid onto the coals. Tony describes the experience of the panic attack as feeling like he had "ginger ale in his skull". This prompts him to seek help for the attacks. After extensive testing that includes an MRI scan and blood work no physical cause can be found, so Dr. Cusamano referred Tony to psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi.

Tony's therapy allows a discussion of his thoughts and feelings away from both aspects of his life—this forum for reaching into the character's thoughts has been described as a Greek chorus, and as a key for viewers to understand the character.

Tony was initially very resistant to the idea that there was a psychiatric cause for his symptoms. He resented being in therapy, and refused to accept the diagnosis of panic attacks given him by the neurologists who had investigated his illness. Tony begins to open up once Dr. Melfi explains the doctor-patient confidentiality rules. He tells her about the stress of his business life—he has a feeling that he has come in at the end of something, and describes a reverence for the glorified "old days" of the Mafia. Tony leaves out the violence associated with his criminal career. Tony tells Dr. Melfi a story about ducks landing in his pool. He describes his mother Livia, a cold, mean-spirited woman with whom he has an openly hostile relationship. By the end of the first session Tony has admitted that he feels depressed, but storms out when Dr. Melfi presses him further about the relationship between his symptoms and the ducks.

When the family visits Green Grove, a retirement community where Tony is trying to place his mother, Livia's derisive outburst prompts a second panic attack. Melfi prescribes Prozac as an anti-depressant, telling him that no one needs to suffer from depression with the wonders of modern pharmacology. Tony fails to attend their next scheduled session.

At their next session, Tony is still reluctant to face his own psychological weaknesses. Tony is quick to credit the medication for his improved mood, but Dr. Melfi tells him it cannot be that, as it takes six weeks to work—she credits their therapy sessions. Tony describes a dream where a bird steals his penis. Melfi extrapolates that Tony has projected his love for his family onto the family of ducks living in his pool. This brings him to tears, to his consternation. She tells him that their flight from the pool sparked his panic attack through the overwhelming fear of somehow losing his own family.

In the episode "46 Long", they continue discussing Tony's mother and her difficulties living alone. Tony admits that he feels guilty because his mother could not be allowed to live with his family. We learn that he has been left to care for his mother alone by his sisters. When Dr. Melfi asks him to remember good experiences from his childhood, he has difficulty. He blames Carmela for preventing his mother from living with them. Later they discuss Livia's car accident, and Melfi suggests depression may have contributed to the accident – Tony misunderstands her and becomes angry. Tony has a panic attack while visiting his mother's home after she moves to Green Grove. In a later session, Dr. Melfi pushes Tony to admit he has feelings of anger towards his mother, and he again storms out. During this episode Tony introduces the concept of him acting like the sad clown – happy on the outside but sad on the inside.

In "Denial, Anger, Acceptance", Tony discusses Jackie's cancer with Dr. Melfi. She tries to use it as an example of Tony's negative thinking contributing to his depression. Tony becomes angry and storms out. He feels she is trying to trick him and manipulate his thoughts using the pictures that decorate her office. After Jackie worsens and Tony is called a Frankenstein by a business associate, he returns to therapy to discuss these things with Dr. Melfi. She asks him if he feels like a monster.

In "Fortunate Son", Tony discusses a childhood memory of an early panic attack. He saw his father and uncle mutilate Mr. Satriale, the local butcher, and later fainted at a family dinner made with free meat from Satriale's shop. Dr. Melfi makes a connection between meat and Tony's panic attacks. She explores his mother's attitude to the fruits of his father's labor.

Later Dr. Melfi tries prescribing Lithium as a mood stabilizer. In the episode "Isabella", Tony sinks into a severe depressive episode and experiences hallucinations—he sees a beautiful Italian woman named Isabella in his neighbor's garden. Tony sees Isabella several times during the episode, and later learns that she never existed. Melfi theorizes that Isabella was an idealized maternal figure that Tony's subconscious produced because of he was deeply upset about his own mother's actions at the time.

In "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano", Tony abruptly ends his therapy and persuades Dr. Melfi to go into hiding when he discovers that Uncle Junior has found out about their sessions.

The relationship between Tony and Dr. Melfi is up-and-down, with Tony reaching a level of comfort with Dr. Melfi that he has never experienced with anyone else before, not even his wife. This closeness leads Tony to have something of a "crush" on Dr. Melfi, something that is unattainable. However, the "prying" from Dr. Melfi is uncomfortable for Tony and he often turns sarcastic and antagonistic towards her, leading to an ongoing strain in their relationship. In the episode when Tony's sister, Janice, goes back to Seattle, it is revealed during a rushed conversation between Janice and Tony that their mother suffers from narcissistic personality disorder.

During the episode "The Second Coming", aired in part II of season six, Melfi's own therapist suggests to her that her work with Tony could be considered enabling toward Tony's sociopathic tendencies. Finally, in the penultimate episode of the series, "The Blue Comet", Melfi severs her relationship with Tony after reading research recommended by her own therapist that indicates sociopaths can use talk therapy to improve their skills in manipulating others, and use what is learned in therapy to become more capable criminals.

Shootings

In the first season, Tony is attacked by William Johnson "Petite" Clayborn and Rasheen Ray, two thugs sent by Donnie Paduana to execute Tony. Tony sustains an injury to his ear, which is partially shot off, and minor bruises and cuts from crashing his vehicle. One of the two assailants, Clayborn, is shot dead by Ray in an attempt to kill Tony, and Ray is left bruised, but runs off.

In the premiere of the sixth season, "Members Only", Junior Soprano, suffering from dementia, believes Tony to be "Little Pussy" Malanga, and shoots him in the abdomen. Tony dials 911 but loses consciousness before being able to tell the operator what happened.

The second episode of the sixth season, "Join the Club", Tony is in a medically-induced coma in the hospital. In the second and third episode the viewer sees Tony in a dream-like state, eventually arriving at what could be purgatory, where he is greeted by a man who takes the physical form of his late cousin Tony Blundetto. The shadowy figure in the doorway of the house has the profile of his mother, who is dead. The voice of a younger version of his daughter calls him back. At the end of the third episode, he awakes from his coma in a confused but stable state.

By the fourth episode, Tony is mobile and fully aware, and has regained his voice. Tony's attitude to life has changed by his near death experience. He has yet to discuss his experiences while unconscious with anyone close to him. However, in the Season 6 episode "Kaisha", he admits to Phil Leotardo (who had just suffered a heart attack), that while he was in a coma, he went to a place where he never wants to go again. While talking philosophy with John Schwinn, another patient at the hospital, he mentions that while in the coma he had the experience of being drawn towards somewhere he did not want to go and narrowly avoided it.

In the sixth episode of season 6, part 2, "Kennedy and Heidi", Tony sustains minor injuries in a car accident that seriously injures his nephew, Christopher Moltisanti. Tony suffocates Christopher after this accident. Tony was on bed rest for a few days and quickly recovered. Nonetheless, this gave his family quite a scare and a painful memory of his nearly fatal shooting the previous year.

===Dreams=== Tony sometimes has vivid dreams that are shown to the viewer. Episodes with dream sequences include "Pax Soprana", "Isabella", "Funhouse", "Everybody Hurts", "Calling All Cars", and "The Test Dream".

In the pilot, Tony tells Dr. Melfi about a dream he had wherein a screw in his belly button, when removed, causes his penis to fall off. He tries to find a car mechanic (who had worked on his Lincoln when Tony drove Lincolns) to put it back on, but a duck swoops down and snatches it from his hand.

In "Meadowlands", Tony has a dream that several people in his life are present in Dr. Melfi's office, which causes him to worry that people will find out he is seeing a psychiatrist. The dream ends with Tony confronting Melfi, only to find out he's speaking to his mother, Livia.

In "Pax Soprana", Tony has several dreams and fantasies about Dr. Melfi. He becomes convinced that he is in love with her, but she turns him down when he makes advances towards her.

In "Isabella", Tony, suffering from depression after Big Pussy disappears, acquaints himself with a dental student named Isabella who is staying in the Cusamano home while they are on vacation. He later discovers that he'd hallucinated Isabella due to taking too much lithium, and that Isabella represented the mother he never had.

In "Funhouse", an extended dream sequence exposes many of Tony's subconscious thoughts and feelings through symbolic and sometimes bizarre events: he attempts suicide to preempt a doctor's diagnosis of early death by dousing himself in gasoline and lighting himself on fire; he witnesses himself shooting Paulie "Walnuts" Gaultieri to death during a card game; he has an innuendo-laden conversation with his therapist Dr. Melfi while sporting a prominent erection; and a fish that speaks with the voice of Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero confirms his suspicions that the longtime friend and soldier is a federal informant.

In "Everybody Hurts", Tony dreams of his ex-comaré Gloria Trillo shortly after learning of her suicide by hanging. He visits her apartment and finds her in a black dress with a black scarf around her neck. She is cooking dinner, and when she goes over to the oven the scarf drapes across Tony. Plaster falls down in front of Tony and when he looks up, he sees that the chandelier is almost pulled out of the ceiling. Gloria is suddenly back at the table and offers Tony a choice between seeing what she has under her dress or under her scarf. As she begins to peel away the scarf, Tony wakes up and makes his way to the bathroom for some medication.

In "Calling All Cars", Tony has two dreams featuring Ralph Cifaretto. In the first, he is being driven by Carmela in the back of his father's old car while Ralph sits in the passenger seat. There is a caterpillar crawling on the back of Ralph's head. Tony's fellow passenger in the back seat changes—Gloria Trillo and Svetlana Kirilenko are both seen. The caterpillar turns into a butterfly. Dr. Melfi later tells him that the dream signifies a change for Ralphie (recently killed by Tony) and Carmela being in control.

In the second dream, Tony follows Ralph to an old house, which Ralph enters. Tony is dressed in trousers, suspenders, and an undershirt. He knocks on the door and a female figure descends slowly in shadow; the door creaks ominously. Tony says he is there for the stonemason job but does not speak English well (Tony's grandfather was an immigrant stonemason). Just as Tony is about to enter the house, he wakes up.

In "The Test Dream", Tony comes to terms with having to kill his cousin Tony Blundetto. The episode reflects on his inner demons and fears, including his children's future, his relationship with his wife, his infidelities, deceased acquaintances—including some who have died by his hand or by his orders—his fate, and his relationship with his father. He is again shown in his father's old car, accompanied by a range of past associates.

In "Join the Club", a comatose Tony finds himself in an alternate universe where he is a law-abiding salesman on a business trip. Among other differences, his accent has changed and his hotel's bartender condescends him (in sharp contrast to the bartender at The Bing, who is a recurring punching bag for Tony). Tony has mistakenly taken another man's briefcase – Kevin Finnerty's – along with all of his identification and work. The episode follows his attempts to discern his identity, recover his briefcase, and get back to his family.

In "Kennedy and Heidi", a stressed Tony Soprano has a dream following the death of Christopher Moltisanti. In this dream, he tells his therapist that Christopher was a burden and that he is relieved that he was dead. After that he also tells her that he murdered Big Pussy and his cousin Tony Blundetto. Following the dream, he acts differently to his friends and family, trying to see if they also feel relieved now that Christopher is dead.

See also

The Sopranos

The Soprano family tree

Vincent Palermo

Michael Taccetta

Fat Tony

References

External links

HBO Character Profile: Tony Soprano

What happened to Tony Soprano in the end

Category:The Sopranos characters Category:Fictional American people of Italian descent Category:Fictional characters from New Jersey Category:Fictional businesspeople Category:Fictional mobsters Category:Fictional gamblers Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1999 Category:Fictional Republicans (United States) es:Tony Soprano fr:Tony Soprano hr:Tony Soprano it:Tony Soprano hu:Tony Soprano pl:Tony Soprano pt:Tony Soprano ro:Tony Soprano ru:Тони Сопрано fi:Tony Soprano sv:Lista över rollfigurer i Sopranos#Tony Soprano

{{infobox character | name	Furio Giunta
real name	Furio Giunta |
portrayer	Federico Castelluccio
creator	David Chase
alias	Mr. Williams
gender	Male
first	"Commendatori" ''(episode 2.04)''
last	"Eloise" ''(episode 4.12)''
occupation	Former master cheese maker at Nuovo Vesuvio Restaurant
title	Enforcer/Soldier in the Gualtieri crew of the DiMeo Crime Family, soldier in the Zucca Crime Family in Naples
spouse	none
children	none }}

Furio Giunta, played by Federico Castelluccio, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series ''The Sopranos''. He was an Italian mobster working for Tony Soprano.

Biography

Furio was one of two members of the DiMeo crime family born in Italy (the other being Michele "Feech" LaManna). Tony bargained with the Neapolitan Camorra mob boss Annalisa Zucca for Furio to come to New Jersey to work for him as part of an international car theft operation. This impulse to integrate Furio into his association emerged once he saw Furio beat a young boy for playing with firecrackers and consequently imitating the sound of gun shots. Tony Soprano saw that Furio had absolutely no inhibitions and a merciless wrath embedded by a sincere loyalty to his boss (Furio shields his boss with his own body when the firecrackers are first heard). In order to get Furio a visa, Tony got him a job as a mozzarella maker in the Nuovo Vesuvio Restaurant, enticing Artie Bucco with the idea that Tony will pay Furio's salary and he does not have to be on Vesuvio's payroll. Furio did not particularly excel at honest work, mainly because Artie imposed tougher standards on his kitchen workers than restaurants in Italy, such as hair nets and no smoking on duty. Upon his arrival in New Jersey, Furio became one of Tony's most feared enforcers, intimidating and beating up multiple people who owed Tony money as well as acting as Tony's driver and bodyguard, to the initial resentment of long time senior Soprano associate Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero.

Furio was an extremely loyal and dedicated soldier for his boss Tony, but he does not appear to have been a violent individual outside of that context. On the contrary, his personality was rather passive and sometimes even childlike, and he generally behaved in a very calm and polite manner. He spoke respectfully at all times and was not known to lose his temper, nor did he ever become entangled in rivalries within the Soprano crew. He also displayed a great deal of sentimentality and nostalgia when talking of his native land of Naples and his former employment working in the olive garden of a rich man. Before his employment with the Neopolitan mafia, The Camorra, he presumably worked as a master cheese maker. Furio was also known for his long hair, which he usually wore in a ponytail, and his penchant for elaborate, flashy silk shirts.

Season 2

Furio's first assignment was to extract payment from a massage parlor owner whose wife had convinced him to withhold payment. In an earlier visit Chris had acted in an intimidating manner and shoved a paintbrush dipped in paint into his nostril. Furio was a little less restrained - he fearlessly smashed up the place, and showed no hesitation in hitting the guests or the owner's wife. He then broke the owner's arm with a bat and shot him in the knee cap - all of which made a positive impression on Tony. He was also one of the few people to know that Richie Aprile was killed, as Tony tasked him and Christopher for assistance with dismembering his body at Satriale's. Furio made collections from low-level associates Matthew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte and was not above taking a cut of his own. Furio's grabbiness with Matt and Sean would cause problems later, as they are convinced they are being used by Tony, and then attempt shooting Christopher.

Season 3

Furio's role in the overall plot of season 3 is minor. Most notably, in Amour Fou, Furio is shot in the leg by Jackie Aprile, Jr. while he and his friends Dino Zerilli and Carlo Renzi were robbing Ralph Cifaretto's card game in an attempt to gain some recognition amongst the crime family and possibly get made. Because of his injury, Furio walks with a cane for the next episode (the finale of season 3), but is fine several months later when season 4 begins. In that episode, Furio accompanies Vito Spatafore when Vito hunts Jackie down and executes him.

Season 4

In the season 4 episode "Everybody Hurts", a sly Frenchman named Jean-Pierre Colbert cons Artie Bucco into temporarily lending him $50,000 dollars for a business investment back in France. Artie borrows the money from Tony Soprano but when Artie goes to Jean Pierre's apartment to collect the money, he claims he doesn't have it and doesn't know when he's going to "get it." Artie and Jean-Pierre scuffle briefly, but Artie leaves bruised and bloodied. Furio is later tasked with reclaiming Tony's assumed debt from Jean-Pierre Colbert, which he does.

Furio eventually began to fall in love with Tony's wife, Carmela, who also saw him as a dashing, sensitive man — Tony's polar opposite — but the two never truly became romantically entwined. Carmela tried to deflect her attraction by arranging dates for Furio. For a time, however, there was significant sexual tension between them. Carmela found excuses to visit Furio including assisting him in buying and decorating a house, and planning a house-warming party, but made sure she was never alone with him. At the house-warming they shared a sexually charged dance, Furio later claims he forgot his sunglasses at the Soprano house, just as a ploy to talk with Carmela.

When Furio's father died, he returned to Italy for the funeral. He sought the advice of his uncle, another Mafia member, telling him that Italy no longer felt like home and that he was in love with his boss's wife, feeling that they could truly communicate. His uncle made it clear he had to move on or kill his boss. Upon his return Furio withdrew from Carmela, presenting gifts to her children but not her. In the season 4 penultimate episode "Eloise", Furio witnesses Tony's infidelity first hand on a night out at a casino when Tony was dancing and being excessively flirtatious with a stripper. This enrages Furio to no end, as he thinks Carmela deserves better. A helicopter had been arranged to take them home and while Tony was urinating on the tarmac, Furio suddenly grabs him by his jacket and contemplates pushing Tony into the back rotor blades of the helicopter. "What the fuck you doin'?!" exclaimed Tony in a very inebriated voice. Furio comes to his sense and realizes his fate would ultimately be sealed if he were to murder his boss. Furio then pulls him away and plays it off by telling Tony "You were standing too close..." Fortunately, Tony was so intoxicated he only seemed slightly fazed and didn't seem to recall the incident the following day. Faced with the possibility of being killed by a vengeful Tony — and with ongoing thoughts of killing Tony himself — Furio packed up, moved back to Italy and disappeared. Carmela later went by Furio's house and stared in awe at the fact it was empty and for sale. Carmela was devastated, and eventually revealed her feelings for him in an argument with Tony, to which Tony replies "If certain men see him, he's a dead man". (This is one of the only times in the show that Tony explicitly concedes to Carmela that murder is part of his business). In Season 5, it is said that Tony has men looking for him in Italy. However, it is never stated whether Furio was found, as this is the last time anyone spoke of him on the show. Furio's fate ultimately remains unknown.

External links

HBO Profile: Furio Giunta

Category:The Sopranos characters Category:Fictional Italian people Category:Fictional mobsters Category:Fictional immigrants to the United States Category:Fictional characters introduced in 2000 fr:Furio Giunta hr:Furio Giunta it:Furio Giunta pl:Furio Giunta ro:Furio Giunta