altissimo
- s very high
- When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart made his first visit to Italy, at 14, he heard a soprano called La Bastardella sing an "unbelievable" C in altissimo, an octave above the C in alt.
- But opportunity beckoned in her florid aria, Caro Nome, and Soprano Robin seized it: she unexpectedly gave out with what critics call a B "in altissimo"up in the whistling range.