The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and other sympathetic characters in opera.
[2] There is a tendency to divide lyric sopranos into two groups: light and full.
[3] A light-lyric soprano has a bigger voice than a soubrette but still possesses a youthful quality.
Occasionally a full lyric will have a big enough voice that she can take on much heavier roles, using volume in place of vocal weight.
Otherwise full lyric sopranos need be judicious with spinto and other heavy roles to prevent vocal deterioration.