Sena Jurinac was the fairly unusual type of soprano who can sing trouser-roles and create a convincing aural illusion of masculinity. Her voice did not have a great deal of vibrato, and she had a particularly warm tone and strong lower register which made her ideal for the Strauss roles of the Composer and Octavian. Whilst these roles are nearly always taken by mezzos nowadays, they are rarely sung with complete success in my opinion. Few mezzos can sing the role of the composer without straining in some of the higher-lying phrases, and Strauss clearly stated that he wanted a soprano (the role was created by Lotte Lehmann). Similarly, a mezzo Octavian is seldom as effective in the Rosenkavalier trio as a soprano, who will generally blend better with the other two voices. Jurinac is the Octavian on Erich Kleiber's classic account, where she amply proves this. Besides tonal beauty, Jurinac also displays natural charm in her singing - her performances are always dramatically effective without any sense of artifice.

As well as Strauss, Jurinac tended to specialise in Mozart roles, but she also sang some Verdi. Her roles included Ilia, Pamina, Donna Elvira, Donna Anna, Cherubino, Countess Almaviva, the Marschallin, Desdemona, Leonore (Fidelio), Leonora (La Forza del Destino) and Madama Butterfly.