The contralto voice in opera and classical music has a range which typically lies between the F below middle C (F3) to two Fs above middle C (F5). In the lower and upper extremes, some contralto voices can sing from the E below middle C (E3) to two B♭s above middle C (B♭5).[1] The contralto voice has the lowest tessitura of the female voices and is noted for its rich and deep vocal timbre.[2] True operatic contraltos are very rare.[3] The following is a list of contralto singers who have regularly performed unamplified classical or operatic music in concert halls and/or opera houses.[4]
A–L
_-_Alboni,_Marietta_(1826-1894),_contralto_3.jpg)
- Eunice Alberts (1927–2012)[6]
- Marietta Alboni (1823[7]–1894)
- Marian Anderson (1897–1993)[8][9]
- Fanny Anitúa (1887–1968)[10]
- Cecil Arden[11] (1894–1989)
- Germaine Bailac (1881–1977)
- Fedora Barbieri (1920–2003)
- Eula Beal (1919–2008)[12]
- Marianne Brandt (1842–1921)[13]
- Karin Branzell (1891–1974)[14]
- Muriel Brunskill (1899–1980)[15]
- Clara Butt (1872–1936)
- AnnaMaria Cardinalli (born 1979)
- Marie-Louise Cébron-Norbens (1888–1958)
- Lili Chookasian (1921–2012)[13]
- Belle Cole (1845[16] or 1853[17]–1905)[18]
- Kate Condon[19] (1877–1941)
- Clorinda Corradi (1804–1877)[20]
- Christine Nielson Dreier (1866–1926)[21]
- Kathleen Ferrier (1912–1953)[22]
- Maureen Forrester (1930–2010)[23]
- Delphine Galou (born 1977)
- Anna Girò (circa 1710 or 1711–1748 or later)[24]
- Louise Homer (1871–1947)[25]
- Edna Indermaur (1892–1985)[26]
- Jenny Twitchell Kempton (1835–1921)[27]
- Gillian Knight[28] (born 1934)
- Anna Larsson[29] (born 1966)
- Marie-Nicole Lemieux (born 1975)[30]
- Gisela Litz[31] (1922–2017)
- Louise Kirkby Lunn (1873–1930)[32]
M–Z
- Adelaide Malanotte (1785–1832)[33]
- Bernadette Manca di Nissa (born 1954)
- Marietta Marcolini (c. 1780–1855)[33]
- Margaret Matzenauer (1881–1963), who sang mostly mezzo-soprano roles though[33]
- Antonia Merighi (died 1764)[33]
- Sara Mingardo (born 1961)
- Sigrid Onégin (1889–1943)[34]
- Rosmunda Pisaroni (1793–1872)[33]
- Ewa Podleś (1952–2024)[35]
- Marie Powers (1902–1973)[36]
- Sonia Prina[37] (born 1975)
- Maria Radner (1981—2015)[38]
- Geltrude Righetti[39] (1793–1862)
- Anastasia Robinson (c. 1692–1755)[40]
- Sofia Scalchi[41] (1850–1922)
- Ernestine Schumann-Heink (1861–1936)[42]
- Annice Sidwells (1902–2001)
- Monica Sinclair (1925–2002)[43]
- Nathalie Stutzmann[44][45] (born 1965)
- Hilary Summers[46]
- Vittoria Tesi (1700–1775)[47]
- Kerstin Thorborg (1896–1970)
- Claramae Turner (1920–2013)
- Francesca Vanini-Boschi (?–1744)[33]
- Lucia Elizabeth Vestris (1797–1856)[48]
- Helen Watts (1927–2009)[49]
- Portia White (1911–1968)[50]
- Marta Wittkowska[51] (1882–1977)
See also
References
Notes
Sources
- Appelman, D. Ralph (1986). The Science of Vocal Pedagogy: Theory and Application. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-20378-6.
- Celletti, R. (2000). "Requiem per il contralto". La grana della voce. Opere, direttori e cantanti (in Italian) (2nd ed.). Rome: Baldini & Castoldi. ISBN 88-8089-781-0.
- Hall, Charles J. (2002). Chronology of Western Classical Music: 1751–1900. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-94216-0.
- Jander, Owen; Steane, J. B.; Forbes, Elizabeth; Harris, Ellen T. "Contralto". Grove Music Online. (subscription required)
- Jones, Randye (10 September 2019). "Marian Anderson Biography". AfroVoices.com. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
- McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Genovex Music Group. ISBN 978-1-56593-940-0.
- Myers, Eric (December 1996). "Sweet and Low: the case of the vanishing contralto". Opera News. Vol. 61, no. 7. pp. 18–21. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- Rutherford, Susan (2006). The Prima Donna and Opera, 1815–1930. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-85167-X.
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