A contralto () is a type of classical female

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production in ...

whose

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

is the lowest female

voice type A voice type is a group of voices with similar vocal ranges, capable of singing in a similar tessitura, and with similar vocal transition points ('' passaggi''). Voice classification is most strongly associated with European classical music, t ...

. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

, and almost identical to that of a

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...

, typically between the F below middle C (F₃ in

scientific pitch notation Scientific pitch notation (SPN), also known as American standard pitch notation (ASPN) and international pitch notation (IPN), is a method of specifying musical Pitch (music), pitch by combining a musical Note (music), note name (with accidental ...

) to the second F above middle C (F₅), although, at the extremes, some voices can reach the D below middle C (D₃) or the second B above middle C (B₅). The contralto voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic contralto.

History

"Contralto" is primarily meaningful only in reference to classical and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic singing, as other traditions lack a comparable system of vocal categorization. The term "contralto" is only applied to female singers; men singing in a similar range are called "

s". The Italian terms "contralto" and "

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

" are not synonymous, "alto" technically denoting a specific

in choral singing without regard to factors like tessitura, vocal timbre, vocal facility, and vocal weight. However, there exists some French choral writing (including that of Ravel and

Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

) with a part labelled "contralto", despite the tessitura and function being that of a classical alto part. The Saracen princess Clorinde in

André Campra André Campra (; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) was a French composer and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra wrote several '' tra ...

's 1702 opera '' Tancrède'' was written for Julie d'Aubigny and is considered the earliest major role for ''bas-dessus'' or contralto voice.The part of Clorinde is notated in the

soprano clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pitc ...

original score, p. 71
, but, although it never descends below d′, tradition has it that it was the first major ''bas-dessus'' (contralto) role in the French opera history (Sadie, Julie Anne, ''Maupin'', in

Sadie, Stanley Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

(ed), ''op. cit.'', III, p. 274).

Vocal range

The contralto has the lowest vocal range of the female

s, with the lowest tessitura. The contralto

is between

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and

. Although tenors, baritones, and basses are male singers, some women can sing as low (albeit with a slightly different timbre and texture) as their male counterparts. Some of the rare female singers who specialized in the tenor and baritone registers include film actress

Zarah Leander Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record ...

, the Persian ''āvāz'' singer Hayedeh, the child prodigy Ruby Helder (1890–1938), and Bavarian novelty singer

Bally Prell Bally Prell (born Agnes Pauline Prell; 14 September 1922 – 20 March 1982) was a German performer, humorous singer, and folk singer, who performed mainly in Bavarian language. Life Prell was the daughter of folk singer and composer Ludwig ...

Subtypes and roles in opera

Within the contralto voice type category are three generally recognized subcategories:

coloratura Coloratura is an elaborate melody with runs, trills, wide leaps, or similar virtuoso-like material,''Oxford American Dictionaries''.Apel (1969), p. 184. or a passage of such music. Operatic roles in which such music plays a prominent part, an ...

contralto, an agile voice specializing in florid passages; lyric contralto, a voice lighter in timbre; and dramatic contralto, the deepest, darkest, and most powerful contralto voice. The coloratura contralto was a favorite voice type of Rossini's. Many of his roles listed below were written with this type of voice in mind. Lyric contraltos are heavily utilized in both the French and English operatic repertoire. Many of the Gilbert and Sullivan contralto roles are best suited with a lyric contralto voice. Ma Moss in '' The Tender Land'' is a notable lyric contralto role. The dramatic contralto voice is heard in much of the German operatic repertoire. Erda in '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'' and Gaea in ''Daphne'' are both good examples of the dramatic contralto. True operatic contraltos are rare, and the operatic literature contains few roles written specifically for them. Contraltos sometimes are assigned feminine roles like Teodata in ''

Flavio ''Flavio, re de' Longobardi'' ("Flavio, King of the Lombards", HWV 16) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Matteo Noris's ''Flavio Cuniberto''. It was Hand ...

'', Angelina in '' La Cenerentola'', Rosina in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'', Isabella in '' L'italiana in Algeri'', and Olga in '' Eugene Onegin'', but more frequently they play female villains or trouser roles. Contraltos may also be cast in roles originally written for

castrati A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

. A common saying among contraltos is that they may play only "witches, bitches, or britches." Examples of contralto roles in the standard operatic repertoire include the following: *Angelina^*, '' La Cenerentola'' (

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

) *Arnalta, '' L'incoronazione di Poppea'' ( Monteverdi) *Arsace, ''

Semiramide ''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first performed at La Fenice ...

'' (Rossini) *Art Banker, ''

Facing Goya ''Facing Goya'' (2000 in music, 2000) is an opera in four acts by Michael Nyman on a libretto by Victoria Hardie. It is an expansion of their one-act opera called ''Vital Statistics'' from 1987, dealing with such subjects as physiognomy, eugenics, ...

'' (

Nyman Nyman is an English and Swedish surname. The name originates from Anglo-Saxon culture. The name is derived from the words neowe, niwe, and nige which all mean new, and the word mann, meaning man. The name was traditionally given to newcomers. Other ...

) *Azucena^*, '' Il trovatore'' (Verdi) *Auntie^*, landlady of The Boar, ''

Peter Grimes ''Peter Grimes'', Op. 33, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Montagu Slater based on the section "Peter Grimes", in George Crabbe's long narrative poem '' The Borough''. The "borough" of the opera is a fictional ...

'' ( Britten) *The Baroness, ''

Vanessa Vanessa may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Vanessa'' (Millais painting), an 1868 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais * ''Vanessa'', a 1933 novel by Hugh Walpole * ''Vanessa'', a 1952 instrumental song written by Bernie ...

'' ( Barber) *Bradamante, '' Alcina'' (

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

) *La Cieca, '' La Gioconda'' (

Ponchielli Amilcare Ponchielli (, ; 31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886) was an Italian opera composer, best known for his opera ''La Gioconda''. He was married to the soprano Teresina Brambilla. Life and work Born in Paderno Fasolaro (now Paderno Ponchiell ...

) *Cornelia, '' Giulio Cesare'' (Handel) *The Countess^*, '' The Queen of Spades'' ( Tchaikovsky) *Didone, '' Egisto'' ( Cavalli) *Dryade, '' Ariadne auf Naxos'' ( Strauss) *Erda, '' Das Rheingold,

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'' (

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

) *Felicia, '' Il crociato in Egitto'' ( Meyerbeer) *Madame Flora (Baba), '' The Medium'' (

Menotti Menotti may refer to the following people: ;Given name *Menotti Aristone (c.1942–2013), American jockey *Menotti de Tomazzo Sobrinho (born 1943), Brazilian football player *Menotti Del Picchia (1892–1988), Brazilian poet, journalist and painte ...

) *Fidès, '' Le prophète'' ( Meyerbeer) *Florence Pike, '' Albert Herring'' (Britten) *Gaea, ''

Daphne Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in whi ...

'' ( Strauss) *Geneviève, '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' (

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

) *Griselda, '' Griselda'' (

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

) *Hélène Bezukhova, '' War and Peace'' (Prokofiev) *Hippolyta, ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' (Britten) *Isabella^*, '' L'italiana in Algeri'' (Rossini) *Katisha, ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' (

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

) *Klytemnestra^*, '' Elektra'' (

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

) *Lel, '' The Snow Maiden'' (

Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

) *Little Buttercup, ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which ...

'' (Gilbert and Sullivan) *Lucretia, '' The Rape of Lucretia'' (Britten) *Maddalena^*, '' Rigoletto'' (Verdi) *Magdelone, ''

Maskarade ''Maskarade'' (''Masquerade'') is an opera in three acts by Carl Nielsen to a Danish libretto by Vilhelm Andersen, based on the comedy by Ludvig Holberg. It was first performed on 11 November 1906 at Royal Danish Theatre, Copenhagen. ''Maskarade' ...

'' ( Nielsen) *Mamma Lucia, '' Cavalleria rusticana'' ( Mascagni) *Ma Moss, '' The Tender Land'' ( Copland) *Malcolm^*, '' La donna del lago'' (Rossini) *Margret, ''

Wozzeck ''Wozzeck'' () is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama ''Woyzeck'', which the German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at h ...

'' ( Berg) *Maria, ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

'' ( Gershwin) *The Marquise of Berkenfield, '' La fille du régiment'' (

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

) *Marthe, '' Faust'' ( Gounoud) *Marilyn Klinghoffer, '' The Death of Klinghoffer'' ( Adams) *Mary, '' Der fliegende Holländer'' (Wagner) *Miss Todd, '' The Old Maid and the Thief'' (Menotti) *Mother, ''

The Consul ''The Consul'' is an opera in three acts with music and libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, his first full-length opera. Performance history Its first performance was on March 1, 1950 at the Schubert Theatre in Philadelphia with Patricia Neway as the ...

'' (Menotti) *Mother Goose, '' Mother Goose'' (Felix Jarrar) *Mother Goose, '' The Rake's Progress'' (

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

) *Mrs. Noye, ''

Noye's Fludde ''Noye's Fludde'' is a one-act opera by the British composer Benjamin Britten, intended primarily for amateur performers, particularly children. First performed on 18 June 1958 at that year's Aldeburgh Festival, it is based on the 15th-century ...

'' ( Britten) *Mrs. Prin, ''

Tabula Rasa ''Tabula rasa'' (; "blank slate") is the theory that individuals are born without built-in mental content, and therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception. Epistemological proponents of ''tabula rasa'' disagree with the doctri ...

'' (

Felix Jarrar Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, S ...

) *Mistress Quickly, ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

'' (Verdi) *Norn (I), '' Götterdämmerung'' (Wagner) *Olga^*, '' Eugene Onegin'' (Tchaikovsky) *Orfeo, ''

Orfeo ed Euridice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Orpheus, the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the ''azione teatrale'', mea ...

'' (

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the ...

) (originally for castrato) *Orlando, ''

Orlando Furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was no ...

'' (

) *Orsini, ''

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

'' (Donizetti) *Polina, '' The Queen of Spades'' (Tchaikovsky) *Ratmir, ''

Ruslan and Lyudmila Ruslan may refer to: * ''Ruslan'' (film), a 2009 film starring Steven Segal * Ruslan (given name), male name used mainly in Slavic countries, with list of people * Antonov An-124 ''Ruslan'', large Soviet cargo aircraft, later built in Ukraine and ...

'' ( Glinka) *Rosina^*, ''

'' (Rossini) *Rosmira/Eurimene^*, '' Partenope'' (Handel) *Ruth, '' The Pirates of Penzance'' (Gilbert and Sullivan) *Schwertleite, '' Die Walküre'' (Wagner) *Smeaton, '' Anna Bolena'' (Donizetti) *Sosostris, ''

The Midsummer Marriage ''The Midsummer Marriage'' is an opera in three acts, with music and libretto by Michael Tippett. The work's first performance was at Covent Garden, on 27 January 1955, conducted by John Pritchard. The reception of the opera was controversial, o ...

'' ( Tippett) *Stella, ''

What Next? ''What Next?'' is a 1928 British silent comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Forde, Pauline Johnson and Frank Stanmore. It was made at Nettlefold Studios in Walton-on-Thames. There is a copy held at the BFI archive. Premise A ma ...

'' (

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter, ...

) *Tancredi, ''

Tancredi ''Tancredi'' is a ''melodramma eroico'' ('' opera seria'' or heroic opera) in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Gaetano Rossi (who was also to write ''Semiramide'' ten years later), based on Voltaire's play ''Tancrède'' (176 ...

'' (Rossini) *Ulrica, ''

Un ballo in maschera ''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. The ...

'' (Verdi) *Widow Begbick^*, '' Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny'' ( Weill) *3rd Woodsprite, ''

Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalky/rusalki; ; pl, rusałka}) is a typically feminine entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water, with counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melus ...

'' ( Dvořák) *La Zia Principessa, '' Suor Angelica'' (

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

) *Zita, ''

Gianni Schicchi () is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Puccin ...

'' (

) * ^* indicates a role that may also be sung by a

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Italian opera terminology Musical terminology Opera terminology Pitch (music) Voice types

History

Vocal range

Subtypes and roles in opera

See also

References

Further reading

External links