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Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:31 pm
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(I copied this from a post I made in the classical forum)
Think about it: very few (famous) operas feature an alto voice. There are plenty of mezzo-soprano parts yes, but keep in mind they're not the same, though women whos voices are better suited to be alto generally only play mezzo roles because they're the only parts for them. Because of this though, somethign that annoys me to no end at all: there are so few women who are professional altos due to their small repitoire, that mezzos and even lower sopranos are asked to play their roles, and from personal experience at more than a few concerts: they're not suitable substitutes, not in the least.
Everyone loves to listen to sopranos, but poor altos, they really got the short end of the stick when it comes to opera. Generally they only are able to play castrato rolls from the earlier music eras; roles that castrated men used to play (Handel's opera Julius Caesar is one of the most famous operas that features castrati).
I'm just astounded and confused as to.... how altos got screwed.
Now don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of pieces for solo alto women, though most of them are solo parts in choral pieces or other songs. Other times their part's been transposed from a soprano's part.
Mahler's 3rd Symphony and Brahms's Rhapsody for Alto, Men's Choir, and Orchestra are some great pieces that feature an alto role, but there are also a few operas with an alto singer. From Wagner's Ring Cycle, the operas "Das Rheingold" and "Siegfried" feature the Norse Goddess Erda as an alto (though she has about a 10 minute part in each one). Then in "Gotterdammerung," one of the three Norns is also an alto. Ponchielli's "La Gioconda" features an alto, as he features all staring roles in that opera one of each voice type (soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass). Verdi's famous "Rigoletto" has a roll that he specified as alto to play the part of Maddalena, except it's more along the lines of a mezzo's role given the range, rarely getting low at all, generally staying in the middle of the range (don't get me wrong, the opera's an absolute masterpiece).
This is one of my favorite excerpts of an alto: Erda's aria from Wagner's "Das Rheingold," though it's ironic in me saying this because again, the range of this particular part is more of a mezzo's, only ranging from a low C# to high E on the staff (the low C# most sopranos can sing no problem too). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ddOhDxbWgU Sung by an absolutely amazing performer, Birgitta Svenden. I have no information on this woman but her voice is DEEEEEP, I'm just floored by the fact this incredibly loud and rich voice comes out of her (she's a rather tiny woman too)
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Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 8:12 am
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:02 pm
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:20 am
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:50 pm
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Well, the thing is, true operatic contraltos are exceedingly rare. There are some roles in the latter part of the Romantic period, when composers (such as Rossini) wrote for lower roles, but they're usually played by mezzos because contraltos are basically unheard of. The few that sprouted up in the last century have made bank because there's no one else, haha (Kathleen Ferrier, ilu, you crazy woman).
Part of the reason behind this is that, while the general population tends to have mid- to low singing voices, it's mostly sopranos (and mezzos, but to a far lesser extent) who go into the field. That's just kind of how it is.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 12:39 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 5:26 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 9:12 pm
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 1:44 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:45 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 11:00 pm
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Shawnna2013 i think people want to listen to sopranos more cause there isn't a challenge for altos since everyone has a lower register from speaking. where in order to be a soprano, you either have to work really hard to get a higher register or you got lucky and were just born with one. i had this awesome choir director in 9th grade and he said that a choir is like a hamburger. the guy parts were all the toppings, the sopranos were the buns that topped it off and the altos were the meat that gave the choir a center base. he might of just wanted to make us feel like we were somewhat important, but i thought it was a pretty sweet analogy smile
I don't mean to be this person, but I will... Actually, bigger and usually darker voices have the most difficult time finding their voice. I am one example of this. My teachers discredited my singing until I went to summer camps where people knew how to handle all types of voices. I was basically born a mezzo. Classifying voice types isn't done strictly by range. When it comes to male voices it's more of an indication of voice type...
All females have the capability to hit a C6 (two ledger lines above the treble clef staff) unless there's something physically wrong with them. Maybe it's not the prettiest note, but it's there. Yes, sopranos can usually get higher than this and this note is easier for them. In high school choirs, directors usually put singers who can read music and have difficulty accessing the upper range into the alto section. If you're really lucky, the director puts the soft, light voices in the soprano section and the darker, fuller voices in the alto section. The truth is, there may be one or two potential mezzos in the alto section. I go to a college where almost everyone's some kind of voice major, and in my class of 65, 4 of us are definitely mezzos (including me) and 2 have the potential to be.
And as for that analogy, it's pretty cool (and he probably said it to make the altos feel better), but this is what my directors say about the function of voice parts:
Soprano is usually melody, and they screech and sing out of tune Alto usually sings the third or fifth of the chord, and they always sound good Tenors, well they like to think they're the most important. They normally sound bad Basses are the root and foundation. If they're off, we're screwed.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 11:08 pm
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