Look up contralto in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice,^[1] with the lowest tessitura,^[2] falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C (F₃ in scientific pitch notation) to the second G above middle C (G₅), although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C (E₃) or the second B♭ above middle C (B♭₅).^[1]

Terminology[link]

"Contralto" is meaningful only in reference to classical and operatic singing, as other genres lack a system of vocal categorization comparable to that generally accepted in the classical context. Even within current operatic practice, contraltos are often classed as mezzo-sopranos, because singers in each range can cover for those in the other. When appearing separately, the term "contralto" applies only to female singers; men whose voices fall in the same range or higher are known as "countertenors."^[2] The Italian terms "contralto" and "alto" are not synonymous, the latter technically denoting a specific vocal range in choral singing without regard to factors like tessitura, vocal timbre, vocal facility, and vocal weight.^[3]

Within the category of contraltos are three generally recognized subcategories—coloratura contralto, lyric contralto, and dramatic contralto—that usefully describe the voice type in general terms. Note, however, that they do not always apply with precision to individual singers; some exceptional dramatic contraltos, such as Ernestine Schumann-Heink and Sigrid Onégin, were technically equipped to perform not only heavy, dramatic music by the likes of Wagner but also florid compositions by Donizetti.

Coloratura contralto[link]

Coloratura contraltos—who have light, agile voices ranging very high for the classification and atypically extensive coloratura and high sustaining notes—specialize in florid passages and leaps. Given its deviations from the classification's norms, this voice type is quite rare.

Lyric contralto[link]

A lyric contralto voice is lighter than a dramatic contralto but not capable of the ornamentation and leaps of a coloratura contralto. This class of contralto, lighter in timbre than the others, is the most common today and usually ranges from the G below middle C (G₃) to the G two octaves above middle C (G₅).

Dramatic contralto[link]

The dramatic is the deepest, darkest, and heaviest contralto voice, usually having a heavier tone and more power than the others. Singers in this class, like the coloratura contraltos, are rare. They typically sing in a range from the G below middle C (G₃) to the A above middle C (A₄).^[4]

Contralto roles in opera[link]

True operatic contraltos are rare, and the operatic literature contains few roles written specifically for them. Contraltos sometimes are assigned feminine roles like Angelina in La Cenerentola, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, and Olga in Eugene Onegin, but more frequently they play female villains or assume trouser roles originally written for castrati. A common saying among contraltos is that they may play only "witches, bitches, or britches."^[5]

Examples of contralto roles in the standard operatic repertoire include the following:.^[5]

^* indicates a role that may also be sung by a mezzo-soprano.

See also[link]

• Fach
• List of contraltos in non-classical music
• List of operatic contraltos

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Genovex Music Group. ISBN 978-1-56593-940-0. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Appelman, D. Ralph (1986). The Science of Vocal Pedagogy: Theory and Application. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-20378-6. 
3. ^ Stark, James (2003). Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-8614-3. 
4. ^ The New York Times guide to essential knowledge ^{[Full citation needed]}
5. ^ ^{a b} Boldrey, Richard (1994). Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias. Caldwell Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-877761-64-5. 

Further reading[link]

• Coffin, Berton (1960). Coloratura, Lyric and Dramatic Soprano, Vol. 1. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.. ISBN 978-0-8108-0188-2. 
• Peckham, Anne (2005). Vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer. Berklee Press Publications. ISBN 978-0-87639-047-4. 
• Smith, Brenda (2005). Choral Pedagogy. Plural Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1-59756-043-6. 

External links[link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Contralto.

Eula Beal (January 25, 1919 – July 29, 2008) was an American contralto. During her relatively short touring career, she performed with distinguished collaborators not only in concert on the US West Coast but also in Concert Magic, a 1947 film billed as "the first motion picture concert." ^[1]

Beal was born in Riverside, California. Touring the United States as a concert contralto in the 1940s, she appeared with orchestras including the Phoenix Symphony^[2] and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. With the latter ensemble, she performed in two works by Gustav Mahler: his Eighth Symphony, under Eugene Ormandy at the Hollywood Bowl,^[3] and Kindertotenlieder.^[4] Beal's operatic appearances included impersonations of Erda in Wagner's Siegfried and the innkeeper in Boris Godunov with the San Francisco Opera during the 1948 season. She also sang at Radio City Music Hall and the Tanglewood Festival with the Boston Pops.^[5]

Beal's present fame rests on her participation in Concert Magic, an unscripted film presenting, as the title would suggest, a classical concert. Beal was the sole vocalist; instrumentalists included pianists Adolph Baller, Jakob Gimpel, and Marguerite Campbell; violinist Yehudi Menuhin; and an orchestra billed as "Symphony Orchestra of Hollywood" under the baton of Antal Dorati. Interspersed with purely instrumental selections, Beal performed the Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria"; Franz Schubert's "Erlkönig" and "Ave Maria"; Tchaikovsky's "None but the lonely heart"; and "Lord, Have Mercy on Me" from the St. Matthew Passion of Johann Sebastian Bach.^[1]

Beal married well known-aerial photographer William Garnett in 1941 and remained his wife until his death in 2006, bearing him three sons. After but a decade on the concert circuit, she opted to abandon her full-time performing career to devoting her time to her family. Nonetheless, she remained sporadically active in northern California, where she and Garnett made their home; besides providing music at local funerals and churches, she performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the Santa Rosa Symphony, the Napa Symphony, and a local Napa, California choral group. She died in Napa in 2008.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Eula Beal on imdb
• Eula Beal sings None but the lonely heart by Tchaikovsky on YouTube
• Eula Beal sings Bach aria with Yehudi Menuhin on YouTube
• Eula Beal sings Ave Maria on YouTube
• Soundtracks for Concert Magic (1948)

This article about a United States singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Karen J. Clark
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 61A district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 6, 1981
Preceded by	Linda Berglin
Personal details
Born	(1945-07-23) July 23, 1945 (age 66) Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Political party	DFL
Spouse(s)	Jacquelyn
Residence	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Profession	College instructor
Religion	Roman Catholic

Karen J. Clark (born July 23, 1945) is a Minnesota politician, and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A Democrat, Clark represents District 61A, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis in the Twin Cities metropolitan area including portions of the Phillips, Ventura Village, Seward, and Lyn-Lake neighborhoods.^[1] She is the longest serving openly lesbian member to serve in a state legislature in the United States.^[1]

Service in the Minnesota House[link]

First elected in November 1980, Clark is serving her sixteenth term in the Minnesota Legislature. She is currently a member of the Capital Investment, the Jobs and Economic Development Finance, and the Redistricting committees. Since first being elected, she has chaired the Governmental Operations Subcommittee for Jobs Creation and Unemployment Issues, the Economic Development and Housing Subcommittee for Job Development and Training, the Economic Development Subcommittee for the Community Stabilization and Development Division, the Housing Committee, the Economic Development and International Trade Subcommittee for the Housing and Housing Finance Division, and the Finance Subcommittee for the Housing Policy and Finance and Public Health Finance Division.^[2]

Advocacy for LGBT rights[link]

Clark is a lesbian,^[3] and is one of three openly gay members of the Minnesota Legislature, along with Senator D. Scott Dibble and Rep. Susan Allen, both Minneapolis Democrats. After the Minnesota House voted on May 21, 2011, to place a gay marriage amendment referendum on the ballot in the 2012 general election, she and Dibble released a joint statement condemning the referendum. The referendum will have voters decide whether a legal marriage will be restricted to heterosexual couples.^[4]

Following the May 2011 House vote on the gay marriage amendment referendum, Clark stated: "It’s a sad day for the State of Minnesota. Tonight, we’ve moved one step closer to discriminating against Minnesotans simply based on who they love. This amendment won’t help a single family in Minnesota, and this vote is absolutely heartbreaking to thousands of people and families across our state. History will not look back kindly on this day or the people who voted for discrimination. The Minnesota I know is a place of inclusion, tolerance and love, and I truly believe the people of this great state will not vote to enshrine discrimination in our constitution..."^[5]

Background, education and career[link]

Raised on a farm in southwestern Minnesota, Clark attended public schools in Edgerton, graduating from Edgerton High School in 1963. She earned her B.S. in nursing at the College of Saint Teresa in Winona. She later attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, earning her Master of Public Administration degree in 1996.^[1]

Clark has been an instructor at the University of Minnesota since 1985. She previously worked as public health nurse, VISTA nurse-organizer and an OB-GYN Nurse Practitioner. She is a member of the adjunct Faculty of the Department of Human Relations at St. Cloud State University, of the University of Minnesota’s Women’s Studies Department, of the Macalester College Women’s Studies Department, and of the College of St. Catherine Graduate School of Holistic Health. She is a member of AFSCME. She is active in numerous South Minneapolis neighborhoods on issues relating to housing, health, human-rights, labor, women's rights, peace, and affordable high-quality child care for all.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Karen Clark at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
• Rep. Clark Web Page
• Rep. Clark Campaign Web Site

Nathalie Stutzmann is a contemporary opera singer, renowned for her contralto voice.

Born in Suresnes, France, 1965, she first studied with her mother (soprano Christiane Stutzmann), then at Nantes Conservatoire and later, at the Ecole d’Art Lyrique de l’Opéra de Paris, focusing on lied, under Hans Hotter's tutelage. She is well known for her interpretations of French melody and German lied. Her oeuvre includes major works of baroque, classical, romantic and 20th century music. Stutzmann also plays piano, bassoon and is a chamber musician. Stutzmann debuted as a concert singer at the Salle Pleyel, Paris, 1985, in Bach's Magnificat (BWV 243). Her recital debut was the following year in Nantes. Some of her operatic performances have included: Ombra felice (Mozart's pasticcio), Radamisto (Handel), Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck) and Giulio Cesare (Handel). She has sung at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Royal Festival Hall / “BBC Proms”, Carnegie Hall, Musikverein, Mozarteum, the Concertgebouw, La Monnaie, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, La Scala, the Opéra de Genève and the Berliner Philharmonie.

Stutzmann performs frequently for opera, concert, recital and recording. She began performing and recording with Swedish pianist Inger Södergren in 1994. She took part in the project of Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir to record Bach's complete vocal works. Nathalie Stutzmann is Chevalier des Arts et Lettres and continues (as of 2007) to perform around the world and teach master classes.

Recordings[link]

She has more than 40 recordings and many awards, including the Deutsche Schallplatten Kritik, Diapason d’Or, Japan Record Academy Award, and a Grammy Award.

She has over fifty recordings on labels including EMI, Erato, Deutsche Grammophon, Harmonia Mundi, Philips, RCA and Sony and Virgin. Some of her most admired recordings are of Schumann Lieder, Chausson and Poulenc melodies, Mahler Symphony No. 2 with Seiji Ozawa, Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus and Schubert's Winterreise for Calliope.

References[link]

• Biography on Colbert Artists site
• Sony artist's bio
• Bio on www.bach-cantatas.com
• Official Nathalie Stutzmann site