> Of course no one would reasonably expect
> a Deborah Voigt or Jane Eaglen to sing Adina - just
> as no one would reasonably expect a Sumi Jo or
> Natalie Dessay to sing Brunnhilde.
But Eaglen IS expected to sing, for instance, Norma --
a dramatic role (in fach) with coloratura (in
technique). Just like Jo and Dessay are expected to
sing the low-lying, legato parts of Gilda or Adina
(the storm scene and Adina's "Chiedi all'aura" duet
come to mind), which demand a legato (as opposed to
coloratura) technique from them. It's not about
roles/volume as much as it is about agility and
legato, both as a part of required technical skill
within one's fach.
However, it is certainly a fact that a dramatic voice
doesn't move the way a light voice does. Even Callas,
that freak of nature who could "do everything,"
according to her fans, had to unpleasantly lighten and
pull off the voice in order to manage her magnificent
coloratura. So, despite what Eaglen's CD liner notes
would lead you to believe, not every Brunnhilde will
be able to develop the technique to sing coloratura
with good agility. I believe Eaglen (in her first CD,
Bellini and Wagner arias) says something to the effect
that all dramatic sopranos should be trained well
enough to be able to sing coloratura at a breakneck
pace. Well, that's obviously not the case with many
dramatic sopranos -- even if Nilsson and Eaglen could
do it.
Flute's third lady is definitely a contralto.
Marcellina has been done by contraltos, though not
well as far as reviews will take you. Have you looked
at Annio (Clemenza)? Or Sesto? I assume you're
running into this difficulty in terms of auditions and
competitions which often require a Mozart aria to be
among the chosen 3 or 5. What about printing up a
transposed aria (Dorabella down a couple of steps
might do you well) and coyly slipping it to the
accompanist?
Isabelle B.
=====
Isabelle Bracamonte
San Francisco, CA
ibracamonte@y...
ibracamonte@y...
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