I note that there is no category listing on the Met roster for Contralto, presumably there aren't so many opportunities for the voice type, except in England (maybe even this is changing - English listers?) - the Met also has singers decide whether they are baritone or bass - no bass-baritone category. My other thought is that the rich dark sound of Kathleen Ferrier is the sound that epitomises the Contralto in the middle of the last century, and then that of Maureen Forrester, who had to zip all over the place to fulfil high profile engagements, presumably because of the dearth of people who could sing like this, despite a continuous demand. Alas, I've had yet another thought - my own shenanigans in this little prairie town where I'll sing baritone, tenor and bass solos in the course of one week - I wish I could just bill myself as "Singer" or "Vocalist"! Maybe if you call yourself a 'dark mezzo' you could get the best of both worlds! I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering what you actually sound like. john
At 06:11 PM 1/29/01 -0500, you wrote: ...>so used to hearing mezzo-sopranos in the contralto roles that labelling >one's self (accurately) a contralto would be more of a hindrance than a >help? ...>Karen Mercedes
John Blyth Baritono robusto e lirico Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
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