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Which professional contralto would you consider to be the best you have ever heard?

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#1 ·
While contraltos are rare, which do you consider to be the best singer in the theater? I am curious which one you think sounds the best and even the most interesting in their vocal technique.
 
#2 ·
I have something of a soft spot for English contraltos. Kathleen Ferrier's voice makes me weak at the knees :eek: Helen Watts is another of my favourite contraltos; she had such a powerful and expressive instrument, and she is the contralto I would most like to have heard live. Sigrid Onegin is my other favourite contralto of yesteryear.



 
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#3 ·
A few modern contraltos stand out to me as being particularly good. I like Ewa Podleś, but her voice doesn't really speak to me. Sonia Prina, on the other hand... just WOW! Not a fan of her coloratura technique though, I have to say. Nathalie Stutzmann is one of the most musically intelligent singers of today, whilst Marie-Nicole Lemieux's voice is just so 'bold' and truthful - so human! Sara Mingardo's pretty good too.



 
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#9 · (Edited)
My nerves were too bad, I even came out in hives around the throat. . .& would weep pathetically in the Kindertotenlieder. . .just not a vocal Performer. I would get ill with Angst & let myself & others down. I could hardly listen to music for several years after stopping, it hurt too badly.:(:( I think this incarnation has been in vain . . .
 
#30 · (Edited)
Marijana Mijanovic is a personal favorite of mine.



Delphine Galou is another one I quite enjoy:


I also have to mention the wonderful Sara Mingardo. This is a great example of her lower ranges.


Then of course there's the legendary Ewa Podles, who is just incredible. The more I expose myself to great Contralto performances, the more I fall in love with it.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Delphine Galou is another one I quite enjoy:


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I have recently become a huge fan of Delphine Galou, starting with her recent discs of Vivaldi sacred and secular music on Naive. Absolutely stunning voice, and that Erbarme dich is something else.
 
#33 ·
For me, it has been Kathleen Ferrier on records, particularly her recordings with Bruno Walter, and in concert & on records, Maureen Forrester. I first heard Forrester sing a Mahler orchestral song cycle in the 1980s, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and her performance left an indelible impression on me. Mahler is an ideal composer for great contraltos, & Brahms too.

The following 1949 Edinburgh Festival recital sung by Ferrier, with Walter on the piano, shows Ferrier at her best I think:

Here too is a clip of Forrester singing Mahler's Rückert-Lieder, with the RIAS Sinfonieorchester, conducted by Ferenc Fricsay, in 1958: . (It's a beautiful performance, though I still prefer mezzo soprano Dame Janet Baker's recording with Sir John Barbirolli, which is a desert island disc of mine.)

Here also is Forrester singing the Urlicht movement from Mahler's 2nd Symphony, with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Bruno Walter:

& Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under Fritz Reiner: .
 
#34 ·
I am a big fan of deep voices; I much prefer contraltos and basses to sopranos and tenors! Eugenia Mantelli, Jeanne Gerville-Réache, Louise Homer, Louise Kirkby Lunn, Clara Butt and Sigrid Onegin are all delightful in a variety of ways. Mantelli's Rossinian style is perfect. Homer's control is astounding. And it's the sheer power of Butt's instrument that amazes.

I'm exceedingly flattered when compared to Kathleen Ferrier, although I know it's because her teacher also taught my teacher, so some similarity is passed on. There's something so touching in her voice.

But the one I turn to again and again is Eula Beal. I wish I had a record of hers!

 
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