Anyone else besides me feel bad for alto singers?

[Jaydoggy]

(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)  

[Linked In]

Meh, I'm an alto. 3nodding  

[mophead498]

I'm an alto too, I actually lead singing in certain um... places... and no one listens to me!!! So yeah, I kind of feel bad for altos, even though I am one.  

[Arc En Licorne]

im a soprano but i have sang alto b4 even if its kinda hard for me. i feel bad for them coz when the soloists are picked no altos ever make it. last year one alto made a solo and not to be mean or anything but the part was to high for him and he could barly sing it i wanted to trade with him coz mine was too low for me and i had the opening solo not to mention i was mondo-nervous so i really sucked at it. at least i made him sound better coz he had the last solo.  

[Sionja]

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.  

[yanigurl95]

Well, as a second soprano, I do sort of feel bad for altos. Since I'm a freshman in high school, a lot of my friends in chorus are altos, and they hate it. Mainly because their parts are either a bit too high or a bit too low, and they never get the pitch right. And when it comes to solos, they almost never get the parts. But many altos do have really beautiful voices, and often times are what tie an entire piece together. smile  

[Fenpex]

I'ma baritone, and I don't really care about female singing...
I do wish I was a tenor, however... Singing baritone is rather boring a lot of the time.  

[Deleted_Account_01048965]

Yeah, I think it's nicer to sing bass. Mainly because you can harmonize however sounds best, if you're like me and like to improve sing a little bit. I can't read music though so I guess I have no choice but to improve. Haha sweatdrop  

[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  

[musiknerd]

Fenpex

I'ma baritone, and I don't really care about female singing...
I do wish I was a tenor, however... Singing baritone is rather boring a lot of the time.

I love baritones!!! Tenors can rarely be as great. Basses can get froggy sometimes. A good baritone wins my heart (I'm a mezzo). I dunno... baritones seem to have a nice balanced voice. Not too light but not too dark. I think listening to really low singing can get boring. Nothing against basses, but it's easier for them to sing in a way that doesn't sound good. And tenors have the most difficulty at least while they find their voices.  

[musiknerd]

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.  

[musiknerd]

Sorry to post so much, but I want to share how I feel about the original post. Honestly, I don't have a problem with mezzos singing contralto roles as long as they have the timbre and solid low range to pull it off.

I also hate how I always have to be a man. Mostly it was the French who put mezzos in their operas as females... But it's really hard to sing about your lover when she's not a guy (in my case).

I fear being a contralto because of the lack of roles. Also, I'm not a fan of that really dark color. Mezzos have richness, but a lot of contraltos are older mezzos.

Oh and one final clarification for some that may not know: the term Alto refers to the voice type in choir. When talking about solo singing, more specific terms are used such as mezzo-soprano or contralto. In most choirs, altos are referred to as mezzos (when transferring solo terms). And as I said in another post, most choir altos are really sopranos.