Karen, I think you answered your own question, but here is a thought I find
interesting.
Artists who 'call themselves' one thing or another are clearly disregarded
in critical circles. I worked for PolyGram (Decca/London, DG, and Philips
labels) doing press and marketing, so I can tell you that EVERY single one
of Jessye Norman's Philips recordings (and that's most of them) list her as
a soprano - but she is referred to as a mezzo-soprano often and in many
places (including here on Vocalist many times in past threads).
ALL of Cecila Bartoli's recordings list her as a mezzo-soprano - but in one
of my favourite tomes, "Voices: Singers and Critics" by the very
knowlegeable British critic, J.B. Steane, she is referred to as the
quintessential modern-day contralto.
As a contralto, will you now *not* audition for Cherubino or Adalgisa, if
given the chance to play these roles and assuming you don't feel them so
wrong for you as to be harmful... ? As a mezzo you still auditioned for
Dalila and Messiah, right? Are roles even agreed upon as being in one fach
over another by everybody, in this day and age of mezzo Despinas and
Zerlinas?
I remember Chris Thomas talking about a Messiah she was hired for this
Christmas where she found out she'd been hired to sing the soprano arias
(!). Hey Chris, what did you bill yourself as on that program? A soprano?
A mezzo?
Thoughts only - not really an answer.
Carol S.
Carol Ansell Spradling, Mezzo-soprano
Director of Music, St. Augustine's, Syracuse
http://home.twcny.rr.com/spradling
----- Original Message -----
From: Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
From: Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
To: <vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com>
To: <vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2001 6:11 PM
Subject: [vocalist] What to call myself
| Interesting question from my voice teacher the other day. She asked me
| what I called myself when I did auditions, competitions, etc. At first, I
| thought she meant my name - but what she meant is what voice category I
| listed myself as.
|
| I say interesting, because when I told her I called myself a mezzo-soprano
| (or, when I needed to be more specific, a dramatic mezzo), her response
| was that if it weren't for Marilyn Horne, she would argue with me: she
| thinks I have all the earmarks of a true contralto - and that it's only
| because Horne was so contralto-like, and still called herself a mezzo and
| got away with it, that I should feel safe "getting away with" calling
| myself a mezzo.
|
| So here's my question: given how rare real contraltos are these days,
| would it be a good or bad career move for me to start calling myself a
| contralto? Is the world really ready for true contraltos, or are we all
| 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?
|
| There are only two singers I can think of who actually call themselves
| this: Ewa Podles and Nathalie Stutzmann - the former is a lyric-coloratura
| contralto, the latter is mainly a recitalist, though she does sing some
| opera. No-one else seems willing to take the risk of using this rare (and
| possibly outmoded) label.
|
| Given that true contralto roles are routinely cast with
| mezzo-sopranos these days - often those who haven't got the lower
| registers to really qualify them for
| the music (or the _fach_) - I'm not sure whether admitting to being a
| contralto in such an environment would be to my benefit or not. Would an
| auditor be turned off by the label, because no-one really wants contraltos
| these days when mezzos fill the bill just fine (even though, to my ears at
| least, they often really don't)? Or would it stimulate an auditor's
| interest to have a real contralto auditioning for a contralto role? Would
| calling myself a contralto disqualify me from the true mezzo roles
| that I certainly have the good upper register and upper
| extension/range to perform, regardless of where my "breaks" lie (I have a
| very solid high B flat that I have no problem trotting out in public)?
| Should I prepare two resumes, one that says "contralto" for when I
| audition for true contralto roles, and one that says "mezzo-soprano" for
| all others? And which label should I use for competitions? Could
| "fach-schizophrenia" get me into trouble?
|
| Does any of this really matter?
|
| Advice please....
|
|
|
| Karen Mercedes
| =====
| My NEIL SHICOFF Website:
| http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
|
| My Website:
| http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
|
| -----
| Es en balde, majo mio, que sigas hablando
| porque hay cosas que contesto yo
| siempre cantando:
| Tra la la...
| Por mas que preguntes tanto:
| tra la la...
| En mi no causas quebranto
| ni yo he de salir de mi canto:
| tra la la...
|
| - Fernando Periquet
|
|
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|
