> 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...
__________________________________________________ Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
|
| |