The contralto voice in opera and classical music has a range which typically lies between the F below middle C (F3) to two Fs above middle C (F5). In the lower and upper extremes, some contralto voices can sing from the E below middle C (E3) to two Bs above middle C (B5). The contralto voice has the lowest tessitura of the female voices and is noted for its rich and deep vocal timbre. True operatic contraltos are very rare. The following is a list of contralto singers who have regularly performed unamplified classical or operatic music in concert halls and/or opera houses.Unless otherwise indicated all names on this list appear in either or .
A–L
Eunice Alberts (1927–2012) Marietta Alboni (1823–1894) Marian Anderson (1897–1993) Fanny Anitúa (1887–1968) Cecil Arden (1894–1989) Germaine Bailac (1881–1977) Fedora Barbieri (1920–2003) Eula Beal (1919–2008) Marianne Brandt (1842–1921) Karin Branzell (1891–1974) Muriel Brunskill (1899–1980)The Musical Times, "Muriel Brunskill", vol. 121, no. 1646 (April 1980), p. 267 Clara Butt (1872–1936) AnnaMaria Cardinalli (born 1979) Marie-Louise Cébron-Norbens (1888–1958) Lili Chookasian (1921–2012) Belle Cole (1845 or 1853–1905)The New York Times, "Death of Belle Cole", 6 January 1905, p. 9 Kate Condon (1877–1941) Clorinda Corradi (1804–1877) Christine Nielson Dreier (1866–1926) Kathleen Ferrier (1912–1953) Maureen Forrester (1930–2010) Delphine Galou (born 1977) Anna Girò (circa 1710 or 1711–1748 or later)Talbot, Michael, "Girò [Tessieri], Anna (Maddalena)", in Sadie, Stanley (ed), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (II, p. 433). New York, Grove (Oxford University Press), 1997. Louise Homer (1871–1947) Edna Indermaur (1892–1985) Jenny Twitchell Kempton (1835–1921)"Famous Singer of Olden Days was San Francisco Discovery". San Francisco Chronicle, 20 March 1921. p 4. Gillian Knight (born 1934) Anna Larsson (born 1966) Marie-Nicole Lemieux (born 1975)So, Joseph, "Quebec Contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux Makes a Brilliant Ontario Debut", La Scena Musicale, 30 July 2001 Gisela Litz (1922–2017) Louise Kirkby Lunn (1873–1930)
M–Z
Adelaide Malanotte (1785–1832) Bernadette Manca di Nissa (born 1954) Marietta Marcolini (c. 1780–1855) Margaret Matzenauer (1881–1963), who sang mostly mezzo-soprano roles though Antonia Merighi (died 1764) Sara Mingardo (born 1961) Sigrid Onégin (1889–1943)Shawe-Taylor, Desmond, "Onégin, Sigrid", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy. Accessed 4 November 2009 via subscription Rosmunda Pisaroni (1793–1872) Ewa Podleś (1952–2024)Midgette, Anne (16 October 1998). "A Voice as Rare in Type as in Beauty", The New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2013. Marie Powers (1902–1973) Sonia Prina (born 1975) Maria Radner (1981—2015) Geltrude Righetti (1793–1862) Anastasia Robinson (c. 1692–1755)Dean, Winton, "Robinson, Anastasia", in Stanley Sadie|Sadie, Stanley (ed), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (III, pp. 1360–1361). New York, Grove (Oxford University Press), 1997. . Sofia Scalchi (1850–1922) Ernestine Schumann-Heink (1861–1936) Annice Sidwells (1902–2001) Monica Sinclair (1925–2002) Nathalie Stutzmann"Nathalie Stutzmann : une voix en or", La Dépêche du Midi, 14 October 2009 (born 1965) Hilary Summers Vittoria Tesi (1700–1775) Kerstin Thorborg (1896–1970) Claramae Turner (1920–2013) Francesca Vanini-Boschi (?–1744) Lucia Elizabeth Vestris (1797–1856)Entry: Vestris [née Bartolozzi] Lucia Elizabeth [Eliza Lucy], in Sadie, S. (ed), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (IV, pp. 979–980). New York, Grove (Oxford University Press), 1997. Helen Watts (1927–2009)Steane, John, "Obituary: Helen Watts, contralto", Gramophone, 23 October 2009 Portia White (1911–1968) Marta Wittkowska (1882–1977)
See also Chronological list of operatic sopranos List of contraltos in non-classical music
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