Contralto

[Sarah]

Of or pertaining to a contralto, or to the part in music calledcontralto; as, a contralto voice.

[Sarah]

The low female [singing] voice in [opera], [choir], and non, [classical music] (the alto part in choir is sung by contraltos and [mezzo-soprano]s with strong low notes). The contralto has a range from F3 (below [middle C]) to G5 (the second G over middle C). This deep, dark female voice is the rarest female voice and they are known to sound almost like men on their lowest notes.

Sitting between mezzo sopranos and [tenor]s, contraltos have relatively few roles in opera as little has been written specifically for them and what roles they have are usually that of [maidservant]s, mothers, grandmothers, and friends of the [heroine], but they occasionally get hardy roles, notably [witch]es and [goddess]es. They also play roles originally meant for [castrato]s (when mezzo-sopranos, [countertenor]s, tenors, and [baritone]s don't take them).

A number of pop singers and [Broadway] performers are contraltos, although they are not farther distinguished as they would be in opera. Examples include [Fiona Apple], [Cher], [Toni Braxton], [Etta James], [Sarah Vaughn], [Alicia Keyes], [Diana Krall], [Lisa Gerrard], [Amy MacDonald], [Yulia MacLean], [Amy Winehouse], [Adele], [Reba MacIntire], [Stevie Nicks], [Katy Perry], [Carly Simon], [Ana Carolina], [Emily Haines], [Judy Garland], [Chaka Khan], and [Annie Lennox].

[Sarah]

The lowest womyn's singing voice; at the bottom of their range, they sound almost like men, often leading to people mistaking them for men on the radio, telephone, or wherever.

The [alto] range, which is below [soprano], is really an easy combination of the [mezzo-soprano] range and the contralto range; the mezzo-soprano is the medium female voice and therefore the higher of the two.