contralto

"Howl like the wind, roar like the river / Wail like the rain, cry, shout, and shiver," she advises, her tawny, contralto voice instantly recognisable.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

The cliché applied to contralto voices is “plummy” and Heynis offers its reverse, a sort of lean, emotional essentialism in a deep and beautiful voice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026

Yarrow was the tenor in Peter, Paul and Mary, his tender and attentive vocals sandwiched between the soothing baritone of Noel Paul Stookey and the airy contralto of Mary Travers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2025

In 1998, British producers Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling pioneered its modern usage by making Cher’s velvety contralto pixelate and reconstitute over and over, measure by measure, making history.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2023

“My name is Mrs. Penworthy,” she said in a deep contralto voice.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

She became one of the industry’s best-known contraltos — the female singers with the lowest vocal range — touring widely and making more than 80 recordings.

From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 2021

Alexander Neef, the general director of the Canadian Opera Company, laments the difficulty of finding real contraltos to fuel the continuing renaissance of Baroque opera, with its many roles originally geared to castratos.

From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2016

Her voice was not as powerful as that of some of the other famous Italian contraltos and mezzos, but it was immediately recognisable.

From The Guardian ● May 7, 2010

One of the century's finest contraltos, Marian Anderson, did not break into opera until 1955, when she was 52.

From Time Magazine Archive

It was easier for Chester to play the ones written for tenors than the ones for sopranos, contraltos, and basses, but he did them all beautifully.

From "The Cricket in Times Square" by George Selden