List of operatic contraltos
The contralto voice in opera and classical music has a range which typically lies between the F below middle C to two Fs above middle C. In the lower and upper extremes, some contralto voices can sing from the E below middle C to two Bs above middle C. 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.
A–L
- Eunice Alberts
- Marietta Alboni
- Marian Anderson
- Fanny Anitúa
- Cecil Arden
- Germaine Bailac
- Fedora Barbieri
- Eula Beal
- Marianne Brandt
- Karin Branzell
- Muriel Brunskill
- Clara Butt
- AnnaMaria Cardinalli
- Marie-Louise Cébron-Norbens
- Lili Chookasian
- Belle Cole
- Kate Condon
- Clorinda Corradi
- Christine Nielson Dreier
- Kathleen Ferrier
- Maureen Forrester
- Delphine Galou
- Anna Girò
- Louise Homer
- Edna Indermaur
- Jenny Twitchell Kempton
- Gillian Knight
- Anna Larsson
- Marie-Nicole Lemieux
- Gisela Litz
- Louise Kirkby Lunn
M–Z
- Adelaide Malanotte
- Bernadette Manca di Nissa
- Marietta Marcolini
- Margaret Matzenauer, who sang mostly mezzo-soprano roles though
- Antonia Merighi
- Sara Mingardo
- Sigrid Onégin
- Rosmunda Pisaroni
- Ewa Podleś
- Marie Powers
- Sonia Prina
- Maria Radner
- Geltrude Righetti
- Anastasia Robinson
- Sofia Scalchi
- Ernestine Schumann-Heink
- Annice Sidwells
- Monica Sinclair
- Nathalie Stutzmann
- Hilary Summers
- Vittoria Tesi
- Kerstin Thorborg
- Claramae Turner
- Francesca Vanini-Boschi
- Lucia Elizabeth Vestris
- Helen Watts
- Portia White
- Marta Wittkowska