Marietta Alboni [SEP] voice type
Marietta Alboni
Marietta Alboni (6 March 1826 – 23 June 1894) was a renowned Italian contralto opera singer. She is considered as 'one of the greatest contraltos in operatic history'.
Biography.
Alboni was born at Città di Castello, in Umbria. She became a pupil of of Cesena, Emilia–Romagna, and later of the composer Gioachino Rossini, when he was 'perpetual honorary adviser' in (and then the principal of) the Liceo Musicale, now Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini, in Bologna
castrato, a male castrated before puberty with a very strong and high voice. As the practice of castrating boy singers faded, composers created heroic male roles in the mezzo-soprano range, where singers such as Marietta Alboni and Rosamunda Pisaroni specialised in such roles. (See "Xerxes" below.)
Currently, many castrato roles are being reclaimed by men. As the training and use of countertenors becomes more common, there are more men with these very high voices to sing these roles.
Casting directors are left