Roles for low, low altos
Roles for low, low altos
#0Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 4/30/05 at 9:56am
Hey all! Just wanted to find out if anyone knows some good, hearty parts for a gal with a low voice. I know of:
Sonia Walsk in They're Playing Our Song
Bobbi/Gabby in City of Angels
Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street
Updated On: 4/30/05 at 09:56 AM
#1re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 4/30/05 at 10:20am
I used to be an expert at this. I thought I was a low low alto for a long time so I researched this endlessly.
Sally in Cabaret sings down to a low E. Cabaret is a good show for altos. It depresses me now that I can't sing these songs. They are amazing.
I'd suggest looking at some of Chita Rivera's work. She's had lots of great alto roles.
Also try www.stageagent.com now that they are working again. They have a search feature that allows you to put in exactly what you are looking.
Thou giveth fever.
broadwaystar2b
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/28/04
MusicMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
#3re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 4/30/05 at 10:31am
Frenchy (the Dolores Gray/Marlene Dietrich role) in DESTRY RIDES AGAIN.
Dolly Levi in you know what.
Elizabeth_DeBris
Broadway Star Joined: 1/29/05
#4re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 4/30/05 at 12:28pm
Anita (West Side Story)
Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart (Chicago)
Aura (Kiss of the Spider Woman)
Rosie Alvarez (Bye Bye Birdie)
Sally Bowles and Fraulein Schneider (Cabaret)
Eponine (Les Miserables)
Joanne, Sarah and Amy (Company)
Domina (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum)
Val, Sheila, Diana, Bebe, and Connie (A Chorus Line)
Meg Brockie (Brigadoon)
Kim (Miss Saigon)
I also recommend stageagent.com
CurtainUp
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/9/04
#5re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/1/05 at 3:29pm
Fred/Aggravain - Mattress
Margo in Applause
Annie in Oklahoma
Mme. Armfeldt in Little Night Music
Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie
Rosencrantz: "Be happy - if you're not even HAPPY what's so good about surviving? We'll be all right. I suppose we just go on."
- from Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
NYC_or_Bust
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/8/05
#6re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/1/05 at 3:33pmRupunzel in Into the Woods
I adore the black band holding on the Phantom's mask. ~ Jenna2
#7re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/1/05 at 3:35pm
Rapunzel isn't an alto! Far from it!!
"Rosie Alvarez (Bye Bye Birdie)"
lol. imagine, me a soprano trying to belt "spanish rose"
apparantly it worked but..just...infuriating to practice
"No two shows are alike in the making. Each show is a living
piece of your life in a small unreal world with its own character
and integrity; its own new set of memorable experiences and
incredible happenings. You begin to love and adapt to its strangeness.
Dreams harden into substance. Values come into focus. You wish
it would never end. The dream world vanishes like mist before a
rising sun; part of you vanishes with it. And back you land in the
real world with a thud- fogged, uneasy, jittery, difficult to get
along with. There is only one cure. A new show. A new, small
unreal world; new visions, experiences, incredible happenings.
Again you love it, adapt to it, wish it would never end.
But end it does. Another part of you vanishes.
That's show business."-Anonymous
#8re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/1/05 at 3:48pm
Nancy from Oliver!
I'll try and think of more.
#9re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/1/05 at 3:54pmLois Lane in Kiss Me Kate can have a low voice. It was originally portrayed by Lisa Kirk who was an alto. (correct me if I'm wrong)
~And let us try, before we die, to make some sense of life~
#10re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/1/05 at 4:01pmquick question - The highest I can go is a middle C or D. What would I be concidered?
Sporti2005
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/13/04
#11re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/1/05 at 4:06pm
depending on age (if you're older) there's mama euralie in once on this island, she's definitely an alto.
"grace, you're stuffed in a box getting rid of ass plaque. let's face it, this evening is a bust."
Updated On: 5/1/05 at 04:06 PM
#12re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:58amThese are great suggestions! I tried stageagent.com and while I loved it...I feel there could be more info on it. How about for a low alto with a very dark quality to her voice? I tend to do well with the jazz standards...
apdarcey
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/10/04
#13re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 1:09amyour best would be something you already mentioned.. gabby/bobbi in city of angels.
#14re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 1:12amReno Sweeney in Anything Goes. Yay for Cole Porter.
Not today, Geraldine.
apdarcey
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/10/04
#15re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 1:31amoh... who sings 'why can't you behave?' in kiss me, kate?
andyf
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/12/04
#16re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 2:47am
Bianca, I think.
And Aida is a great one for low, low altos!
Andrew, tonight isn't about you! It isn't even about me!!! - [FD]
cathyhyatt
Broadway Star Joined: 10/20/04
#17re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 11:34am
eponine is not that low..i thought they said low low alto.
"You won't fight without layers of armor
Suit on up and come brace my sword
You look back when the pieces are missing
Hollowed out hope that no time can restore."
cathyhyatt
Broadway Star Joined: 10/20/04
#18re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 11:35amnycorbust...are you kidding me? rapunzel a low alto!? try high soprano..puhleassee
"You won't fight without layers of armor
Suit on up and come brace my sword
You look back when the pieces are missing
Hollowed out hope that no time can restore."
trpguyy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/25/05
#19re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 11:40amit's not a huge part, but the neice in Man of LaMancha is a really low part. She sings by herself and in a trio in the same song. Not really a solo part.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#20re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 11:51am
Flaemmchen in Grand Hotel--
I Want to Go to Hollywood is really low. The highest note is the C above middle... and the lowest is, I believe, the E below middle.
#21re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:16pm
Those are wonderful suggestions! Thank you!
#22re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:32pm"Rupunzel in Into the Woods" hahahahahahaha very funny.
peach
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/29/05
#23re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:44pm
I am a low(ish) alto - here are some roles I've played and/or auditioned for:
Sally Bowles - CABARET
Roxie or Velma - CHICAGO
Anita - WEST SIDE STORY - you'd have to hit (I think) a high D (yes?) in "A Boy Like That." When I played this role, the music director made me belt it. It's a high belt, but not that high a note. It was years ago, so I don't remember the exact note.
Berthe - PIPPIN (depends on your age)
If you're feeling bold, the Leading Player in PIPPIN (if the director is interested in a woman for the role, that is - I got called back for this role and lost it to a guy. Rats.)
The "Robin" role in GODSPELL. Day by Day is a nice ballad for a lower female voice (I think it was Robin that sang Day by Day?)
Lola - DAMN YANKEES (potentially some higher-ish belting, but sounds well within your range. Her songs are pretty easy to sing).
EDIT: Note change in the Anita ref...I originally wrote middle D meant to say high.
Updated On: 5/4/05 at 12:44 PM
iluvtheatertrash
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
#24re: Roles for low, low altos
Posted: 5/4/05 at 1:31pmCorrect me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Anita sing quite low in 'West Side Story'?
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
Videos