Talk:Marjorie Thomas

Voice type

The article mentions "Thomas' warm, lyrical contralto voice", but then categorises her as mezzo-soprano. It seems to me this is not quite correct. Two of her obituaries categorise her as contralto: "She was a true contralto, but her voice had a lightness of timbre, so that she could comfortably sing mezzo-soprano roles."(The Telegraph) and: "Before the English contralto became an endangered species, Marjorie Thomas […] was one of those who gave the voice its postwar Indian summer."(The Guardian).

I suggest the lead paragraph mention her voice type, possibly by quoting the line above from the Telegraph, and the Category:Operatic contraltos be added. Michael Bednarek (talk) 11:13, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

I agree. I heard her live, and have her on record. She was a contralto, when contraltos existed! Peter I. Vardy (talk) 11:53, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Where does the article classify her as a mezzo? It already says "After World War II, Thomas' warm, lyrical contralto voice was heard in opera and concerts in England for almost three decades." BTW, the half dozen or so Gilbert and Sullivan roles that she recorded are all mezzo roles, not the contralto roles in those operas. In oratorio, you're either a contralto or a soprano, so it is not surprising that some of the obituaries say "contralto". But I don't see why we would want to clutter up the Lead with a quote, especially about something as subjective as voice type. Why created a controversy where none exists? Best regards, -- Ssilvers (talk) 15:05, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Here: [[Category:Operatic mezzo-sopranos]] Peter I. Vardy (talk) 15:29, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Oh! Interesting. Since it is an opera category, I'm not sure. Her G&S roles were mezzo, so that is correct. Were her Wagner and other opera roles mezzos or contraltos? -- Ssilvers (talk) 16:31, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Let's split hairs. Her voice type was that of a contralto (when contraltos existed), her range was that of contralto and a mezzo, so she could (and did) sing mezzo operatic, cantata and G&S roles (I heard her splendid top A in Gerontius). The categories, as they exist, don't seem to deal with such a voice! Should she be in both categories (why not)? Peter I. Vardy (talk) 17:33, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

I have a feeling that the opera folks have some rule against categorizing a person in two vocal categories. Check at the opera project if you want to look into it further. I'm happy enough with it as is, but I don't feel strongly, since it seems to be a gray area in this case. -- Ssilvers (talk) 17:53, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

I have here. Peter I. Vardy (talk) 18:06, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

It's common enough for singers to take on roles out of their Fach, however they don't describe themselves as, say, a bass-baritone one day, and a bass the next. So except for those rare singers who announce a change (like Grace Bumbry or Shirley Verrett), I think it's better to stick with the description used by the singer him/herself. --Kleinzach 00:41, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

I believe she was, as the article says, mainly known as a contralto. On the other hand, a great deal of her repertoire was in the mezzo Fach, due a) to necessity (the contralto repertoire is fairly limited); b) because she could (as the quote above attests). I think she should be categorised as contralto and her aptitude as mezzo should be mentioned. Frankly, I don't think it would hurt in this particular case to include the mezzo category as well. Michael Bednarek (talk) 06:15, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

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