Contralto Eula Beal sings Schubert's "Erlkoenig"

[SimonS7r]

haha cool accent ;)

[oreosandmik09]

@saxonfield,

Watch Adam's "Dr. Atomic." You'll love the contralto part in that opera. :)

[RPDLTS]

She's not a contralto!!! She's a mezzo-soprano! Her low notes are very unsuported! And she goes too high too many times!! Whate the hell? The lowest note is a C#4, a C#4 and sounds unsupported, contraltos can at least sing a Bb3 without any effort!! Plus she rises to an F5 about three times int the song!! Contraltos have only one more note than that. She's not a real contralto

[EDubsGurl]

@RPDLTS Listen to her version of "None but the Lonely Heart."

[trueeyore]

@RPDLTS I can't speak definitively as to whether she's a true contralto. But I am a contralto who can sing Bb2 all the way up to High C (on a good day, but always to B5). Being able to reach F5 doesn't eliminate her categorization as a contralto. It's about the range of notes in which the voice is its most effortless. I can sing a soaring Bb5. It doesn't mean my voice does well hanging around in that register for very long, because it's just not meant to.

[allthenamesrtook]

@trueeyore she is deffo and alto, no doubt about it, and there is not a chance you can actually SING a Bb2, thats low even for a baritone singer.

[trueeyore]

@allthenamesrtook Hehe! Freaky (apparently) but true. I can actually do A2 when what I call my Brunhilda-foghorn register is warmed up - not breathy and though there's definitely a rumble, it's not merely a growl, it that makes sense. Low C for me is *completely* effortless. I wouldn't think it would be unheard of though. Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls and Tracy Chapman go quite low.

[allthenamesrtook]

@trueeyore ok then, there is no way you can actually SING that low, and both of them go down to just above C3,

[allthenamesrtook]

@RPDLTS she is 100% a contralto, she just doesnt have the standard contralto range, hers is slightly higher, there is no doubt that shes a contralto

[RPDLTS]

She's not a contralto!!! She's a mezzo-soprano!

[sdegrace]

The pianist is virtuoso here and the singer has a nicest colour of voice.

[gustavyeung]

@saxonfield: Altos seem to be more welcome in symphonies and lieder; and don't forget Carmen!

[ajkb1988]

fun fact erlkoenig was first sung by a woman not a man.

[CanadaPisces]

A wonderful rendition by a great singer! Thank you operatribute for the posting!

[vera62able]

just great!

[UnaverageAmerican]

PLEASE post more of her!! I want to hear her other things. I know there are more out there because I've seen them on t.v. and I really want to hear more of her GORGEOUS voice! :)

[Brunnhilde66]

a GREAT voice singing a GREAT song!!

[abracadabranque]

Très bien mais peut-être a t-elle atteint les limites du genre.De très beaux graves ,un petit manque d'animation dans les personnages ,mais c'est loin d' être insignifiant.Je suis prêt à entendre autre chose!

[monpitt500]

I like this voice very much!

[Entropy56]

Just woke from a long nap on the sofa and flipped on the TV to channel surf. There was this young woman singing the Lord's Prayer from the 1947 film, "Concert Magic." What could I do but watch the whole thing and then look her up?

[toni7777ful]

great!!!!!!!!!

[dearmalika]

Beautiful voioce! Love this song!

[7inga7]

What a gorgeous, expressive voice this is - a true contralto! Thank you!

[Hisrevenge]

Oh my lord... I'm simply in LOVE with this woman. Thank you so much for posting these!!!

[HowardJohnstone]

Truly excellent performance, Eula Beal would

have gone to the absolute top , had she choosen to continue with music performances. She has

the artistic projection of understanding the

depth of several pieces in "Concert Magic" 1948

performed with Yehudi Menuhin et al.

[seahyimin]

wonderful voice

[saxonfield]

Why are Contraltos being disregarded in Operas?

[MelWolff]

@saxonfield you are right :)

[galletitamortal]

@saxonfield Dunno... I'm a young bass (19 years old) and I was thinking the same about basses... There are less repertory for basses than for tenors or baritone.

[CraigFrancisSoto]

My God,what a voice! And a genuine contralto,not a mezzo. What a loss for us opera lovers when this absolutely superb singer retired at a young age to raise a family.But its great that we have these old film clips to truly appreciate her voice. Grazie mille for sharing this with us.

[artsong2]

Her German is terrific, too.

Absolutely amazing!

[Zva26]

A true contralto!!!!!!!She's absolutely magnificent!!!!!!!!

Why on earth didn't she catch on? She would have sung a hell of an Erda, Orfeo, and what a Mahler singer she could have been!

[paulostroff99]

zva26-She was up there with the very best ever,and yes she did catch on. She decided to abandon a career in opera to be what she really wanted to be,and that was a very contented housewife. I assume that she was too private a person for the spotlight. She remained so.

[EmilyGreene1984]

Oh lord, not Orfeo - that role belongs to countertenors and castrati. But for Erda - I agree.

[paulostroff99]

Gorgeous! Brava! TY.

[forallyouknow]

I think the contralto voice has advantages and disadvantages, interpretatively. One the one hand, the voice of das Kind is much more believable and distinguishable; on the other hand, der Erlkönig is not at all menacing. Baritono still wins for me. That said, Eula Beal's interpretation, given her vocal equipments, wants for nothing, and it is plain that she is a first rate performer.

[godlovespigs]

I fully agree. Don't you think this would make a faboulous duet?

[vivegedda]

@forallyouknow You're absolutely right. This one is made for a man and specially a baritone with many voice colours. Her voice is great anyway but not suitable for this one!!

[violetavalery]

Thanks for posting this! I didn´t know this wonderful singer. Her voice reminds me of the smoothness of velvet.

[Lcxpwog]

The first few three of you who commented must be the only three people I know how to appreciate her singing.

[LLehmannfan]

Her vocal capacities and the big range of the voice remind me of Ernestine Schumann-Heink...

It's sad that I learned about Eula Beal just now, a few months after her death...

[raigekimaru]

I love how she switches from high to low so quickly.

[CanadaPisces]

An excellent performance!