#dramatic mezzo

Check it out! :D

I don't remember how I discovered Grace Bumbry, but I was 16 when I became obsessed with her and made my first online purchase: a 5 CD compilation of everything ever: Handel, Gluck, Falla, Verdi (soprano AND mezzo roles!), Brahms, Schubert, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Mascagni, Wagner. 

Eight years later, I still don't know what it is that attracts me to Grace. At her best, her voice is seamless: indestructible chest, easy high notes that come out of nowhere, and this fat, juicy middle voice that's full of dark, rich colors. Indigo, scarlet, evergreen. At her worst, she is still fearless. I have a recording of NORMA where she tries to take the high D at the end of Act I, and halfway through the note you can hear her think "Oh, nevermind. I'm over it," and she stops singing.