[quote Thank you for your information on Marie Brema a name not known to me.I looked her up on the internet and apparently she satisfied the likes of G B Shaw well known for his knowledge of singers.It appears she left no recordings.
My brief about contralto’s was not personality driven but with all the extravagant attention to so called historical practice,conveniently ignoring one of the most important features,meaning the singers of the the times.Surely as valid an attempt to be included in the effort they were trying to recreate as I comprehended the fixation.
That Elgar might have appreciated Dame Janets extraordinary performance is of course pure conjecture.In interview she stated that she did not want to “Vocally travel down”.But of course this is nothing to do with my point.
Brema had the first performances but the names of those after her were all contraltos .Mr Ralph Moore has given the names also there are recordings to listen to also conducted by Elgar.
Ian Peake]
I think it is worth remembering that the original The Angel was Marie Brema, a dramatic mezzo soprano who could not be described as a contralto - she was admired for her Brunnhilde. According to Wikipedia, Elgar thought that the tessitura of the part did not suit Brema very well but he praised her performance nevertheless. I think Elgar would have been delighted by Janet Baker’s singing of the role even though she is better classified as a mezzo soprano than a contralto.