Suggested Listening

Classical Singers

Sopranos

Kathleen Battle

Barbara Bonney

Maria Callas

Natalie Dessay

Renee Fleming

Edita Gruberova

Sylvia McNair

Cheryl Studer

Joan Sutherland

Kiri Te Kanawa

Dawn Upshaw

Deborah Voigt

Mezzos

Cecilia Bartoli

Susan Graham

Marilyn Horne

Christa Ludwig

Frederica Von Stade

Countertenors

Brian Asawa

David Daniels

Drew Minter

Tenors

Jussi Björling

Andrea Bocelli

Ian Bostridge

Franco Corelli

Plácido Domingo

Jerry Hadley

Luciano Pavarotti

Fritz Wunderlich

Baritones and Basses

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Thomas Hampson

Sherrill Milnes

Samuel Ramey

Bryn Terfel

Some Interesting Non-Classical Performers

Audra MacDonald - A music theater singer with a Juilliard-trained voice. Very exciting interpretations, beautiful singing. I especially like the CD How Glory Goes.

Baltimore Consort - A renaissance /Celtic folk group with a great lead singer, Custer LaRue.

Christine Lavin - A singer/songwriter who sounds very natural and easy to listen to. Her songs are about real life and sometimes very funny. My favorite is Attainable Love.

Ute Lemper - A German theater/jazz singer. Very intense and original as an interpreter. I love Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill. Wow! Dark cabaret songs from between the world wars.

Therese Schroeder-Sheker - If you want something really beautiful and relaxing, try Rosa Mystica.

Singers should be familiar with the classic musicals, and especially those that your songs come from.

Amazon has MP3 files for sale, too: