It is the successful combination of the low, chest baritone and high, head soprano registers that has come to characteristically define the rare and unique contralto singing voice at it's finest. This register combination results in a natural, three octave scale. Another specific contralto feature is a natural agility that, with professional training, becomes an overwhelming coloratura. Ewa Podles, considered the most authentic contralto of her generation, features her distinctive, dramatic and agile voice on this new Dux release of well-known 18th-20th c. operatic excerpts.