The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word CONTRALTO
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
C
O
N
T
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A
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More clues leading to the result CONTRALTO
- Against end of recital being given to singer
- Noted female officer in funny cartoon
- Rule mostly broken by key singer
- Singer, trained at control
- What Kathleen Ferrier was right about after working in California before
- Singer needing endless discipline to retain key
- Love to replace East in a key part of singer
- Against line being given to singer
- She’s used to getting low scores
- Awful rant? Cool it – losing one’s voice
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "singer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case singer = contralto.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does CONTRALTO mean?
CONTRALTO noun- The lowest female voice or voice part, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. The terms contralto and alto refer to a similar musical pitch, but among singers, the term contralto is reserved for female singers; the equivalent male form is counter-tenor. Originally the contratenor altus was a high countermelody sung against the tenor or main melody.