pseudonym58 I suppose it's actually a joke at alto singers' expense. I'm not familiar with the stereotype, but does it imply that they have a limited range? (EDIT: See correction by MRC, below)
TLH21 pseudonym58 Nailed it! Case in point Altos are bottom right, and not that this piece in itself is boring.
MRC The clichรฉ is not that the alto singers have a narrow range, it's that the parts they have to sing are extremely boring. See for instance: The very narrow piano is a sculpture by Bjorn Perborg. It doesn't play.