What does "Callas brought he bel canto back" mean?!
Question: What does "Callas brought he bel canto back" mean!?
I'm hearing this as her most significant characteristic!. Please explain as simple as possible, because my knowledge in music is not very great!.!.!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
Answers:
Maria Callas is considered the greatest bel canto soprano ever!. She possessed the most beautiful voice and it was something she had at a very young age!. Her ability to produce a sweet and lovely tone is unmatched, even today! No one alive has the vocal qualities of Maria Callas!. Every thing she sang was beautiful!. She was vocal virtuoso, the high notes were warm and bright, her range was incredible, her ability to phrase seemed so natural and organic, her stage presence and ability to fill each role was truly a gift!. Her voice was so expressive and warm!.
Bel canto is the vocal technique of singing every note legato, having a wide yet pure vocal range, flexibility in tone, sweet tone and the ability to ornament whether trills, mordents, cadenza's etc!. etc!. Bel canto style singing is opposed to what singers do now which is belt!. Bel canto emphasizes that with proper technique, the perfect tone will be produced and projected!. Volume is not the goal, it is the after thought and the result of good technique!. One does not work for volume in bel canto style, but aims for technical and tonal command and with this volume naturally develops!.
Now, all these characteristics were found in Callas and until she was discovered it was hard to find a singer who could do this!. Music directors were having difficulty finding soprano's that could fill a bel canto character in an opera which was found in the works of Puccini, Rossini, Donizetti to name a few!. Callas defined her career mastering the music of Puccini!. She was hired to sing with every major opera company in the world and was frequently a guest teacher/mentor and the world's top conservatory's and music festivals!.
Her career gave aspiring singers something to work for and music directors a standard to hire by!. It was Callas who raised the level of operatic singing that hadn't been heard off since the 1800's!. Without Callas, opera would be a dead art form!. She brought Opera back to the fore front and all singer's aspire to have her technical control, expressive ability and career!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
Bel canto is the vocal technique of singing every note legato, having a wide yet pure vocal range, flexibility in tone, sweet tone and the ability to ornament whether trills, mordents, cadenza's etc!. etc!. Bel canto style singing is opposed to what singers do now which is belt!. Bel canto emphasizes that with proper technique, the perfect tone will be produced and projected!. Volume is not the goal, it is the after thought and the result of good technique!. One does not work for volume in bel canto style, but aims for technical and tonal command and with this volume naturally develops!.
Now, all these characteristics were found in Callas and until she was discovered it was hard to find a singer who could do this!. Music directors were having difficulty finding soprano's that could fill a bel canto character in an opera which was found in the works of Puccini, Rossini, Donizetti to name a few!. Callas defined her career mastering the music of Puccini!. She was hired to sing with every major opera company in the world and was frequently a guest teacher/mentor and the world's top conservatory's and music festivals!.
Her career gave aspiring singers something to work for and music directors a standard to hire by!. It was Callas who raised the level of operatic singing that hadn't been heard off since the 1800's!. Without Callas, opera would be a dead art form!. She brought Opera back to the fore front and all singer's aspire to have her technical control, expressive ability and career!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
'Bel canto' is traditionally the term used to describe a particular technique of singing, focusing on eveness of sound throughout all registers and a secure technique that would produce the most beautiful sound one is capable of making!. It forms the basis of the Italian school of singing, as well as Western classical vocal technique!.
I think the phrase came about because of the incredible vocal technique that Callas possessed!. She sang practically everything (excluding the heaviest Wagner roles) and managed to pull all of them off!. I don't think any other singer has managed to sing the variety of repertoire that Callas did!.
Now this is purely personal opinion, but I don't think Callas had the most beautiful voice in the world!. IMHO there are many singers out there with prettier voices than hers, even though they are not her match in terms of technique!. Callas's voice wasn't 'sweet' IMO!. It's more dramatic, more edgy!. I've read somewhere (emphasis on 'read' - don't bash me because I didn't say it) that hers was a flawed voice (meaning that it wasn't a very pretty one to start with), but she used the flaws to her advantage and managed to do things that other singers would never dream of doing!. And because of these inherent 'flaws', she was able to bring to her interpretations some very unique things!. It's this ability to demand attention from the audience without having to make any sound which has made her so legendary!. She could have just stood on stage in silence for a whole hour and there would still be absolute silence from the audience!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
I think the phrase came about because of the incredible vocal technique that Callas possessed!. She sang practically everything (excluding the heaviest Wagner roles) and managed to pull all of them off!. I don't think any other singer has managed to sing the variety of repertoire that Callas did!.
Now this is purely personal opinion, but I don't think Callas had the most beautiful voice in the world!. IMHO there are many singers out there with prettier voices than hers, even though they are not her match in terms of technique!. Callas's voice wasn't 'sweet' IMO!. It's more dramatic, more edgy!. I've read somewhere (emphasis on 'read' - don't bash me because I didn't say it) that hers was a flawed voice (meaning that it wasn't a very pretty one to start with), but she used the flaws to her advantage and managed to do things that other singers would never dream of doing!. And because of these inherent 'flaws', she was able to bring to her interpretations some very unique things!. It's this ability to demand attention from the audience without having to make any sound which has made her so legendary!. She could have just stood on stage in silence for a whole hour and there would still be absolute silence from the audience!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
"Bel canto" is Italian for "beautiful voice!." It's a vocal technique/school (not the physical "school") characterized by flowing (legato) lines and nice upper registers!. Music for it is usually florid and ornamented (lots of "melisma"--your musical word for the day ;) )!. The voice has a nice "sweet" quality to it of which Callas certainly possessed!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
I think bel canto is a type of singing!.!.!.!."Bel canto singing characteristically focuses on perfect evenness throughout the voice, skillful legato, a light upper register, tremendous agility and flexibility, and a certain lyric, "sweet" timbre"Www@Enter-QA@Com
Bel Canto is "beautiful singing" and is the Italian technique of classical singing!. Callas's singing is a good example of this!.Www@Enter-QA@Com