Bel Canto is virtuoso singing technique. Vocal training. Opera singing

A Long line of musical phrases, melodic passages and grace, a striking command of the voice and perfected the beauty of the virtuoso singing. At the turn of XVI-XVII centuries in Italy appeared singing school, gave the world performing vocal equipment, which are susceptible to extravagant terms, the Italians gave the name of bel canto (Belcanto) – “beautiful singing". Will not exaggerate, denoting this period the beginning of the heyday of the theatrical vocals and a starting point for further development of the operatic genre.

The Birth of Opera: Florence

Appeared in this time period the first Opera owes its birth to the members of a small circle of fans of ancient art, formed in Florence and entered into musical history as the «the Florentine Camerata”. Fans of Greek tragedy wanted to revive the former glory of the genre and felt that the actors did not speak, but sings the words, using text reproduction of recitative, melodic smooth transition of sounds.

The First works written by the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, became the impetus for the birth of a new musical genre — Opera. And served as a part of solo vocals (Aryans) came to seriously deal with the training of voice, and that was the reason for the appearance of the art of beautiful singing-Bel Canto. This meant the capacity performance sustained melodic fragments on a long breath, preserving the fluidity of the sound throughout a musical phrase.

Neapolitan school

At the end of the XVII century was formed the Neapolitan Opera tradition, eventually adopted on the theater stage art of Bel Canto. This was simultaneously the development of the plan of the Florentines, and its changes. In Naples the main component of the performance became music and singing, not poetry, which until that time was given a leading role. This innovation appeals to the audience and caused a storm of enthusiasm.

Neapolitan composers structurally transformed Opera. They have not abandoned the use of recitative, which were divided into different types: akkompaniroval (accompanied by orchestra) and dry, containing information supplied in a conversational manner under the rare harpsichord chords to hold a musical tone. Vocal training, which became mandatory for performers, increased the popularity of solo numbers, whose form has also undergone changes. Appeared standard arias in which the characters expressed their feelings generally, in relation to the situation and not on the basis of image or character. Sad, bufonidae, domestic, passionate, Aria revenge — the inner space of the Neapolitan Opera was filled with living content.

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Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)

An Outstanding composer and enthusiast Scarlatti went down in history as the founder of the school of Opera in Naples. He has created more than 60 works. The genre of serious opera (opera seria) was created Scarlatti, with mythological or historical story told about the life of famous characters. Opera singing was pushed into the background of the dramatic line of the performance, and the recitatives were replaced by the Aryans.

A Wide range of vocal parts in serious Opera has expanded the requirements that had to comply with operatic voices. Artists perfected the art of singing, even if it sometimes led to ridiculous situations — each one wished the composer certainly turned into an Opera Aria, it is advantageous for a flattering vote. The result was a set of not connected with each other solo numbers, which opera seria came to be called “a concert in costumes”.

Beauty and craftsmanship

Another contribution of the Neapolitan school of Opera in the development of bel canto was the use in vocal performance ornamentation (coloratura) jewelry musical palette. Coloratura was used in the end of arias and helped the performers to demonstrate to the students a degree of ownership of the voice. Big jumps, trills, range passages, the use of a sequence (repetition of a musical phrase or melodic turnover in different registers or keys) — thus increased expressive palette used by virtuosos of Belcanto. This led to the fact that the degree of skill of the singer is often estimated according to the complexity of executable them koloratur.

Italian musical culture demands. Voices of famous singers were distinguished by the beauty and richness of timbre. Vocal training helped to improve his technique to achieve the smoothness and fluency of sound in all ranges.

First Conservatory

The Demand for bel canto led to the formation of the first educational institutions that prepared the singers. Orphanages — the Conservatory — became the first music schools of medieval Italy. The technique of Bel Canto were taught to them based on imitation, repetition after the teacher. This explains the high level of training singers of that time. After all, they were trained by recognized masters such as Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) and Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676).

The Students wrote special exercises for development of voice, solfege, which was supposed to repeat, improving vocal technique and developing thebreath — skills that are so necessary for Bel Canto. This led to the fact that, to begin training at 7-8 years of age to 17 years from the walls of the Conservatory came a professional singers for the Opera stage.

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)

With Your advent of the Italian Belcanto determined the trend of development of the Opera musical culture for the next three centuries. A milestone in its development was the work of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Rossini. Rhythmic energy, brilliance and mobility of the vocal parts demanded from the performers rich timbral variety, virtuosity and exceptional singing school. Even raspevnye arias and recitatives in the works of Rossini demanded a complete surrender.

The Melodic Rossini paved the way for classical bel canto, characterized by the completeness of phrases, gentle and air clean, free-flowing and smooth melody (cantilena), and a sensually sublime fervor. It is noteworthy that the composer himself knew about the art of singing firsthand. As a child he sang in the Church choir, and in adulthood, in addition to writing, enthusiastically echoed the pedagogy of the vocals, and even wrote several books on the subject.

Pedagogy

The Italian Opera, which became a symbol of European musical culture of the XVII-XIX centuries, appeared thanks to the work of gifted teachers-innovators, studying vocals and experimenting with the human voice until the sound is perfect. Described in their writings the techniques still used in the preparation of singers.

The attention of teachers is not slipping, no small thing. The disciples learned the secrets of free and easy singing breath. Vocal training is expected to moderate volume, short melodic phrases and narrow intervals, making it possible to use speech breathing is characterized by rapid and deep inhalation followed by slow exhalation. Developed complexes of exercises for training the homogeneous sound in the high and low registers. Even training in front of a mirror included in the training course beginners — unwanted facial expressions and wrinkles on your face gave a convulsive working of the vocal apparatus. It was recommended to hold freely, to stand still and laugh to make it sound clear and close.

Methods of singing

Difficult vocal, drama and theatricality of the performances staged in front of the singers complex tasks. Music reflects the inner world of the characters, and the voice became an integral part of the overall scenic image. This is evident in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi. Rossini and Giuseppe Verdi. Verdi, whose work heralded the rise of the Bel Canto style. The classical school considered it acceptable to use falsetto on the high notes. However, the drama rejected this approach — in the heroic scene of male falsetto was part of the aesthetic dissonance with the emotional coloration of the action. First overcame the voice threshold, the Frenchman Louis dupré, who became the manner of sound production, establishing physiological (contraction of the larynx) and phonetic (the language in “s-shaped" position) protection mechanisms of the vocal apparatus and later to be known as “covered”. It is possible to form the upper portion of the audible range without switching to falsetto.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

Enjoying Opera and vocal art, it is inconceivable to ignore a figure, and the creative legacy of the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Verdi. He transformed and reformed Opera, introduced scene contrasts and oppositions. The first of the composers took an active part in the elaboration of the plot, scenic design and staging. In his operas, dominated by a thesis and antithesis, raging feelings and contrasts that connected the everyday and the heroic. This approach dictated new requirements for the vocalists.

The Composer was critical of the coloratura and said that trills, grace notes and gruppetti not able to become the basis of the melody. In the writings of almost no ornamental decorations, remaining only in batches soprano, and later completely disappeared from Opera scores. The male lead in the climax passed to upper case, using the earlier described “covered with sound”. Performers baritone roles had to rebuild the work of the vocal apparatus of high tessituras (high-rise location of sounds relative to vocal range), dictated by the reflection of the emotional state of the characters. This has led to the emergence of a new term — “the verdian baritone”. Creativity Dzh. Verdi, 26 great operas staged at La Scala marked the rebirth of Bel Canto – art perfected ownership of the voice.

World tour

A Light and elegant vocal style is impossible to keep within the boundaries of one state. Under his charm gradually a large part of Europe. Beautiful singing conquered the world stage and influenced the development of European music culture. Formed Opera direction, called “Belcanto”. Style pushed the boundaries of its application and stepped in instrumental music.

The Virtuoso melodies of Chopin(1810-1849) synthesized the Polish people's poetry and Italian Opera bel canto. Dreamy and delicate heroine of J. Masne operas (1842-1912) Belcencova filled with charm. Influence of style proved to be so great that its influence on music became truly Grand, stretching from classicism to romanticism.

Connecting cultures

The founder of the Russian classics was a great composer M. I. Glinka (1804-1857). His orchestral letter — sublimely lyrical and monumental at the same time — filled with melody, in which visible and popular song traditions, and Belcencova the sophistication of Italian arias. Inherent the cantilena was similar to the melodiousness of broaching Russian songs — truthful and expressive. The predominance of melody over text, vnutritrekovye chants (vocal accenting of certain syllables), speech repetition, creating a length of melody — all in the compositions of Mikhail Glinka (and other Russian composers) surprisingly harmoniously combined with the traditions of Italian Opera. Lingering folk songs, according to critics, has earned the title of “Russian Belcanto”.

In the repertoire of the stars

Brilliant era of Italian Bel Canto ended in the 20-ies of XX century. The military and revolutionary upheavals of the first quarter of the century undermined the normative essence of the romantic Opera of thinking, it was replaced by Neoclassicism and divided in the directions of impressionism, modernism, futurism, and others. And yet the celebrated Opera voices never ceased to refer to the masterpieces of Italian classical singer. Art "beautiful singing" excellent owned A. V. Nezhdanova, and F. I. Chaliapin. A consummate master of this singing direction was L. V. Sobinov, who was called the Ambassador of Bel Canto in Russia. The great Maria Callas (USA) and received from his colleagues the title of “the voice of the century” Joan Sutherland (Australia), lyric tenor Luciano Pavarotti (Italy) and an unbeatable bass Nicolai Ghiaurov (Bulgaria) - their art is based on artistic and aesthetic basis of the Italian Bel Canto.

Conclusion

New trends in musical culture was not able to outshine the brilliance of the classic Italian Opera Belcanto. Young performers bit by bit try to discover preserved in the writings of the masters of previous years information about the correct breathing, sound making, sculpture, voice and other subtleties. This is not an idle interest. Have a sophisticated audience woke up to the need not to hear a modern interpretation of classical works, and plunge into the reliable time space of flawless singing. Perhaps this is an attempt to solve the mystery of the phenomenon of Bel Canto — how in the era of the ban on women's voices and preferences of the high male register could be born and choral direction that has survived the centuries and turned into a coherent system on behalf of several centuries the basis of training for professional singers.