Bel Canto Forum

Maria Spacagna...

My typo, apologies to all!

Hi 

Would anyone know how I could find recordings of Pamela and Maria online?

Also, regarding 'Bel Canto', I find that so many teachers call themselves 'teachers of Bel Canto' and yet their methods vary SO much, that for someone like me (who is new to classical music but with a huge passion to train and study and achieve results) it is very difficult to find a teacher. What sorts of questions do you ask teachers when looking, to know if they really do understand Bel Canto? 

I see so many classical singers who make terrible sounds with their mouths, who sound like they have things stuck in their throats and are swallowing their words, but every now and then I hear a great one with a beautiful, open, consistent tone. I believe that the proof is in the pudding, but when searching for teachers, it seems to be difficult to listen to them unless I actually ask them to send me a demo, but is this considered rude?

Sorry the question is a long one, but I hope someone might be able to tell me how to do this! Perhaps I should have started a new thread, but the topic of this one seemed relevant.

It's not rude to ask to hear a teacher's singing but many good teachers do not sing anymore. My principal teacher was a phenomenal bel canto advocate and a world famous teacher, and yet he did not sing for the last 60 years of his life!  When you talk about bel canto, I think it is important to remember that the former teachers, 17th to mid-19th centuries, did not know anything much about anatomy or phsyiology. Neither did doctors of the time, for that matter!  When we read their writings, we have to try to decifer the meaning in light of what we now know about vocal function. Speaking for myself as a teacher, I am stunned when I read Lamperti and other old masters to see how right they got it, functionally speaking, at least in my opinion.  As to modern teachers, I think it is vital when seeking someone in whose hands you will place your precious voice, to determine how conversant the person is with correct vocal function.  To do this, as I told another person at the "In haling the Voice" topic, you need to understand your own instrument. This means you have to read a lot and get a good handle on what you are trying to do and how the vocal mechanism functions in the ideal state. Then you can ask intelligent questions of the prospective teacher.  It is up to you to protect your voice. There are a lot of teachers out there who mean well but do not know what they are doing. They are in no position to take care of your instrument. Only you can do that.

I studied for 25 years with 24 different teachers, not one of whom could sing.  All of them were shot.  The 24th I found was the only one who truly understood the physiology and anatomy of the voice.  Her name is Maria Farnsworth in NYC.  She had the misfortune of having been in a Yellow Cab accident in Manhattan while a student at Juilliard and was thrown forward, striking her trachea on the metal bar across the back of the front seat in which the bullet-proof windows sit.  Her career was over and she had to go to vocal therapy for a long time in order to be able to even speak again.

However, her vast knowledge of the anatomy and physiology was by virtue of that accident light years ahead of anyone else with whom I studied, and I studied with some big names, none of whom could sing.

It took me about 3.5 years to finally understand what it was she was teaching, due to massive muscle memory which precluded any flexibility in the trachea.  When I finally understood how ridiculously, absurdly simple the methodology actually was, I was LIVID that not one other teacher understood it.

I went from an award winning international bass-baritone to a capacity to sing tenor, and today I demonstrate that methodology to my students, showing them often how to sing high C's, as well as low D's.  My ability to sing both the bass and tenor arias of The Messiah completely baffled the conductor for whom I did it during the concert.  "How do you DO THAT???" he said.  I just laughed.

My daughter, a stratospherically high soprano, still can only sing at her highest an entire octave lower than I am able to sing.

I am the only teacher I know who can demonstrate what he teaches and can still sing professionaly, as I do.  And this at nearly 60 years old.

My wife, Pamela Casella, remains the best example of bel canto I've ever heard. And she possesses a voice which had Pavarotti complaining for 5 days during the '86 international competition, "Dov'é Casella???  Dov'é Casella???"  "Thank God you're here," said the administrators.  "He's been driving us crazy!"

Let's say that in Italy there are more teachers able to give the real technique of Bel Canto. A shining example is the soprano Patrizia Morandini. You can find some videos in YT as Florence Opera or user profile Sirios01.

Это было очень приятно!

I think part of the issue is that it's hard to point to any one thing and say "this is Bel Canto". There is no proof that Sutherland, Callas and friends actually sounded exactly like the singers whose art form Rossini lamented was lost, although it is likely fairly close. Remember that works like those of the Lampertis are in written word only and sometimes it's hard to know exactly what they meant. But with that said, there are at least certain ground rules. Some of those rules give easy tip-offs whether or not a teacher or singer is Bel Canto. If you read through the Art of Singing by G.B. Lamperti a few times, I think you will have an easier time screening teachers.

As one example: in Bel Canto, the high notes are sung naturally, not belted. In other words the chest is not used like it is in the dramatic operas. The voice naturally gets lighter there and one of the main points of Bel Canto is finding your pure natural voice. I'm not talking about falsetto but just the natural thinning of the vocal chords at the top of the range. So while you can't always tell what is Bel Canto there are some pretty obvious pointers as to what is NOT.

Of course if the teacher is not at all familiar with the work of the Lampertis, that might be the easiest clue right there, so maybe that is somewhere to start. Another alternative is to listen to lots of Bel Canto singers from back in the 20s and 30s and get a feel for the art. Then ask the teacher to sing something like Una Fortiva Lagrima from Donizetti's L'elisir D'amore.