obviously, you also don't own a role because you do all the high notes perfectly. and obviously, a role is never a dead thing to own. it's re-invented every time.
Love the fact that the whole video dismisses Sutherland, yet Norma belonged to Sutherland since neither Callas or Caballe could sing it as high as La Stupenda did. The way Norma wads supposed to be sung. Caballe was a strong substitute. She sounded like a mother who could not bear to kill the kids, because she always sounded matronly.
Sutherland always sang the role in its original keys. Something both Callas and Caballe could not even dream of doing.
Callas's high notes were almost always ugly and forced. Great acting, ugly sound. Caballe just did not have a large enough voice to work with. She sung the role, because of her name. She herself did not think her voice was enough for Norma - and told this to Sutherland after watching her perform one night.
@calaftheeast You are factually incorrect. Callas sang ALL the coloratura roles in their original keys and also Norma. That is a fact. Your personal taste doesn't matter here. Sutherland's voice was lacking squillo and her vowels were atrocious.
Sutherland's voice had the beauty of the line. Its beauty was never compromised with concerns to showcase emotion, because it was big enough to display emotion without the fake crying sounds. Callas on the other hand lost most of the strength after the weight loss, and almost always produced an uglier Norma - but justified it with saying 'it is coloratura, it is emotion'.
Sutherland was no. 1 Norma. Followed by Callas as no. 2, then Caballe.
@calaftheeast Are you daft? Callas sang all the roles in their original keys and also in lower keys. Mezzo keys and high soprano. Get your facts straight.
@MrCafiero He/she is both daft and a Sutherland fanatic who can't judge anything dispassionately. Sutherland's Norma was for the musically ignorant who know nothing. Callas was THE Norma. I know, I saw her at La Scala in earlyJanuary 1956. A Callas performance was a life changing experience! And as you correctly say she sang all her roles in the original keys. Caballe's Norma was an excellent second. Sutherland's Norma was a poor relation. As for Bonynge's conducting the less said the better.
@calaftheeast You cannot be serious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is more to singing belcanto than high notes. And if you really want to hear some really amazing high notes right up to A6 or even Bb6 then Ingeborg Hallstein leaves all others dead in her wake. She is THE COLORATURA soprano par excellence. Crystalline clarity, pinpoint accuracy, great legato and the most melodious fast coloratura. Check out her Lakme bell song, "Caro nome" and Mozart's "Vorrei spiegarvi oh Dio" and your jaw will drop
@calaftheeast In fact, SUTHERLAND herself is the one who begged Cabllé to sing Norma. And Caballé coached Norma with Callas. So I am afraid even Sutherland herself would disagree with you.
@calaftheeast You are quite wrong. Sutherland's voice always suffered from a weak lower register and not a particularly good middle. Her technique lacked the musicianship with which to spin a beautiful legato phrase with the right intonations and accents at the correct points which is crucial in belcanto. As for Callas's inability to sing high notes may I recommend you listen to her 1952 Armida. Both for high notes and coloratura like a hurricane.
@mandevillesmind - if Pavarotti needed a girdle to help with support it was purely because the extra weight he gained in later years increasingly diminishes your ability to control diaphragmatic control. The added weight presses down on the diaphragm and makes it very difficult to lift and press for appoggio.
@mandevillesmind Pavarotti only had trouble walking when he was older. I don't know about any "girdle", but if someone uses something to get a singer to feel the expansion it is fine. It has done its job. It should NOT become a crutch.
@mandevillesmind I worked at a suit store a few years ago and the mgr. told me that PAV had someone run into his store before a big performance to get him tights i.e. a gurdle for support. My mgr was told, "big man needs it to sing."
@nickbigd I know a couple of people who sang with her in her prime. One of these people is in his 80's. He told me that Caballe is every bit as sweet and lovely as what you see in interviews. Just a genuinely lovely woman. That is refreshing.
@Erethras Yes, it is holding out. When you breathe in and expand your stomach, abdomen, side etc. you keep that expansion going throughout the whole phrase or note...like you are still breathing in. Ponselle said, "Always push out with the stomach and abdomen during the whole phrase, NOT IN."
@MrCafiero yes, then i was deffenetely doing it very, very bad,... as i thought i wasfollowing my prof's instructions (she would say "push down, down, down....."). I was pushing in, like when swimming that you have to hold the whole core (i'm more a swimmer than a soprano...)... oh, forget it. I'll try pushing out, see how it works! Thanks so much!, great tip!
@MrCafiero I have a blog where I explain in detail how to breathe. And other things. There is also a forum on vocal technique that you may like to join to discuss things. It is the classical singer dot com. All one word.
@mandevillesmind Yeah, I think Domingo talks about it in great singers on great singing. I know people that studied with Corelli and Del Monaco and they absolutely did that as a tool. Not as something to be dependent on. Domingo wears and elastic band under his clothes. Regardless, there is nothing wrong with using an aid to help students get the feeling of expansion and holding out. There is no reason whatsoever that would be a bad thing because they is what they need to feel.
@mandevillesmind Yeah, I think Domingo talks about it in great singers on great singing. I know people that studied with Corelli and Del Monaco and they absolutely did that as a tool. Not as something to be dependent on. Domingo wears and elastic band under his clothes. Regardless, there is nothing wrong with using an aid to help students get the feeling of expansion and holding out. There is no reason whatsoever that would be a bad thing because they is what they need to feel.
@mandevillesmind If it is expansion then the belt is not a bad idea to get them to feel that expansion. Domingo uses it. Corelli taught with it as well as Del Monaco. It is a tool to get them to feel the expansion. That is all. Exhalation happens when we make a sound.
@mandevillesmind Yeah, students need to get the muscles of inspiration strong so that they can hold out against the expiration muscles; mainly the abdominals. The expansion should be felt all around even low, in the sides and in the back. I don't think the belt is a bad idea to get students to feel the expansion that is necessary. Of course not all students will need this, but some are so weak that they need to aid.
@mandevillesmind Strain only comes when we go into the Valsalva maneuver, whereby we hold our breath by closing the glottis and then try to force air out against it. If you don't do that, no amount of outward expansion will cause strain. The inspiratory muscles should keep expanding against the expiratory muscles the whole time we sing.
@mandevillesmind What do you mean "downwards"? You cannot push downwards with anything in the breathing apparatus. You would be using something else to accomplish that feeling and that would be wrong. It is outward expansion that must be continued and never collapsed.
I believe it is more of how you let the air out and don't let it blow in the first attack of the phrase, also keeping calm, and certaily, Mdme. Caballe when she is on the stage she is in complete control and calm.
@Turandotopera Well, the setup of the breathing is crucial to be able to keep your throat open (prevent too much closure) while keeping the airflow free and constant. You should never feel like you hold back any air. The firmness of the sound and the breathing (inspiratory tension against expiratory tension) takes care of that.
Glorious wind. Was it a present from god for giving such a stunning performance?. Waching her singing like that with the veils moving is just magical. Thanks for posting
@reynaldomonterrey She told them to to bring the metal weight they had laying on their abdomen "UP". To do that you must expand outward. The the inspiratory muscles don't just go down. They are around the bottom of the ribs, the back etc. and the diaphragm drops below the ribs and expands everything out there as well. Holding the out tension against the "in" tension is appoggiare.
@MrCafiero i understand that after u breath u need to push down the lower abs and a little outwards in order to support,the voice,when u breath correctly the whole abdominal section,rib cage and lower back expand but is a natural action of breathing correctly,pushing in to support the voice after u take a breath to my knowledge is not wise,
@reynaldomonterrey I never said to pull in anything....and you shouldn't. However, the whole abdominal area is pushed out as the organs make way for the diaphragm to descend down the the intercostals to expand. But the abs cannot tense as they only are muscles of expiration and only pull in. So to lift the weight up the whole area expands out.
To my understanding, you push out in order to fill the lungs to the maximum, but you push your abs in in order to release the air and make the vocal folds vibrate.
@MrCafiero I am describing what you see in the video: expanding the transverse abdominus muscle right around the abdomen, identified by lying down and holding up a heavy book with your stomach. Keep engaged pushing out as you sing the phrase.
@58227vocal Right, but expanding the transverse abdominus because the inspiratory tension is pushing out is different than the transverse ab tensing because that would contract in.
So correct singing requires an intensity of air pressure, generated from the lower abdominal muscles working OUTWARDS, with freely vibrating vocal folds. It's a balance that is hard to master."If at the same time as you breathe you push downwards the lungs will expand to their maximum" and if the downwards & outwards impulse is sustained then the intense or high air pressure can be maintained. Some singers find this counter-intuitive, but it works.
She is saying that to get maximum harmonics the air pressure needs to be intense but the cords need to free to produce the harmonics. She qualifies that by going on to say that "if the vibrations are a bit pushed the harmonics are normally quite hard" which is a sign that there is tension in the vocal folds and they are not free.
I have had my singing students lying on the ground like this with weight on the belly. It is a great way to identify the muscles that are needed for providing correct breath pressure beneath the vocal folds. I like the quote "It is the intensity of the air that produces the vibration of the vocal cords because the harmonics of a sound depend on the vibrations you produce".
Mr. Califiero...you said " A vibrato, on the other hand, has a pitch fluctuation that is not too wide, nor too narrow, and is ideally about...cont'd"..to me that is the definition of a trill.I am sure you know what you are talking about, but once again what you are actually saying, in my mind has nothing to do with a vibrato.
@brahms44ify Let me clarify for you then. A trill is an even exchange between two notes. A vibrato is not. A vibrato has a fluctuation in pitch where the peak is about 1/3 above the pitch and the trough is 2/3 below the pitch; with the peak being about 6 decibels louder than the trough. So it is not even like a trill.
What words of praise can you possibly add to this priceless experience? Within 30 years we had Callas, Gencer, Sutherland and Caballé singing the most difficult role in opera, but since the 80s, not a flicker of Druid fire among the ranks. Yes, I agree, this is the most beautiful (and I am a DIE-HARD Callasien!) version of the Casta Diva I have ever heard, just as moving as Callas and just as brilliant as Sutherland. She used to sing this as an encore (with cabaletta, Angela) at Carnegie Hall.
@MrCafiero This issue with Caballe was heard by others too and commented upon by reviewers and folk shere on You Tube.. She did not have great intonation and her daughter's is worse.
@leonardovittori1 Right. A lot of people say a lot of things. But know this: the greatest singers, conductors and musicians; e.g., Pavarotti (who had perfect pitch), Sutherland etc. etc. disagree. So who should we go by? If a million people say a wrong thing, it is still a wrong thing.
@MrCafiero Great singers, and Pav and Sutherland were great singers are also gracious.. and would not criticize a colleague for having bad intonation, when they have heard that colleague in good form. that would be tacky for them. That does not mean that Caballe did not have episodes of flatness.. She did, and they grew more plentiful the older she got.
@leonardovittori1 First of all, every single great singer has "moments" where they make mistakes. They are not machines. They are human beings. Secondly, as she got older she did not sing "flat", but rather her vibrato became problematic and to some people that makes her sound "flat". She certainly gave us decades of some phenomenal, world class, performances. Leave her alone.
@leonardovittori1 They are not excuses. They are REALITY! That is what happened. And I rarely hear her sing flat, but I hear later vibrato problems. Just because *YOU* cannot hear it and probably are not a trained singer or teacher doesn't mean it is not the case. She was a human being and gave us great singing. Period.
@MrCafiero Lets call them "your reality" and leave it at that.. I certainly don't want you to stroke out over this. I am not the first person who has noted her problems with intonation.
@leonardovittori1 I don't care about opinions of those who don't know what they are talking about. If I am going to buy a house I want the opinion of an inspector who has experiences and knows his craft. I don't ask the ice cream man for his opinion. Your ignorance is your problem.
@MrCafiero Really? This is so like you.. Get ugly when it was not intended, then.. try to force down our throats that you are a voice teacher and singer.. Well.. Mr. Cafiero.. PROVE IT.. You are one of the dumbest men alive. That is obvious.
@leonardovittori1 Also, you contradict yourself. You say her disc of Puccini arias is "unsurpassed" . Well...guess what? Your first question about her "breathing" perhaps having given her those problems is idiotic since she used the same "BREATHING" to make the Puccini CD which - according to you - is unsurpassed. Get some common sense.
@MrCafiero You know I rarely get on You tube.. but i saw this video and was very interested in your comments.. Isn't vibrato a slight variation in pitch above and below the fundamental? And should not the fundamental be emphasized for proper pitch.. I know it is that way in other orchestral instruments.Change the vibrato and the singer sounds flat or sharp and in reality on an oscilloscope is flat or sharp... depending on vibrato.
@orizamary1 Yes, the vibrato is a change in pitch above and below the fundamental pitch. However, it also has a certain accent to it and is a certain height above and below the pitch. It is not evenly above and below the pitch. So if that accent and interval is not right it can make a singer sound sharp or flat.
@MrCafiero JS, sorry to disagree. Caballe sang her first three roles with me in Basel. I have the tape of her Tosca to my Scarpia. She, like most singers have a 'tremolo' that passes for a vibrato if not to slow/fast. She controlled her tongue tremolo nicely with wonderful resonance and artistry. She sang Tannhauser with me at the Liceo in late 60's. A true vibrato isn’t a pitch variation but an 'on and off' pulse of the diaphragm. Most singers support with abdomen muscles.
@tantris3 A true vibrato has a change in pitch. It has a fluctuation - and it is *also* an on/off impulse from the brain to the muscles of the layrynx as Stanley said. You can easily look on a spectograph and see quite factually there is a pitch fluctuation. It is also clearly audible.
@MrCafiero A 'so called' vibrato on a stringed instrument is a variation in pitch caused by an external device like a finger. Any variation of pitch on a spectograph will be either caused by the singer's tremolo or the slight inaccuracy of hitting the pitch squarely when attacking the note with a true vibrato.
@tantris3 Sorry, that is just not true for voice. You can slow recordings of singers down and hear the fluctuation clearly, but there is also a proper accent to the fluctuation. Ideally the vibrato is 1/3 above the pitch and 2/3 below with the above being 5 db louder than the below. It is clear on the spectograph and when slowing recordings down and if I slow my own down.
@MrCafiero It is not the brain sending a message to the larynx but sending it to the diaphragm that makes the vibrato. It is this message to the diaphragm that allows true vibrato singers to sing dramatically withou hurting their throat when giving dramatic accent to any given note.
@tantris3 Actually, the brain controls everything. The vibrato is affected by diadochokinesis. The inspiratory hold against the expiratory tension gives the singer control over this pulsation whereby they can take it out, speed it up or slow it down. The larynx does come into play as the vocal folds are stretched and relaxed which changes pitch. All of it works together. Too much from the abdomen and there is a wobble. Too much from the larynx and there is a tremolo. It is balance.
@MrCafiero Of course the brain 'controls' everything, either correctly or incorrectly. The slight pitch change on a given note is the change in breath pressure against the vocal chords when the diaphragm pulsates so it doesn't become stiff as happens with most singers when they rely on the ab muscle for support. Then they have to rely on brain messages to the laryanx, tongue or jaw to stop the straight tone the stomach muscles produce.
@tantris3 Yeah, ab support doesn't work. It is the inspiratory tension acting against the abs that is where you get support. Pitch change is relative to intensity and range, but still...there is a pitch change in vibrato and not in a tremolo.
@MrCafiero No, there is a pitch change in tremolo. Tremolo is an uncontrolled movement in the vocal sound. It ranges from bleat to wobble. With the bleat the pitch change is less audible but if you slow the spectograph it will be visible. The common weight exercise that Montserrat uses in her video is dangerous because it teaches abdominal support as does the old practice of pushing against a piano with your abs. Singers continue to breathe learning to tense their ab muscles for singing.
@tantris3 This is all semantics. A wobble and a tremolo are two diametrically opposed things, therefore calling them the same dosn't make sense. A repetition of pitch with little to no variation, faster than a normal vibrato (a tremolo) is the opposite of a *wobble* which is too much change in pitch and too slow. So to call opposite actions the same thing makes no sense. A vibrato, on the other hand, has a pitch fluctuation that is not too wide, nor too narrow, and is ideally about...cont'd
@MrCafiero 6 pulses per second. Changes in fluctuation are due to intensity and range. So we have three different things with completely quantifiable actions:
1) a tremolo - not enough or no fluctuation and too fast
2) A wobble - too much fluctuation and too slow
3) a vibrato - right fluctuation and speed.
And actually there is more than that. There is inverted vibrato where the peak is too high, or where the trough is too loud etc.
@MrCafiero Hi JS, I don't want to get too technical with this. If a singer cannot keep the movement in his voice consistant in all ranges, they have either a slow tremolo referred by some as a wobble or a fast tremolo referred to some as a bleat. Have a great day, and I am sure some viewers will find this a waste of their time.
@tantris3 It absolutely has to sound consistent. I am sure some will like the conversation and some won't. To each their own I guess!! Have a great afternoon in Cali!
@MrCafiero One needs to define one's terms. For me 'tremolo' comes from tremble which is physical thing that isn't consistant and not under voluntary control. Whether it is too fast or too slow, it is difficult for the tremolo to be consistant at all pitches, however, some singers are very cleaver at having their tremolo seem just like a vitrato. In fact they can do so much with it there are those who prefer it to a vibrato.
@tantris3 I totally agree. I think we generally are agreeing on everything except I don't call a wobble a tremolo and you do. You call a wide, slow vibrato a "tremolo wobble" and I just call it a wobble. And you seem to call a too narrowed, too fast action (caprino) a tremolo - as do I. I do call a proper fluctuation in pitch and speed a vibrato as it seems you do too. And I agree there is a pulsation from the breathing. So we actually do agree! LOL!
@tantris3 In fact, you can listen to Stanley himself teaching Nelsson Eddy in the clip I have on my channel where he demonstrates the differences in vibrato. He has Eddy sing the vibrato slowly and speed up and there is a clear pitch fluctuation. Otherwise it is a repetition of pitch which is a tremolo.
@MrCafiero I heard Nelson Eddy's recording in Stanley's studio during one of my lessons. Stanley was more of a scientist than a voice teacher. His method ruined more voices than it helped. He experimented with his students! A very few like Tom Lo Monaco survived but didn't have great careers. Eddy had a tremolo with pitch fluctuation that was more evident later in his films. A diaphragm vibrato isn't a repitition of pitch but a slight pulse of the diaphragm to make the vibrato sound.
@tantris3 I am well aware that Stanley was a maniac and ruined many voice. Tom changed all the wrong information and violence for what was right. Including information on the vibrato. I am not disagreeing that the breathing is important for the vibrato. It certainly is. But the vibrato, unlike a tremolo, has a fluctuation in pitch. And the nerve impulse. In fact, when the up swing happens there is the pulse from the breathing. Then there is a down swing. A peak and trough...con'td
@MrCafiero ..and feel it when you sing. And you can slow recordings down and hear it and you can see it on the spectograph. There is a change in pitch. That is just a fact.
@MrCafiero Yes, when you slow recordings down you hear and see on a spectograph changes in pitch. The less change in pitch of any given singer, the more pleasant the vibrato or tremolo. With a true vibrato, it will increast the range of pitch with intensity and volume. With a tremolo it can become a bleat as with Gino Becchi and others. Hotter developed more wobble. You lose control when the diaphragm is not in charge.
@MrCafiero Tom had a female student for years and brought her to Rome who had a steady voice with no vibrato or tremolo movement. Tom did not know about the pulsation of the diaphragm to produce the needed vibrato. Most singers know they need some vibrato/tremolo movement in the voice without it becoming a bleat or wobble. When it is a tremolo disguised as a vibrato, it is uneven throughout the voice a little bleaty in some ranges and slow in other ranges, and sometimes just right.
@tantris3 Tom 100% knew about it and taught me it and has written about the vibrato, but it has not been published yet. So I don't know what you are talking about because I trained with him for many years and he absolutely taught it. I will ask him about it personally.
@MrCafiero Jeremy, Tom didn't know then what he learned later on his own, or he would have corrected the problem with the lovely young Susan York lady. I think we have exhausted the subject. Good luck in Florida
@tantris3 Well, perhaps he didn't know it very early on, but he knew it for Hadley and the like and that is what counts. And he taught it to me. Perhaps Stanley should have known about it, but I guess he didn't! Things are going FANTASTICALLY here. Thanks.
@MrCafiero With Hadley and others Tom was smart and developed teaching skills that allowed students to have careers. The York girl I believe was Johanna not Susan. When I heard her I thought she was a new student and he hadn't gotten around to the 'vibrato'. Glad things are going FANTASTICALLY for you there. All the best
@tantris3 Tom is a genius. And a good teacher develops these skills - as he did - over time. Thank goodness. I am blessed to have been able to learn it and now teach it.
@MrCafiero A tremolo is almost always a function of the brain telling the tongue or chin to move to try and imitate a vibrato. You lose control and it varies with pitch.
@tantris3 Agreed. A tremolo can certainly be due to jaw tension, holding the tip of the tongue behind the bottom teeth, breathing incorrectly etc., but it can also be to a faulty connection in the brain to what exactly the proper mov't is. And when that happens it is really hard to fix. Technical stuff is much easier.
@MrCafiero My experience is a fast, slow or perfect tremolo starts with the tongue. With a tight jaw, it often leads to a straight tone. What ever the 'brain' tells the body to do, whether to flatten or groove the tongue along with improper breathing is hard to undo...good luck with your teaching in BR Florida.
@tantris3 Right! Any bodily activity that doesn't achieve the desired results is 'a function of the brain' telling the muscles the wrong thing and muscle memory is a hard thing to erase!
Has anyone noticed that every time she sings the climactic parts of Casta Diva (Il bel sembiante... and Quello pace..), the strong wind stops blowing? AWESOME!!! =D
This is incredible. I want to be able to sing like this. Unfortunately I'll probably never be dramatic as I have a small frame... still, I want to study opera so much.
@Bethalaine Your body frame doesn't determine your voice size. The vocal folds and resonating cavities do. Find a good teacher. That is the most vital thing. Listen to the greats of the past because how they sing now is but a shadow of how great it used to be.
@MrCafiero Thank you for this advice. I am currently looking for a good teacher in my area, my city has a local liberal arts college with a really good music program with plenty of voice teachers so at this point, I'm trying to determine from whom I want to take lessons. I absolutely adore bel canto and to learn the art of it would make me happy beyond belief. My mom thinks I'm crazy, haha.
@Bethalaine Many teachers will say that they teach "bel canto", but 99% of them don't know squat about it. What city are you in? Perhaps I know of someone.
Exactly, look at Dessay, and Sills, and Moffo, and also Baltsa and Bumbry, accomplished singers who are not particularly of large size at all. (Especially Dessay she is tiny!)
I am merely listing the singers who are not of generally large build. I've only included Dessay not because of her vocal accomplishments but because of her petite body size. I do agree her technique can by no means be compared with that of Sills.
She's got a gorgeous sound, incredible breath, heavenly pianissimi, she's musical, expressive - and she sings out of tune a lot in the middle of the voice!
She is not out of tune in her prime years...later on in the late 70's and 80's she started to cackle and of course wobble, but in her prime she had a PERFECT soprano voice.
That is the thing, she did not try to "control" the breath, she just kept the inspiratory tension holding against the expiratory tension and let her registers work. It is dangerous to try and "control" breath because it often leads to constriction.
Can you explain this at greater depth, I mean like, anatomically. How is possible to speak or sing without controlling what you say or sing. I am very curious and eager to know. Isn't the word important, so don't you control muscles that control breath that together control what you say or sing right? It is call aero-dynamic/myo-elastic. So would not therefore, the shape of your mouth and face have to articulate the word or lyric before you speak or sing. Is that not breath control?
Your intention and idea of the correct sound (register/balance/vowel and pitch) cause the body to react a certain way in order to make the sound. It is not controlled as much as it is intention and concept. Trying to "control" air usually leads to over closing the glottis and locking the vocal mechanism. If you just hold inspiratory tension against expiratory tension and have the proper aural image your body will react without "controlling" anything.
OK, I understand you better now............it would be better not to have a method..just think, sing, and the muscles will do the work naturally! Then trust what comes out? That seems to be the prevailing school anyway. Just sing! That makes a lot easier. Thanks. But a wait a minute, that might work for basic tasks like flipping on a switch, but what about difficult tasks like singing or gymnastics where you need to train the muscles to do the work? Still confused. :)
Of course there is a method. The method is balancing the vocal registers. That corresponds to the two muscle groups in the larynx that make sound (arytenoids & thryoids). Both those groups have to be developed properly. Otherwise you cannot just "sing" because you physically will be limited by the amount of development - as well as skill. But you want this development to be direct, functional and natural. Then your body responds to your concept of the sound based on ideal function.
It is about to teach your body rather than doing it instead of nature!Breathing ,you can do distinctly but in this case body will see that you r doing it´s own job and will never react organically! To drop the singing in a basic,simple and organic level means to master operatic singing which depends largely on breathing!How to bring the breathing to an invisible level (like in daily talking) during the singing is the main point!There r different methods but some got it naturally!(like Caruso)
People have to be specifically taught how to breathe correctly for singing because the coordination of the breathing muscles (holding inspiratory tension against expiratory tension) does not happen in any other activity. So it is crucial to get it right to relieve constriction and to start the note correctly. Caruso did not just have it naturally. He worked at it.
"It is about to teach your body rather than doing it instead of nature" I wrote before!You have to teach and then to give a natural way to your body in order to release any kind of tension during the singing!But DOING THE BREATHING is false according to my experince which I did 2 years!Singer shouldn t search the sound immediately!Singer should search correct posture and comfortable,stable breathing!The sound will only be the post effect!
I have no idea what you mean. The singer should ALWAYS be addressing the sound and trying to get to the right sound WITH the correct breathing and balance of registration. If you did it for 2 years the WRONG way then it doesn't matter. It has to be properly implemented.
I believe this is the famous Theatre Antique d'Orange performance of 1974 with Jon Vickers. I believe it is available both in CD and DVD. I have an old VCR of it and the quality was OK but not great. perhaps they have managed to remaster it a bit in the DVD version. In any case, it is an amazing performance with the summer winds blowing through the veils and robes.
It always is a supreme pleasure to hear the voice of Montserrat. The first time was in Basel, Switzerland when she sang her first Tosca with me as Scarpia. We then sang opposite eachother in Pagliacci and Tiefland. Years later she jumped in for Anja Silja as Elizabeth when I sang the title role of Tannhauser at the Liceo in Barcelona. The beauty of her voice was only equaled by the beauty of her anima.
obviously, you also don't own a role because you do all the high notes perfectly. and obviously, a role is never a dead thing to own. it's re-invented every time.
ea748 3 weeks ago
A MI PARECER LA NÚM 1 EN NORMA ES MONSERRAT CABALLÉ, Y ESTA REPRESENTACIÓN DE ORLEANS LO CERTIFICA,, NIO SE PUEDE ESTAR MÁS SUBLIME.
Maripudelmonaco 1 month ago
Love the fact that the whole video dismisses Sutherland, yet Norma belonged to Sutherland since neither Callas or Caballe could sing it as high as La Stupenda did. The way Norma wads supposed to be sung. Caballe was a strong substitute. She sounded like a mother who could not bear to kill the kids, because she always sounded matronly.
calaftheeast 1 month ago
@calaftheeast What? CALLAS owned Norma and always will. HIGHER? What are you talking about? Callas had high E naturals in her prime.
MrCafiero 1 month ago
@MrCafiero
Sutherland always sang the role in its original keys. Something both Callas and Caballe could not even dream of doing.
Callas's high notes were almost always ugly and forced. Great acting, ugly sound. Caballe just did not have a large enough voice to work with. She sung the role, because of her name. She herself did not think her voice was enough for Norma - and told this to Sutherland after watching her perform one night.
Sutherland is second to none in bel canto.
calaftheeast 1 month ago
@calaftheeast You are factually incorrect. Callas sang ALL the coloratura roles in their original keys and also Norma. That is a fact. Your personal taste doesn't matter here. Sutherland's voice was lacking squillo and her vowels were atrocious.
MrCafiero 1 month ago
@MrCafiero
No, she actually did not.
Sutherland's voice had the beauty of the line. Its beauty was never compromised with concerns to showcase emotion, because it was big enough to display emotion without the fake crying sounds. Callas on the other hand lost most of the strength after the weight loss, and almost always produced an uglier Norma - but justified it with saying 'it is coloratura, it is emotion'.
Sutherland was no. 1 Norma. Followed by Callas as no. 2, then Caballe.
calaftheeast 1 month ago
@calaftheeast Are you daft? Callas sang all the roles in their original keys and also in lower keys. Mezzo keys and high soprano. Get your facts straight.
MrCafiero 1 month ago
@MrCafiero He/she is both daft and a Sutherland fanatic who can't judge anything dispassionately. Sutherland's Norma was for the musically ignorant who know nothing. Callas was THE Norma. I know, I saw her at La Scala in earlyJanuary 1956. A Callas performance was a life changing experience! And as you correctly say she sang all her roles in the original keys. Caballe's Norma was an excellent second. Sutherland's Norma was a poor relation. As for Bonynge's conducting the less said the better.
Ariadne7710 2 weeks ago
@calaftheeast You cannot be serious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is more to singing belcanto than high notes. And if you really want to hear some really amazing high notes right up to A6 or even Bb6 then Ingeborg Hallstein leaves all others dead in her wake. She is THE COLORATURA soprano par excellence. Crystalline clarity, pinpoint accuracy, great legato and the most melodious fast coloratura. Check out her Lakme bell song, "Caro nome" and Mozart's "Vorrei spiegarvi oh Dio" and your jaw will drop
Ariadne7710 2 weeks ago
@calaftheeast In fact, SUTHERLAND herself is the one who begged Cabllé to sing Norma. And Caballé coached Norma with Callas. So I am afraid even Sutherland herself would disagree with you.
MrCafiero 1 month ago
@calaftheeast You are quite wrong. Sutherland's voice always suffered from a weak lower register and not a particularly good middle. Her technique lacked the musicianship with which to spin a beautiful legato phrase with the right intonations and accents at the correct points which is crucial in belcanto. As for Callas's inability to sing high notes may I recommend you listen to her 1952 Armida. Both for high notes and coloratura like a hurricane.
Ariadne7710 2 weeks ago
@calaftheeast well I must admit you are right. Sutherland was just divine for the role of Norma. Regards.
mrluistena 1 week ago
What's the name of the tenor at the end!?
blkmichaux 2 months ago
@mandevillesmind Lift and press what?
MrCafiero 2 months ago
@mandevillesmind - if Pavarotti needed a girdle to help with support it was purely because the extra weight he gained in later years increasingly diminishes your ability to control diaphragmatic control. The added weight presses down on the diaphragm and makes it very difficult to lift and press for appoggio.
RocktheStageNYC 2 months ago
@mandevillesmind i know what breathing is.
js59695 2 months ago
@mandevillesmind Pavarotti only had trouble walking when he was older. I don't know about any "girdle", but if someone uses something to get a singer to feel the expansion it is fine. It has done its job. It should NOT become a crutch.
MrCafiero 3 months ago
@mandevillesmind I worked at a suit store a few years ago and the mgr. told me that PAV had someone run into his store before a big performance to get him tights i.e. a gurdle for support. My mgr was told, "big man needs it to sing."
js59695 3 months ago
Montserrat Caballe is a lovel lady besode been the best soprano ever
sevilla184 3 months ago
"I feel like you do, and you feel like I do." ...brilliant.
magicmonkichi 3 months ago
She is so special; I love her. And I love her playful tap on the nose of the tenor just at the end of the clip. So endearing.
nickbigd 4 months ago
@nickbigd I know a couple of people who sang with her in her prime. One of these people is in his 80's. He told me that Caballe is every bit as sweet and lovely as what you see in interviews. Just a genuinely lovely woman. That is refreshing.
MrCafiero 4 months ago
push out, not in. wow. if only my prof had told me that difference! i'll try that.
Erethras 4 months ago
@Erethras Yes, it is holding out. When you breathe in and expand your stomach, abdomen, side etc. you keep that expansion going throughout the whole phrase or note...like you are still breathing in. Ponselle said, "Always push out with the stomach and abdomen during the whole phrase, NOT IN."
MrCafiero 4 months ago
@MrCafiero yes, then i was deffenetely doing it very, very bad,... as i thought i wasfollowing my prof's instructions (she would say "push down, down, down....."). I was pushing in, like when swimming that you have to hold the whole core (i'm more a swimmer than a soprano...)... oh, forget it. I'll try pushing out, see how it works! Thanks so much!, great tip!
Erethras 4 months ago
@MrCafiero I have a blog where I explain in detail how to breathe. And other things. There is also a forum on vocal technique that you may like to join to discuss things. It is the classical singer dot com. All one word.
MrCafiero 4 months ago
@mandevillesmind Yeah, I think Domingo talks about it in great singers on great singing. I know people that studied with Corelli and Del Monaco and they absolutely did that as a tool. Not as something to be dependent on. Domingo wears and elastic band under his clothes. Regardless, there is nothing wrong with using an aid to help students get the feeling of expansion and holding out. There is no reason whatsoever that would be a bad thing because they is what they need to feel.
MrCafiero 5 months ago
@mandevillesmind Yeah, I think Domingo talks about it in great singers on great singing. I know people that studied with Corelli and Del Monaco and they absolutely did that as a tool. Not as something to be dependent on. Domingo wears and elastic band under his clothes. Regardless, there is nothing wrong with using an aid to help students get the feeling of expansion and holding out. There is no reason whatsoever that would be a bad thing because they is what they need to feel.
MrCafiero 5 months ago
@mandevillesmind If it is expansion then the belt is not a bad idea to get them to feel that expansion. Domingo uses it. Corelli taught with it as well as Del Monaco. It is a tool to get them to feel the expansion. That is all. Exhalation happens when we make a sound.
MrCafiero 5 months ago
@mandevillesmind Yeah, students need to get the muscles of inspiration strong so that they can hold out against the expiration muscles; mainly the abdominals. The expansion should be felt all around even low, in the sides and in the back. I don't think the belt is a bad idea to get students to feel the expansion that is necessary. Of course not all students will need this, but some are so weak that they need to aid.
MrCafiero 5 months ago
@mandevillesmind Strain only comes when we go into the Valsalva maneuver, whereby we hold our breath by closing the glottis and then try to force air out against it. If you don't do that, no amount of outward expansion will cause strain. The inspiratory muscles should keep expanding against the expiratory muscles the whole time we sing.
MrCafiero 5 months ago
@mandevillesmind What do you mean "downwards"? You cannot push downwards with anything in the breathing apparatus. You would be using something else to accomplish that feeling and that would be wrong. It is outward expansion that must be continued and never collapsed.
MrCafiero 5 months ago
I believe it is more of how you let the air out and don't let it blow in the first attack of the phrase, also keeping calm, and certaily, Mdme. Caballe when she is on the stage she is in complete control and calm.
Turandotopera 8 months ago
@Turandotopera Well, the setup of the breathing is crucial to be able to keep your throat open (prevent too much closure) while keeping the airflow free and constant. You should never feel like you hold back any air. The firmness of the sound and the breathing (inspiratory tension against expiratory tension) takes care of that.
MrCafiero 8 months ago
Glorious wind. Was it a present from god for giving such a stunning performance?. Waching her singing like that with the veils moving is just magical. Thanks for posting
Ivanbelastegui 10 months ago 2
The voice is perfection BUT diction is unintelligible. Sorry but words do matter. So few singers can do it all.
PastaAndPavarotti 10 months ago
Que voz do céu... Montserrat cantando é capaz de enfeitiçar e hipnotizar a platéia.
odisseus20dx 10 months ago
Flawless!
basenjidiva 11 months ago
she never said pushing outwards.most likely she mentioned downwards,just like when you support correctly with appogio.
reynaldomonterrey 11 months ago
@reynaldomonterrey She told them to to bring the metal weight they had laying on their abdomen "UP". To do that you must expand outward. The the inspiratory muscles don't just go down. They are around the bottom of the ribs, the back etc. and the diaphragm drops below the ribs and expands everything out there as well. Holding the out tension against the "in" tension is appoggiare.
MrCafiero 11 months ago
@MrCafiero i understand that after u breath u need to push down the lower abs and a little outwards in order to support,the voice,when u breath correctly the whole abdominal section,rib cage and lower back expand but is a natural action of breathing correctly,pushing in to support the voice after u take a breath to my knowledge is not wise,
reynaldomonterrey 11 months ago
@reynaldomonterrey I never said to pull in anything....and you shouldn't. However, the whole abdominal area is pushed out as the organs make way for the diaphragm to descend down the the intercostals to expand. But the abs cannot tense as they only are muscles of expiration and only pull in. So to lift the weight up the whole area expands out.
MrCafiero 11 months ago
To my understanding, you push out in order to fill the lungs to the maximum, but you push your abs in in order to release the air and make the vocal folds vibrate.
barbudillo 11 months ago
What a fabulous thing!
ezayi 1 year ago
JUST ONE WORD...MAGNIFIQUE.
Tenorbravo 1 year ago
@MrCafiero I am describing what you see in the video: expanding the transverse abdominus muscle right around the abdomen, identified by lying down and holding up a heavy book with your stomach. Keep engaged pushing out as you sing the phrase.
58227vocal 1 year ago
@58227vocal Right, but expanding the transverse abdominus because the inspiratory tension is pushing out is different than the transverse ab tensing because that would contract in.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero I am describing what you see I'n the video: expance
58227vocal 1 year ago
So correct singing requires an intensity of air pressure, generated from the lower abdominal muscles working OUTWARDS, with freely vibrating vocal folds. It's a balance that is hard to master."If at the same time as you breathe you push downwards the lungs will expand to their maximum" and if the downwards & outwards impulse is sustained then the intense or high air pressure can be maintained. Some singers find this counter-intuitive, but it works.
58227vocal 1 year ago 2
@58227vocal The abdominals only pull in, they are only muscles of expiration. The muscles that work "outwards" are the inspiratory muscles.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
Comment removed
58227vocal 1 year ago
She is saying that to get maximum harmonics the air pressure needs to be intense but the cords need to free to produce the harmonics. She qualifies that by going on to say that "if the vibrations are a bit pushed the harmonics are normally quite hard" which is a sign that there is tension in the vocal folds and they are not free.
58227vocal 1 year ago
I have had my singing students lying on the ground like this with weight on the belly. It is a great way to identify the muscles that are needed for providing correct breath pressure beneath the vocal folds. I like the quote "It is the intensity of the air that produces the vibration of the vocal cords because the harmonics of a sound depend on the vibrations you produce".
58227vocal 1 year ago
Mr. Califiero...you said " A vibrato, on the other hand, has a pitch fluctuation that is not too wide, nor too narrow, and is ideally about...cont'd"..to me that is the definition of a trill.I am sure you know what you are talking about, but once again what you are actually saying, in my mind has nothing to do with a vibrato.
brahms44ify 1 year ago
@brahms44ify Let me clarify for you then. A trill is an even exchange between two notes. A vibrato is not. A vibrato has a fluctuation in pitch where the peak is about 1/3 above the pitch and the trough is 2/3 below the pitch; with the peak being about 6 decibels louder than the trough. So it is not even like a trill.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@brahms44ify Sorry...I meant to say that the peak is about 5 decibels louder than the trough although the trough is bigger.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
In my opinion she does not embody Norma. I don't think she is singing flat, it is just the timbre of her voice, which is not appeasable for me.
ungiornodiregno 1 year ago
Thankyou Monserrat for your interpretation of Norma the perfection of womanhood.
MrFalconford 1 year ago
What words of praise can you possibly add to this priceless experience? Within 30 years we had Callas, Gencer, Sutherland and Caballé singing the most difficult role in opera, but since the 80s, not a flicker of Druid fire among the ranks. Yes, I agree, this is the most beautiful (and I am a DIE-HARD Callasien!) version of the Casta Diva I have ever heard, just as moving as Callas and just as brilliant as Sutherland. She used to sing this as an encore (with cabaletta, Angela) at Carnegie Hall.
sillyboydeux 1 year ago
Is her breathing technique responsible for the reason she was frequently flat?
leonardovittori1 1 year ago
@leonardovittori1 That would be your ear problem, not her breathing.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero This issue with Caballe was heard by others too and commented upon by reviewers and folk shere on You Tube.. She did not have great intonation and her daughter's is worse.
leonardovittori1 1 year ago
@leonardovittori1 Right. A lot of people say a lot of things. But know this: the greatest singers, conductors and musicians; e.g., Pavarotti (who had perfect pitch), Sutherland etc. etc. disagree. So who should we go by? If a million people say a wrong thing, it is still a wrong thing.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Great singers, and Pav and Sutherland were great singers are also gracious.. and would not criticize a colleague for having bad intonation, when they have heard that colleague in good form. that would be tacky for them. That does not mean that Caballe did not have episodes of flatness.. She did, and they grew more plentiful the older she got.
leonardovittori1 1 year ago
@leonardovittori1 First of all, every single great singer has "moments" where they make mistakes. They are not machines. They are human beings. Secondly, as she got older she did not sing "flat", but rather her vibrato became problematic and to some people that makes her sound "flat". She certainly gave us decades of some phenomenal, world class, performances. Leave her alone.
MrCafiero 1 year ago 2
@MrCafiero Your excuses for Caballe are not needed. She was a pheomenal Puccini singer.. Her disc of Puccini arias is unsurpassed.
leonardovittori1 1 year ago
@leonardovittori1 They are not excuses. They are REALITY! That is what happened. And I rarely hear her sing flat, but I hear later vibrato problems. Just because *YOU* cannot hear it and probably are not a trained singer or teacher doesn't mean it is not the case. She was a human being and gave us great singing. Period.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Lets call them "your reality" and leave it at that.. I certainly don't want you to stroke out over this. I am not the first person who has noted her problems with intonation.
leonardovittori1 1 year ago
@leonardovittori1 I don't care about opinions of those who don't know what they are talking about. If I am going to buy a house I want the opinion of an inspector who has experiences and knows his craft. I don't ask the ice cream man for his opinion. Your ignorance is your problem.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Really? This is so like you.. Get ugly when it was not intended, then.. try to force down our throats that you are a voice teacher and singer.. Well.. Mr. Cafiero.. PROVE IT.. You are one of the dumbest men alive. That is obvious.
vafungulo1 1 year ago
@leonardovittori1 Also, you contradict yourself. You say her disc of Puccini arias is "unsurpassed" . Well...guess what? Your first question about her "breathing" perhaps having given her those problems is idiotic since she used the same "BREATHING" to make the Puccini CD which - according to you - is unsurpassed. Get some common sense.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero You know I rarely get on You tube.. but i saw this video and was very interested in your comments.. Isn't vibrato a slight variation in pitch above and below the fundamental? And should not the fundamental be emphasized for proper pitch.. I know it is that way in other orchestral instruments.Change the vibrato and the singer sounds flat or sharp and in reality on an oscilloscope is flat or sharp... depending on vibrato.
orizamary1 1 year ago
@orizamary1 Yes, the vibrato is a change in pitch above and below the fundamental pitch. However, it also has a certain accent to it and is a certain height above and below the pitch. It is not evenly above and below the pitch. So if that accent and interval is not right it can make a singer sound sharp or flat.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Agreed! Sounding flat or sharp is kind of the issue , no? Just an observation.
orizamary1 1 year ago
@MrCafiero JS, sorry to disagree. Caballe sang her first three roles with me in Basel. I have the tape of her Tosca to my Scarpia. She, like most singers have a 'tremolo' that passes for a vibrato if not to slow/fast. She controlled her tongue tremolo nicely with wonderful resonance and artistry. She sang Tannhauser with me at the Liceo in late 60's. A true vibrato isn’t a pitch variation but an 'on and off' pulse of the diaphragm. Most singers support with abdomen muscles.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 A true vibrato has a change in pitch. It has a fluctuation - and it is *also* an on/off impulse from the brain to the muscles of the layrynx as Stanley said. You can easily look on a spectograph and see quite factually there is a pitch fluctuation. It is also clearly audible.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero A 'so called' vibrato on a stringed instrument is a variation in pitch caused by an external device like a finger. Any variation of pitch on a spectograph will be either caused by the singer's tremolo or the slight inaccuracy of hitting the pitch squarely when attacking the note with a true vibrato.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 Sorry, that is just not true for voice. You can slow recordings of singers down and hear the fluctuation clearly, but there is also a proper accent to the fluctuation. Ideally the vibrato is 1/3 above the pitch and 2/3 below with the above being 5 db louder than the below. It is clear on the spectograph and when slowing recordings down and if I slow my own down.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@tantris3 And I can demonstrate each wrong vibrato action as well including tremolo.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero It is not the brain sending a message to the larynx but sending it to the diaphragm that makes the vibrato. It is this message to the diaphragm that allows true vibrato singers to sing dramatically withou hurting their throat when giving dramatic accent to any given note.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 Actually, the brain controls everything. The vibrato is affected by diadochokinesis. The inspiratory hold against the expiratory tension gives the singer control over this pulsation whereby they can take it out, speed it up or slow it down. The larynx does come into play as the vocal folds are stretched and relaxed which changes pitch. All of it works together. Too much from the abdomen and there is a wobble. Too much from the larynx and there is a tremolo. It is balance.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Of course the brain 'controls' everything, either correctly or incorrectly. The slight pitch change on a given note is the change in breath pressure against the vocal chords when the diaphragm pulsates so it doesn't become stiff as happens with most singers when they rely on the ab muscle for support. Then they have to rely on brain messages to the laryanx, tongue or jaw to stop the straight tone the stomach muscles produce.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 Yeah, ab support doesn't work. It is the inspiratory tension acting against the abs that is where you get support. Pitch change is relative to intensity and range, but still...there is a pitch change in vibrato and not in a tremolo.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero No, there is a pitch change in tremolo. Tremolo is an uncontrolled movement in the vocal sound. It ranges from bleat to wobble. With the bleat the pitch change is less audible but if you slow the spectograph it will be visible. The common weight exercise that Montserrat uses in her video is dangerous because it teaches abdominal support as does the old practice of pushing against a piano with your abs. Singers continue to breathe learning to tense their ab muscles for singing.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 This is all semantics. A wobble and a tremolo are two diametrically opposed things, therefore calling them the same dosn't make sense. A repetition of pitch with little to no variation, faster than a normal vibrato (a tremolo) is the opposite of a *wobble* which is too much change in pitch and too slow. So to call opposite actions the same thing makes no sense. A vibrato, on the other hand, has a pitch fluctuation that is not too wide, nor too narrow, and is ideally about...cont'd
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero 6 pulses per second. Changes in fluctuation are due to intensity and range. So we have three different things with completely quantifiable actions:
1) a tremolo - not enough or no fluctuation and too fast
2) A wobble - too much fluctuation and too slow
3) a vibrato - right fluctuation and speed.
And actually there is more than that. There is inverted vibrato where the peak is too high, or where the trough is too loud etc.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Hi JS, I don't want to get too technical with this. If a singer cannot keep the movement in his voice consistant in all ranges, they have either a slow tremolo referred by some as a wobble or a fast tremolo referred to some as a bleat. Have a great day, and I am sure some viewers will find this a waste of their time.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 It absolutely has to sound consistent. I am sure some will like the conversation and some won't. To each their own I guess!! Have a great afternoon in Cali!
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero One needs to define one's terms. For me 'tremolo' comes from tremble which is physical thing that isn't consistant and not under voluntary control. Whether it is too fast or too slow, it is difficult for the tremolo to be consistant at all pitches, however, some singers are very cleaver at having their tremolo seem just like a vitrato. In fact they can do so much with it there are those who prefer it to a vibrato.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 I totally agree. I think we generally are agreeing on everything except I don't call a wobble a tremolo and you do. You call a wide, slow vibrato a "tremolo wobble" and I just call it a wobble. And you seem to call a too narrowed, too fast action (caprino) a tremolo - as do I. I do call a proper fluctuation in pitch and speed a vibrato as it seems you do too. And I agree there is a pulsation from the breathing. So we actually do agree! LOL!
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@tantris3 In fact, you can listen to Stanley himself teaching Nelsson Eddy in the clip I have on my channel where he demonstrates the differences in vibrato. He has Eddy sing the vibrato slowly and speed up and there is a clear pitch fluctuation. Otherwise it is a repetition of pitch which is a tremolo.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero I heard Nelson Eddy's recording in Stanley's studio during one of my lessons. Stanley was more of a scientist than a voice teacher. His method ruined more voices than it helped. He experimented with his students! A very few like Tom Lo Monaco survived but didn't have great careers. Eddy had a tremolo with pitch fluctuation that was more evident later in his films. A diaphragm vibrato isn't a repitition of pitch but a slight pulse of the diaphragm to make the vibrato sound.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 I am well aware that Stanley was a maniac and ruined many voice. Tom changed all the wrong information and violence for what was right. Including information on the vibrato. I am not disagreeing that the breathing is important for the vibrato. It certainly is. But the vibrato, unlike a tremolo, has a fluctuation in pitch. And the nerve impulse. In fact, when the up swing happens there is the pulse from the breathing. Then there is a down swing. A peak and trough...con'td
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero ..and feel it when you sing. And you can slow recordings down and hear it and you can see it on the spectograph. There is a change in pitch. That is just a fact.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Yes, when you slow recordings down you hear and see on a spectograph changes in pitch. The less change in pitch of any given singer, the more pleasant the vibrato or tremolo. With a true vibrato, it will increast the range of pitch with intensity and volume. With a tremolo it can become a bleat as with Gino Becchi and others. Hotter developed more wobble. You lose control when the diaphragm is not in charge.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 Agreed.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Tom had a female student for years and brought her to Rome who had a steady voice with no vibrato or tremolo movement. Tom did not know about the pulsation of the diaphragm to produce the needed vibrato. Most singers know they need some vibrato/tremolo movement in the voice without it becoming a bleat or wobble. When it is a tremolo disguised as a vibrato, it is uneven throughout the voice a little bleaty in some ranges and slow in other ranges, and sometimes just right.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 Tom 100% knew about it and taught me it and has written about the vibrato, but it has not been published yet. So I don't know what you are talking about because I trained with him for many years and he absolutely taught it. I will ask him about it personally.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Jeremy, Tom didn't know then what he learned later on his own, or he would have corrected the problem with the lovely young Susan York lady. I think we have exhausted the subject. Good luck in Florida
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 Well, perhaps he didn't know it very early on, but he knew it for Hadley and the like and that is what counts. And he taught it to me. Perhaps Stanley should have known about it, but I guess he didn't! Things are going FANTASTICALLY here. Thanks.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero With Hadley and others Tom was smart and developed teaching skills that allowed students to have careers. The York girl I believe was Johanna not Susan. When I heard her I thought she was a new student and he hadn't gotten around to the 'vibrato'. Glad things are going FANTASTICALLY for you there. All the best
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 Tom is a genius. And a good teacher develops these skills - as he did - over time. Thank goodness. I am blessed to have been able to learn it and now teach it.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Agreed!
tantris3 1 year ago
@MrCafiero A tremolo is almost always a function of the brain telling the tongue or chin to move to try and imitate a vibrato. You lose control and it varies with pitch.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 Agreed. A tremolo can certainly be due to jaw tension, holding the tip of the tongue behind the bottom teeth, breathing incorrectly etc., but it can also be to a faulty connection in the brain to what exactly the proper mov't is. And when that happens it is really hard to fix. Technical stuff is much easier.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero My experience is a fast, slow or perfect tremolo starts with the tongue. With a tight jaw, it often leads to a straight tone. What ever the 'brain' tells the body to do, whether to flatten or groove the tongue along with improper breathing is hard to undo...good luck with your teaching in BR Florida.
tantris3 1 year ago
@tantris3 Right! Any bodily activity that doesn't achieve the desired results is 'a function of the brain' telling the muscles the wrong thing and muscle memory is a hard thing to erase!
tantris3 1 year ago
Such control... it's sickening! Callas la pretresse and Caballe la mere, interesting.
DottoreJojo 1 year ago
Has anyone noticed that every time she sings the climactic parts of Casta Diva (Il bel sembiante... and Quello pace..), the strong wind stops blowing? AWESOME!!! =D
DrRigolettoPianist 1 year ago
La perfection!
agladd 1 year ago
At 6:40 she hold a 17 second note and beautifully and so soft.
charlesprinceofswing 1 year ago
best Norma ever!!!
newhotmailit 1 year ago
who is the lady in 4:43????
lelecoloco 1 year ago
This is incredible. I want to be able to sing like this. Unfortunately I'll probably never be dramatic as I have a small frame... still, I want to study opera so much.
Bethalaine 1 year ago
@Bethalaine Your body frame doesn't determine your voice size. The vocal folds and resonating cavities do. Find a good teacher. That is the most vital thing. Listen to the greats of the past because how they sing now is but a shadow of how great it used to be.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Thank you for this advice. I am currently looking for a good teacher in my area, my city has a local liberal arts college with a really good music program with plenty of voice teachers so at this point, I'm trying to determine from whom I want to take lessons. I absolutely adore bel canto and to learn the art of it would make me happy beyond belief. My mom thinks I'm crazy, haha.
Bethalaine 1 year ago
@Bethalaine Many teachers will say that they teach "bel canto", but 99% of them don't know squat about it. What city are you in? Perhaps I know of someone.
MrCafiero 1 year ago
Exactly, look at Dessay, and Sills, and Moffo, and also Baltsa and Bumbry, accomplished singers who are not particularly of large size at all. (Especially Dessay she is tiny!)
Drelnis 1 year ago
Oh and of course Callas, how can I forget her.
Drelnis 1 year ago
@Drelnis Dessay does not belong with those other names.
MrCafiero 1 year ago 11
I am merely listing the singers who are not of generally large build. I've only included Dessay not because of her vocal accomplishments but because of her petite body size. I do agree her technique can by no means be compared with that of Sills.
Drelnis 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Amen!
lelecoloco 1 year ago
@MrCafiero Couldn't agree more. Ugh- she is really a mediocrity.
Cantormatis 1 year ago
She is better than high priestess, better than mother, she is a goddess!
gangoffour1 2 years ago
Great singer, very sweet lady and seems like a good teacher too. She was still singing even recently!
ShawDAMAN 2 years ago
She's got a gorgeous sound, incredible breath, heavenly pianissimi, she's musical, expressive - and she sings out of tune a lot in the middle of the voice!
troppofiato 2 years ago
Out of tune?
MrCafiero 2 years ago
She is not out of tune in her prime years...later on in the late 70's and 80's she started to cackle and of course wobble, but in her prime she had a PERFECT soprano voice.
primohomme 2 years ago
its that tone that i cant get over. Its pure and full at the same time.
musoph21 2 years ago 2
6:27 does it for me!
Chasson0318 2 years ago 2
Great! Push out against firm muscles holding in! Balance, otherwise, no support. It is two actions!
CreaturaDura 2 years ago 2
Her piano and pianissimo voice is unspeakably beautiful.
And her breath control is phenomenal.
Knappa22 2 years ago 4
That is the thing, she did not try to "control" the breath, she just kept the inspiratory tension holding against the expiratory tension and let her registers work. It is dangerous to try and "control" breath because it often leads to constriction.
MrCafiero 2 years ago
Can you explain this at greater depth, I mean like, anatomically. How is possible to speak or sing without controlling what you say or sing. I am very curious and eager to know. Isn't the word important, so don't you control muscles that control breath that together control what you say or sing right? It is call aero-dynamic/myo-elastic. So would not therefore, the shape of your mouth and face have to articulate the word or lyric before you speak or sing. Is that not breath control?
CreaturaDura 2 years ago
Your intention and idea of the correct sound (register/balance/vowel and pitch) cause the body to react a certain way in order to make the sound. It is not controlled as much as it is intention and concept. Trying to "control" air usually leads to over closing the glottis and locking the vocal mechanism. If you just hold inspiratory tension against expiratory tension and have the proper aural image your body will react without "controlling" anything.
MrCafiero 2 years ago
OK, I understand you better now............it would be better not to have a method..just think, sing, and the muscles will do the work naturally! Then trust what comes out? That seems to be the prevailing school anyway. Just sing! That makes a lot easier. Thanks. But a wait a minute, that might work for basic tasks like flipping on a switch, but what about difficult tasks like singing or gymnastics where you need to train the muscles to do the work? Still confused. :)
CreaturaDura 2 years ago
Of course there is a method. The method is balancing the vocal registers. That corresponds to the two muscle groups in the larynx that make sound (arytenoids & thryoids). Both those groups have to be developed properly. Otherwise you cannot just "sing" because you physically will be limited by the amount of development - as well as skill. But you want this development to be direct, functional and natural. Then your body responds to your concept of the sound based on ideal function.
MrCafiero 2 years ago
It is about to teach your body rather than doing it instead of nature!Breathing ,you can do distinctly but in this case body will see that you r doing it´s own job and will never react organically! To drop the singing in a basic,simple and organic level means to master operatic singing which depends largely on breathing!How to bring the breathing to an invisible level (like in daily talking) during the singing is the main point!There r different methods but some got it naturally!(like Caruso)
badocan78 2 years ago
People have to be specifically taught how to breathe correctly for singing because the coordination of the breathing muscles (holding inspiratory tension against expiratory tension) does not happen in any other activity. So it is crucial to get it right to relieve constriction and to start the note correctly. Caruso did not just have it naturally. He worked at it.
MrCafiero 2 years ago
"It is about to teach your body rather than doing it instead of nature" I wrote before!You have to teach and then to give a natural way to your body in order to release any kind of tension during the singing!But DOING THE BREATHING is false according to my experince which I did 2 years!Singer shouldn t search the sound immediately!Singer should search correct posture and comfortable,stable breathing!The sound will only be the post effect!
badocan78 2 years ago
I have no idea what you mean. The singer should ALWAYS be addressing the sound and trying to get to the right sound WITH the correct breathing and balance of registration. If you did it for 2 years the WRONG way then it doesn't matter. It has to be properly implemented.
MrCafiero 2 years ago
Please PLEASE PLEASE... MOOOOORE!
pavadomingo 2 years ago
what is this from? I would love to find a full version
vocalpianist 2 years ago
I believe this is the famous Theatre Antique d'Orange performance of 1974 with Jon Vickers. I believe it is available both in CD and DVD. I have an old VCR of it and the quality was OK but not great. perhaps they have managed to remaster it a bit in the DVD version. In any case, it is an amazing performance with the summer winds blowing through the veils and robes.
sandiegosue 2 years ago
It always is a supreme pleasure to hear the voice of Montserrat. The first time was in Basel, Switzerland when she sang her first Tosca with me as Scarpia. We then sang opposite eachother in Pagliacci and Tiefland. Years later she jumped in for Anja Silja as Elizabeth when I sang the title role of Tannhauser at the Liceo in Barcelona. The beauty of her voice was only equaled by the beauty of her anima.
Claude Heater
tantris3 2 years ago 2
6:40 - 6:57 !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amazing 17 seconds.
Glenmed 2 years ago 8
You can say that again!
Pawelp 2 years ago 5