Bel Canto
(1) An Italian phrase meaning “beautiful singing” referring to a flexible, coloratura style of singing; used to describe florid operas which showcase the virtuosity of the singers. (2) A label for the specific brand of Italian opera that emerged at the beginning of the nineteenth century in Italy, featuring florid-style singing and legato Italian melodies. Gioacchino Rossini (1792–1868), Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848), and Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835) represent the apotheosis of the genre. (3) A school of vocal pedagogy roughly equivalent to the International Italian School. While the specific tenets that define bel canto pedagogy can be somewhat ambiguous and various among teachers who claim to subscribe to its ideal, a practical definition assumes a reverence for the treatises and method books of the great Italian pedagogues, with an emphasis on the central canon of Italian operatic repertoire.[1]
- ↑ "NATS July 2022 Pedagogy Workshop Working Group Three Science-Informed Terminology and Definitions for Voice Pedagogy" (PDF). Science-Informed Voice Pedagogy Resources. Retrieved January 15, 2025.