| From: "Lloyd W. Hanson" Subject: Re: Interesting Renee Fleming quote from Opera News... To: VOCALIST <vocalist> Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>
Richard Barrett and member of the list:
I think Fleming was referring to the additional technical demands required to sing a balanced vocal tone, that is, a tone that is a good balance between bright and dark or a true chiaroscuro.
Many early recordings from the the time when opera voices were first put on wax have, or appear to have, a bright almost metallic tone quality. It is questionable if the singers really sounded like that. Were the singers really singing that bright or is it a fault in the primitive recording mechanisms available at that time, or, did the singers have to sing brighter to be recorded at all? It is not really accurate to judge the tone quality of these singers from these recordings.
It is common today to hear some voice types. especially tenors, sing with an overemphasis on the bright side of the voice. Hadley, of late, is in this group, and so is Alagna. Perhaps they feel this is necessary to be heard in some halls. It is certainly true that many voice teachers teach tenors to sing with this nasal or near nasal quality. It seems to have become a model for tenor tone.
But if you listen to Jussi Bj=F6rling on recordings you will not hear an overly bright nor nasal tone. Pavarotti is brighter than Bj=F6rling but seldom nasal. Domingo is dark, sometimes forced, and also seldom nasal. These tenors all display the ability to balance bright against dark to achieve the Italian desired model of chiaroscuro.
In technical terms that bright/dark balance comes from producing a clear first and second formant for each vowel. If the first formant is emphasized, the tone takes on a darker hue; if the second formant is emphasized, the tone is brighter. If both formants are in balance and are clear, that is, not surrounded with spurious non harmonic tones, the vocal tone is also clear, well defined with accurate vowel identification. You hear this especially in Bj=F6rling.
And you hear it in Fleming. I consider her quality to be a fine balance between bright and dark, an excellent example of the chiaroscuro tone. I consider this a clean, healthy production. Her comment would seem to indicate that although she sings a warm, round, rich sound, she is not too sure that his is clean healthy production. Go figure.
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA Professor of Voice, Pedagogy School of Performing Arts Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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