"Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...> wrote: "Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...> wrote: > But only special tenors seem able to make Mozart sound like tenor > music, with some exceptions. Consequently it is often sung today in > a half-baked manner with a tone quality that is excessively light > and without any kind of basic male heft. Yet, his roles are not > for this kind of personality.
I think the only reason only special tenors can do it is because the requirements are almost impossible. They must have the "male heft" which is now almost a requirement for tenors, and yet have the flexibility to handle Mozart's lines.
We've all heard ad nauseum about the famous William Tell High C... if tenors were singing with a much lighter High A, B, H, C before William Tell, then it stands to reason they were singing much more lightly in the notes leading up to that range to satisfy the bel canto ideal of a unified voice.
Perhaps our notion of masculinity are skewed? Remember there were a few castrati still around (early Mozart) - the ultimate hero characters! You're right that it's easy to do the lighter production in a half-baked manner, using feigned voice and all, but it is also possible to do it in a solid, beautiful manner as well.
Tako
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