Belcanto, bel canto |

ital. bel canto, belcanto, lit. – beautiful singing

Brilliant light and graceful style of singing, characteristic of the Italian vocal art of the mid-17th – 1st half of the 19th centuries; in a broader modern sense – the melodiousness of vocal performance.

Belcanto requires a perfect vocal technique from the singer: impeccable cantilena, thinning, virtuoso coloratura, emotionally rich beautiful singing tone.

The emergence of bel canto is associated with the development of the homophonic style of vocal music and the formation of Italian opera (early 17th century). In the future, while maintaining the artistic and aesthetic basis, Italian bel canto evolved, enriched with new artistic techniques and colors. Early, so-called. pathetic, bel canto style (operas by C. Monteverdi, F. Cavalli, A. Chesti, A. Scarlatti) is based on expressive cantilena, elevated poetic text, small coloratura decorations introduced to enhance the dramatic effect; vocal performance was distinguished by sensitivity, pathos.

Among the outstanding bel canto singers of the second half of the 17th century. – P. Tosi, A. Stradella, F. A. Pistocchi, B. Ferri and others (most of them were both composers and vocal teachers).

By the end of the 17th century. already in Scarlatti’s operas, arias begin to be built on a wide cantilena of a bravura character, using an extended coloratura. so-called the bravura style of bel canto (common in the 18th century and existed until the first quarter of the 1th century) is a brilliant virtuoso style dominated by coloratura.

The art of singing during this period was mainly subordinated to the task of revealing the highly developed vocal and technical capabilities of the singer – the duration of breathing, the skill of thinning, the ability to perform the most difficult passages, cadences, trills (there were 8 types of them); the singers competed in strength and duration of sound with the trumpet and other instruments of the orchestra.

In the “pathetic style” of bel canto, the singer had to vary the second part in the aria da capo, and the number and skillfulness of the variations served as an indicator of his skill; the decorations of the arias were supposed to be changed at each performance. In the “bravura style” of bel canto, this feature has become dominant. Thus, in addition to perfect command of the voice, the art of bel canto required a wide musical and artistic development from the singer, the ability to vary the composer’s melody, to improvise (this continued until the appearance of operas by G. Rossini, who himself began to compose all cadenzas and coloratura).

By the end of the 18th century Italian opera becomes the opera of the “stars”, completely obeying the requirements of showing the vocal abilities of the singers.

Outstanding representatives of bel canto were: castrato singers A. M. Bernacchi, G. Cresentini, A. Uberti (Porporino), Caffarelli, Senesino, Farinelli, L. Marchesi, G. Guadagni, G. Pacyarotti, J. Velluti; singers – F. Bordoni, R. Mingotti, C. Gabrielli, A. Catalani, C. Coltelini; singers – D. Jizzi, A. Nozari, J. David and others.

The requirements of the bel canto style determined a certain system for educating singers. As in the 17th century, composers of the 18th century were at the same time vocal teachers (A. Scarlatti, L. Vinci, J. Pergolesi, N. Porpora, L. Leo, etc.). Education was conducted in conservatories (which were educational institutions and at the same time dormitories where teachers lived with students) for 6-9 years, with daily classes from morning to late evening. If the child had an outstanding voice, then he was subjected to castration in the hope of preserving the former qualities of the voice after the mutation; if successful, singers with phenomenal voices and technique were obtained (see Castratos-singers).

The most significant vocal school was the Bologna School of F. Pistocchi (opened in 1700). Of the other schools, the most famous are: Roman, Florentine, Venetian, Milanese and especially Neapolitan, in which A. Scarlatti, N. Porpora, L. Leo worked.

A new period in the development of bel canto begins when the opera regains its lost integrity and receives a new development thanks to the work of G. Rossini, S. Mercadante, V. Bellini, G. Donizetti. Although the vocal parts in operas are still overloaded with coloratura embellishments, the singers are already required to realistically convey the feelings of living characters; increasing the tessitura of batches, bоThe greater saturation of the orchestral accompaniment imposes increased dynamic demands on the voice. Belcanto is enriched with a palette of new timbre and dynamic colors. Outstanding singers of this time are J. Pasta, A. Catalani, sisters (Giuditta, Giulia) Grisi, E. Tadolini, J. Rubini, J. Mario, L. Lablache, F. and D. Ronconi.

The end of the era of classical bel canto is associated with the appearance of operas by G. Verdi. The dominance of coloratura, characteristic of the bel canto style, disappears. Decorations in the vocal parts of Verdi’s operas remain only with the soprano, and in the composer’s last operas (as later with the verists – see Verismo) they are not found at all. Cantilena, continuing to occupy the main place, developing, is strongly dramatized, enriched with more subtle psychological nuances. The overall dynamic palette of vocal parts is changing in the direction of increasing sonority; the singer is required to have a two-octave range of smooth sounding voice with strong upper notes. The term “bel canto” loses its original meaning, they begin to denote the perfect mastery of vocal means and, above all, cantilena.

Outstanding representatives of bel canto of this period are I. Colbran, L. Giraldoni, B. Marchisio, A. Cotogni, S. Gaillarre, V. Morel, A. Patti, F. Tamagno, M. Battistini, later E. Caruso, L. Bori , A. Bonci, G. Martinelli, T. Skipa, B. Gigli, E. Pinza, G. Lauri-Volpi, E. Stignani, T. Dal Monte, A. Pertile, G. Di Stefano, M. Del Monaco, R. Tebaldi, D. Semionato, F. Barbieri, E. Bastianini, D. Guelfi, P. Siepi, N. Rossi-Lemeni, R. Scotto, M. Freni, F. Cossotto, G. Tucci, F. Corelli, D. Raimondi, S. Bruscantini, P. Capucilli, T. Gobbi.

The bel canto style influenced most European national vocal schools, incl. into Russian. Many representatives of the bel canto art have toured and taught in Russia. The Russian vocal school, developing in an original way, bypassing the period of formal passion for singing sound, used the technical principles of Italian singing. Remaining deeply national artists, outstanding Russian artists F. I. Chaliapin, A. V. Nezhdanova, L. V. Sobinov and others mastered the art of bel canto to perfection.

Modern Italian bel canto continues to be the standard of classical beauty of singing tone, cantilena and other types of sound science. The art of the world’s best singers (D. Sutherland, M. Kallas, B. Nilson, B. Hristov, N. Gyaurov, and others) is based on it.

References: Mazurin K., Methodology of singing, vol. 1-2, M., 1902-1903; Bagadurov V., Essays on the history of vocal methodology, vol. I, M., 1929, no. II-III, M., 1932-1956; Nazarenko I., The Art of Singing, M., 1968; Lauri-Volpi J., Vocal Parallels, trans. from Italian, L., 1972; Laurens J., Belcanto et mission italien, P., 1950; Duey Ph. A., Belcanto in its golden age, N. U., 1951; Maragliano Mori R., I maestri dei belcanto, Roma, 1953; Valdornini U., Belcanto, P., 1956; Merlin, A., Lebelcanto, P., 1961.

L. B. Dmitriev