Old school Belcanto/ Lecture 1 - Elena Syssojeva - Старая школа бельканто/ Лекция 1/

Old School Belcanto Information and consultations : @ Консультации и занятия , информация: @ Музыкальные фрагменты /Musical fragments : Wagner - Hojotoho (Brünnhilde), Rossini - La Cenerentola (Angelina) © Elena Cornelisse (Syssojeva). All rights reserved. Translate - Hello, dear all!  I would like to welcome you at the channel “Belcanto”. My name is Elena Cornelisse-Syssojeva, dramatic soprano [soprano meaning soprano assoluto, old italian term from the times voices were not divided into “soprano” and “mezzo”]. Today we have a very interesting topic about belcanto singing: fighting the myths about belcanto. My teacher was the heroic tenor James McCray, the student of Mario del Monaco. Therefore, I have the knowledge via direct line from maestro Melocchi [Arturo Melocchi, the teacher of great dramatic tenor Mario del Monaco] including all technical elements of sound production, forming of the voice and its timbre. Myth 1: singing “into the mask” The old italian vocal school considers as the main resonating mask the back of your head, and the initiation, the birth of the resonance is started up by mental effort of singing to the back, combined with proper work of the body. Myth 2: And this is the myth about the “sound support” or “breath support”. singing properly in old italian technique also is followed by sensation of resonance into the front, however it is secondary effect, not the main direction. It is the result of totally different actions [not the singing directed into the front]. Interesting to note that the effect, the development of the bone resonance starting from the back of your head and neck, is a protective mechanism of the body by its the high-volumed voices sing any kind of complexities of tessitura. To get there, you should properly develop resonance by singing into the proper mask, as the beginning. Notably, this focus into the back proper mask opens the first “microphones” into your body [meaning resonating points, areas]. The voice starts to show volume, beauty, richness of timbre. Myth 3: “mix” ...between the “chest voice” and the “head voice”. What is exactly the issue? The main point is that proper opening of the muscles, tongue position, the jaw, proper muscles related with larynx, and properly sending the voice into the “back mask”, this already allows the resonance into the “chest part” of your body. So if singing is properly into the “back mask” (neck and top part of spine cord), at the same time by itself appears the resonance travelling further in the body, but note of course, only so far you could open it up.  [so, do not think that mastering opening the muscles will result in full resonance just in a moment, prepare for long training with various exercises, to be seen in upcoming videos].  Myth 4: about the small and the big voices. Nowadays a “big” voice sounding well in the entire range is a very rate thing. But 100 years ago it [big voices] was just in the normal order of things. Really many big and smooth through the range voices... And the bone mass of your body - it cannot move, so if you did hit the right resonance-triggering points in the body, the voice will spread like the sun [in all directions around you]. The voice is in a moment everywhere. Myth 5: “covered” and “openly sounding” voice. If one sings into the proper “back mask” (back part of the head, neck, upper part of spine cord), there is no “covering” required. There is natural mechanism of smoothening of the voice timbre in entire range, there simply no “open” sounds. They just do not exist simply! From the lowest to the highest note. And there is no feeling that the voice here [showing above her head] kind of “moves” in “steps”. On the opposite, I would say the system is situated in a so to say strong “horizontal” direction, and the “notes” are situated in completely different “plane” [vs common nowadays schools]. Just think about that, this sounds as something really new, I guess no one in the last 40 years tried to put this “vocal mentality” forward, expressing this new … actually, anew expressing the old vocal mentality. Amazing it is!.. In the body there are really colossal protective mechanisms.. Myth 6: singing with “low larynx”, or “opened larynx”.  Myth 7: “powerful voices” “Big voice” this is in the majority - the skill of singing into your own body so that all the bones sound. If you developed that “bone sound” [body resonance], the acoustics is not important anymore. You can sing in any type of room. In any room you will have contact with the “strong” [resonance-enhancing] points of this room. Myth 8: “associations“ Myth 9: “wobbly” voices Myth 10: voice development by vocalizing