Bel canto, an Italian phrase, means ΓÇ£beautiful singingΓÇ¥. The term is used to describe a style of Italian operatic composition dominated in the first part of the nineteenth century by the great works of Bellini and Donizetti, but starting 150 years earlier. Both composers achieved a mastery of writing music that displayed the voice (particularly the female voice) at its very best. Earlier the great castrati of the eighteenth century owed their fame and fortune to the bel canto fashion.
The style is characterised by exquisite, slowly moving legato phrases and by vocal fireworks, runs and complex decorations . This all demands perfect technique, as it exposes any inconsistencies in tonal quality up and down the range of the voice. Admirers of the pure bel canto, if they show no interest in the other aspects of the drama or musical composition, are known as canary fanciers.
Classical singing training still aims at achieving the same characteristics of beautiful vocal sound and virtuoso skills. This means a lot of work for individual singers, with their singing teachers, finding a secure technique for the personality of their voice. Such achievements go hand in hand with general musicianship and physical stamina as the essential foundations upon which individual interpretation can be built.
