The use of Bel Canto singing in the Italian opera of the XVIII century

Name: Mariana Andrade PimentaMain Subject: Early Music SingingResearch Coach: Inês de Avena BragaTitle of Research: The technical principles of Bel Canto in the 18th and 19th centuries:an experimental case study on dynamic rangeResearch Question: How did the vocal exercises from Bel Canto singing influence mysinging technique, especially in the dynamic range associated with pitch?Summary of Results:The format chosen by the author for this investigation was the Research Paper, as thisstudy required an investment on knowledge about Bel Canto singing technique and theapplication of the latest into her singing practice, which resulted into a deep reflectionand reached new conclusions. The focus of the practical sessions of the author was on herdynamic range. The purpose was to increase flexibility in her dynamic range in thedifferent registers of the voice. The research went through the following process: (1) anaudio recording of G. F. Händel aria: “Se Pietà di me non senti”, from the opera GiulioCesare; (2) in this same phase of the research, she used the software Voice Profiler 5.1 torecord her Voice Range Profile (VRP), the same piece and the vowel /a/, throughout thevocal registers, exploring the complete dynamic range of her voice; (3) after three monthsof practicing specific exercises designed to train the dynamic range, the same recordingswere made and also a comparison with the first ones. The results indicated that thetraining had an impact: An increase of flexibility in realizing Messa di Voce was verifiedin the author’s middle vocal register. This impact did not happen in the highest vocalregister, where technical differences were not detected by the VRP recording. The latestresult is also applicable in the Händel aria. This method has proved to be beneficial in themiddle section of the author’s vocal range. The appliance of this method is a work inprocess, which the author believes that it should bring more beneficial results; it offeredthe author a much bigger awareness of the breathing system, which resulted in a betterquality Messa di Voce. The knowledge gained from the sources from the 18th and 19thcenturies, guided the practical study in this investigation. In future studies, the authorwishes to further research Italian vocal technique and use this important knowledge ofhistorical information by transferring it to her singing practice. The outcome of thepresent study is an interesting interdisciplinary fusion between Old Italian vocalpedagogy of Bel canto singing and advanced vocal technology.Biography:Mariana Pimenta is a soprano born in Madeira Island, Portugal. She graduated inClassical singing in Aveiro, Portugal in 2011 and started her specialization in EarlyMusic Singing at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague in 2012. As a performer Marianahas been performing as a soloist and in ensemble singing, in some countries, as TheNetherlands, Portugal, Italy and Ecuador. keywords: bel canto, singing, 18th century, 19th century, Giulio Cesare, register, George Frideric Handel