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From: "Lloyd W. Hanson"
Subject: Re: Interesting Renee Fleming quote from Opera News...
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Richard Barrett and member of the list:

I think Fleming was referring to the additional technical demands
required to sing a balanced vocal tone, that is, a tone that is a
good balance between bright and dark or a true chiaroscuro.

Many early recordings from the the time when opera voices were first
put on wax have, or appear to have, a bright almost metallic tone
quality. It is questionable if the singers really sounded like that.
Were the singers really singing that bright or is it a fault in the
primitive recording mechanisms available at that time, or, did the
singers have to sing brighter to be recorded at all? It is not
really accurate to judge the tone quality of these singers from these
recordings.

It is common today to hear some voice types. especially tenors, sing
with an overemphasis on the bright side of the voice. Hadley, of
late, is in this group, and so is Alagna. Perhaps they feel this is
necessary to be heard in some halls. It is certainly true that many
voice teachers teach tenors to sing with this nasal or near nasal
quality. It seems to have become a model for tenor tone.

But if you listen to Jussi Bj=F6rling on recordings you will not hear
an overly bright nor nasal tone. Pavarotti is brighter than Bj=F6rling
but seldom nasal. Domingo is dark, sometimes forced, and also seldom
nasal. These tenors all display the ability to balance bright
against dark to achieve the Italian desired model of chiaroscuro.

In technical terms that bright/dark balance comes from producing a
clear first and second formant for each vowel. If the first formant
is emphasized, the tone takes on a darker hue; if the second formant
is emphasized, the tone is brighter. If both formants are in balance
and are clear, that is, not surrounded with spurious non harmonic
tones, the vocal tone is also clear, well defined with accurate vowel
identification. You hear this especially in Bj=F6rling.

And you hear it in Fleming. I consider her quality to be a fine
balance between bright and dark, an excellent example of the
chiaroscuro tone. I consider this a clean, healthy production. Her
comment would seem to indicate that although she sings a warm, round,
rich sound, she is not too sure that his is clean healthy production.
Go figure.

Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011