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From:  "Caio Rossi" <caiorossi@t...>
"Caio Rossi" <caiorossi@t...>
Date:  Fri Apr 13, 2001  1:16 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] THE AH VOWEL AND OPERATIC SINGING


Hi, Lloyd

You wrote:

> When a voice sings with vowel resonance that accurately matches the
> vowel formants to the partials of the phonated sound the vowel is
> accurately heard even if the singer is not singing that particular
> vowel. I know this sounds like a contradiction in terms but it is
> not. If a tenor is singing the English word "live" on an F3 he may
> have real difficulty singing it in his head voice. If head voice is
> desired on this pitch it is quite easily achieved by replacing the
> /I/ vowel with /i/. The sonic effect is a warm rich head voice and
> the quality of the vocal line is smooth and even. But most of all,
> the listener does not perceive that the singer is singing something
> closer to "leave" than to the intended word "live". I hear tenors do
> it all the time but I listen for it because I want to know how they
> achieve the quality of tone that is being produced.

So what explains the fact that operas sung in English sound so UN-English
and I'm talking about vowels here, and UN doesn't stand for the United
Nations hehe )??

> The problem with a voice singing with maximum efficiency into a mike
> is that the mike does not react well to the formant peaks in such
> voice production. Consequently the singer begins to remove these
> peaks because they cause distortion and, essentially, they are not
> needed. It is for this reason that some wonderful operatic voices do
> not record well and some voices which record well do not sound
> acceptable in the opera house.

That's something that happens to my former singing teacher: although a rock
singer, his voice has incredible overtones and has an impressive projection.
But on CDs and live miked performances I don't hear the same quality, and
the people I take to his concerts or to whom I show his CD don't either, so
they do that what's-so-special-about-him face!

> Please see above. Vowel modification is not an issue in achieving
> the synthesis of elements that is required in Opera. Also, it is the
> synthesis of operas diverse elements that gives it its special place
> in music and theatre, not perfection.

By perfection I meant what you call 'its special place in music and
theatre', but OK! But what's the function of rich overtones in opera if not
for voice projection?

bye,

Caio Rossi
Sao Paulo, Brazil


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