Let’s talk about chest: theories, recollections, examples, caveats… All about chest, in fact.

To start the conversational ball rolling, here’s what some celebrated mid 20th century divas have to say about the subject of chest voice.

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Chest nut Charlie Handelman has so much to say on “voce di petto” that he devoted two podcasts to the topic..

Your doyenne recently babbled:

The big Verdi roles are written to include phrases that call for chest resonance. If Verdi had been writing for singers who didn’t have access to chest voice, he would have written the music differently. As, for example, the “Miserere” in Trovatore where the specific sound of chest tones is necessary for the correct sonority.

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Verdi soprano roles cannot be sung “effectively” without some use of chest resonance, because by definition a part of the “effect” of low-lying passages depends on the change of color attendant on the change of resonance.

And now, your opinions, cher public?