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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?
According to Variety, America’s Soprano Renée Fleming is poised to conquer new worlds of entertainment. Not content to rest on her laurels as diva, scent entrepreneur, dessert namesake and single working mother, Fleming has signed with talent agency Paradigm who promise to “scout out opportunities in thesping, endorsement, publishing and digital media” for the artist “with the goal of expanding her profile beyond the opera world and into pop culture.”
La Fleming was introduced to paradigm tenpercenter Jack Tantleff by Francesca Zambello, the erstwhile opera director who will be remembered by posterity as the helmer of the criticially acclaimed musical The Little Mermaid.
Although Variety does not record the conversation that took place between Zambello and Fleming leading to the soprano’s decision, La Cieca has taken the liberty of reconstructing the scene. According to Ms. Fleming, ”There I was in Ms. Zambello’s office, and she was saying to me, ‘Renée, get yourself some new orchestrations, new routines and red velvet curtains. Get a feathered hat for the baby; photographs in front of the theater. Get an agent and in jig time you’ll be being booked in the big time!’ Oh, what a dream!”
The showbiz chronicle helpfully reminds the public of the whirlwind schedule of The Diva of the Future, who upon her return from serenading the Olympians will ”topline the Met’s opening night gala Sept. 22, an event that also serves as the launch of her perfume.”
Electric Elaine Eliane Coelho chews the scenery, leaves blood on the stage, and if there are any pregnant women in the audience, probably turns their fetuses gay right on the spot, all in just one scene from the gloriously gory melodrama from Carlos Gomes, Maria Tudor. Since YouTube embedding is acting a little odd this morning, La Cieca will link directly to the video’s YouTube page. According to the synopsis of the plot of Maria Tudor, at this moment Queen Maria has just discovered that her lover Fabio Fabiani has been disguising himself as a simple student in order to seduce [...]
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