Stephen Hough

They both changed the way we hear the sound of the piano, both of them inventors of sonority: Chopin took bel canto singing lines and reproduced them on the keyboard above richly upholstered counterpoint; Debussy somehow preserved vibrations in the air, blending their ephemeral magic into music that reaches far back into deep memory.

British Composer

Juan Diego Florez

When I'm doing sports, I always think of how it's related to singing, and when I watch tennis, I learn a lot for my singing: how the players are focused, how they use their technique, and, in the case of Roger Federer, how effortless it is and how beautiful it is to watch - like bel canto, in a way. That's how singing should be.

Peruvian Musician

Anna Netrebko

I prefer it when the conductor follows me. It is more difficult to work with a conductor who does not listen - even if I understand that sometimes it makes sense when one person is ruling everything. But for bel canto, I have to have a conductor who listens and supports me.

Russian Musician

Sondra Radvanovsky

When you do a 'messa di voce,' that means you start soft, you crescendo into loud - and then you go back to soft again. Some people call it circus tricks, but in bel canto, it's really written into the music.

American Musician

Sebastian Bach

My vocal style is called bel canto, which is an old Italian vocal style going back hundreds of years.

Canadian Musician

Singing bel canto is like walking on a tightrope - especially with a larger voice like mine.

I wouldn't be me if my repertoire wasn't bel canto.

For me, bel canto is medicine for the voice.

Bel is rarely used alone; its decimal subdivision 'decibel' is more common for measuring sound.

Sound Measurement

Use 'bel' in technical or scientific discussions about acoustics or electronics.

Technical Context

Understand 'bel' as a logarithmic scale; each increase of 1 bel means a sound is ten times louder.

Practical Scale

'Bel' refers to a god in ancient Middle Eastern cultures, especially in Babylonian mythology.

Ancient Religions

Literary works or historical texts regarding Mesopotamia may use 'Bel' to signify a god figure.

Literature Reference

Understanding 'Bel' can enhance comprehension of ancient myths and their societal roles.

Mythological Context

 While bel canto singers require versatile vocal folds to vault through acrobatic arias. Biology also sets some limits— not every technique is feasible for every set of muscles, and voices change as singers age.

What’s a squillo, and...

 immediately like lead so if you put it in water just drops to the bottom it's so the quality of it is incredible it's called bel Yin so what they need to do is to to get it