Beautiful Calling

Beautiful Calling
 

I consider opera singing to be a "Beautiful Calling" 

I have often been asked, "How do you sing in a large opera house, one that has over 2000 seats"?

How about if you sing outside am Roten Tor in Augsburg, Germany, or in Italy at Macherata or Caracala in Rome or in the Arena di Verona? 

The Arena hold approximately 20,000 seats for opera! 

In my experience, to increase your voice to be able to sing in huge venues you must use a good balance between "head" and "chest" voice.  I have found many singers, especially sopranos, lean to using a great deal of head voice because it is a pretty, resonant sound.  However, in large spaces, there must be chest voice added in or the voice doesn't travel. 

I was working in Verona one summer (Iago in Otello) and I attend a performance of Aida.  The Aida was a famous singer but she wasn't using any chest voice, a killer for Aida as there are many low notes that require more sound. 

The audience was not pleased and she did not make a very good impression: the sound wasn't big and her low notes were very weak.  

I was impressed, however, to hear her a few years later and she had reworked her voice to have a nice balance of 'head' and 'chest' voice.  She has sung over 20 years at the peak of her profession, and it is because she was able to balance her voice. 

It takes some experimentation and sometimes a good ear to help you find balance, but as long as your can sing easily and stay relaxed, work for a good balance in the registration between 'head' and 'chest' voice.