Hello my name is Betsy and I'm a singing teacher at TakeLessons. Do you want to
learn how to sing opera? In this lesson I'll share some of the
basics of the opera style as well as the best opera songs that beginners can
start practicing today, and don't forget to click the link in the description box
to try our free online singing classes.
I have a number of students who start out maybe taking lessons in a Broadway
singing style and then kind of transition slowly or quickly into
classical singing. It's beautiful music and there's so so much repertoire out
there. There's not that much difference between singing classically and singing
in a musical theater or pop style. I have no problem transitioning between them
myself. It's all about proper breathing technique and it's about tone placement.
So when we're talking operatic style what we're really talking about is Bel
Canto which translates in Italian to beautiful singing. You want to find that
space inside your head that just resonates. So in musical theater we call
it singing into the mask. And you're gonna sing really far right here into
your nose and then if you don't have enough tone, if I pull it back in my
throat, and you're like "Ah" or even kind of where it's like "la" or stuck back
there, that's gone too far back. Bel Canto is about a placement where it's kind
of like you meet halfway in the middle. So if I'm gonna sing too far into the
mouth like "LA" and then you bring it back all of a sudden, right there that's when
it's gonna resonate more and you're gonna get that bel canto technique. As
far as opera goes, one of the most important things you can do is vocalize
daily. If you're working with a coach they're probably gonna have you do about
half your lesson is just going to be scales and warm-ups and vocalizing
techniques. Something where you're like "la" isn't really gonna help your voice
travel or learn those coloratura runs as quickly as like "la" and vocalizing
quickly and working on that faster, or maybe even doing a full scale and not
just the five vocalizing over and over and over again. And really taking the
time to warm up your notes, getting to go quickly. Vocalize all the way up to the
top of your range, all the way back down, then go all the way up again and
try to get a few more and try to stretch that range over time. You can really
develop great techniques with learning to do runs and singing higher and
singing lower which is also important in opera. It is important to realize your
voice type before starting opera. You are going to be singing without any
amplification meaning I'm not going to be miced. You are responsible for getting
your voice to travel to the back of that recital hall or performance venue as big
as it is without anything else. One thing that helps you do that is knowing your
voice type, for instance I can sing really low as far as a woman can go but
my voice doesn't naturally resonate there. It resonates when I'm up in my
head voice, a lot higher, that's because I'm a soprano. If I would try to sing a
mezzo or contralto role, could I sing the notes and would it sound okay? Yes,
probably. Am I going to be able to naturally resonate over an entire
orchestra and have the people in the back of that recital hall hear me? No
absolutely not. My voice won't carry and doesn't go over anybody else because
that's not where I'm naturally resonant. Whereas if you get a real contralto in
and she's singing some Wagner, that's where her voice is naturally comfortable
and she's going to be able to project and amplify her tone in a way that I
could never do. Same thing goes for her trying to sing higher - can a contralto
sing soprano high notes? Maybe but is that where she's going to sound rich and
full? No it's not, it's probably gonna be strained. While she can sing the notes it
doesn't naturally make her a soprano and her voice won't cut over that orchestra
and she won't be heard in that upper register the same way that somebody
who's a soprano would be. There are a few really big misconceptions about opera
singers - first is that nobody can learn, you have to be born with the ability.
That's just not true. It's all about tone placement, it's all about opening vowels,
it's all about resonating and finding those overtones and really singing into
that technique. You can work with a coach and you can learn so if you have a
passion or if you love classical singing and you've
never done it before, don't be afraid to try, get in there and really try to work
with someone and learn how to do those techniques. Another misconception that I
get all the time is that all opera singers are big and fat which isn't true.
For the most part you have to have incredible lung capacity to sing opera
because again it's not amplified at all. Most opera singers that I know are
actually really tiny because they run or swim for miles to be able to build up
their lung support enough to sing a big role. Opera is incredibly demanding
physically - it's a long show without any microphones and so to be able to
physically have that stamina to be onstage and sing an entire role maybe
six times a week, who knows how many shows you're doing, it takes a lot out of
a person. So most opera singers tend to be super healthy, do tons of yoga and
running, tend to eat really well because what you eat affects your voice. So most
opera singers tend to be very very healthy people and tend to really think
of their body more as an instrument than probably the average person would ever
even imagine.
So there are a number of songs and different reference material that young
sopranos can go to. I always recommend doing something from an oratorio, Handel
or something that is in English so you're not battling a new language and
learning how to sing classically. If you are willing to work with another
language or kind of learn there are a number of really great roles that are
written for young sourbrettes. A soubrette is kind of like that aunjanue, think
Ariel from The Little Mermaid. You're gonna have that younger lighter brighter
voice type. Puccini wrote Gianni Schicchi which has probably one of the most
accessible arias for a young soprano. O Mio Babbino Caro - which is really not
terribly hard, only goes up to like an A or A flat, so it's easier for a younger
soprano to tackle. As a young soprano Mozart is just phenomenal.
I love auditioning with Welche Wonne Welche Lust which is just. It's a fun light
upbeat song. It's easy to just kind of act out because you're just literally
singing about how happy you are, so you can kind of sing quickly. It's in German
which is a little bit maybe daunting at first but again if you work with a voice
coach who studied IPA the international phonetic alphabet they can help you with
pronunciations. It's not like you have to learn German to be able to sing it.
Mozart's Alleluia from the Exsultate Jubilate is a great piece if you do
have that coloratura ability and you can sing long runs and have pretty good lung span.
That one goes up to a high C so it's going to be a little bit more
showy if you do have that range and you can show off that you are a first
soprano. Directors and choral conductors they love to hear that you have control
up there. For Mezzo Sopranos, Voi Che Sapete from The Marriage of Figaro is
great. If we're talking Mozart, I love singing Mozart. I love having that
younger lighter brighter voice be able to tackle those roles. When Mozart was
alive and composing he had 12 year-olds singing in a lot of his production so
it's totally appropriate to have a younger singer singing something like
that. Una Voce Poco Fa is another really good one. Barber wrote Vanessa
and it's in English so Must Winter Come So Soon is a great piece. It's a
shorter ballad but it's beautiful and really shows off that lovely Alto line
and you can again sing in English so it's not so daunting if it is your first
audition. If you do have one of those naturally robust contralto voices and
you want to work on that lower register, Percel, When I'm Laid in Earth is great.
If you can handle it singing some Wagner, just really have those giant spaces that
you're able to fill with that lower voice - it's absolutely fantastic.
Contralto is probably more rare than a real soprano and directors love hearing
those types of pieces sung very well at auditions. Again as a tenor the world is
your oyster in opera. If you have those higher notes I would just choose
something that lets you really really show them off, shows off your vocal
ability, your range, your coloratura, because tenor roles are just you know
unnumbered. If you can sing something super well just tackle it, grab it, sing
it and get through that audition and show them exactly what you're capable of
because again there are a lot of tenors out there but there are a lot of great
tenor roles. If you are a bass or a baritone in opera, I think it's
important that you realize what kind of role you're auditioning for. Are you
going to be the villain? If so you want to choose something that maybe showcases
that side of your acting ability. If you're going to be more of the Bufo or
the buffoon role, do choose something maybe from Rigoletto that is going to
show off that kind of comedic side, that you're able to get those nuanced jokes
that are inside the opera score, and that you understand and can show a director
that you can be playful and have that side of you show through at your
audition.
Just in general with opera don't be afraid to try. Don't be afraid to reach
out. Most singers have to sing a number of different styles in their career just
cause that's what happens. So if you're a chorale singer or if you're an opera
singer or if you're a pop singer even country or a belter or Broadway and
you're singing into the mask all day, it's coming from the same place - you're
going to be using that lung support, you're going to be singing with your
diaphragm, not using your vocal cords to support your airflow, and it's the same
exact technique no matter if I'm gonna be singing Carrie Underwood or if I'm
singing Mozart. You don't want to have your vocal cords be doing too much of
the work and you really have to have a good solid foundation coming from your
diaphragm, breathing properly into your lungs and that'll let you sing opera
with pretty much the same technique as a lot of other songs or even musical
theater would have you do. Have you tried any other good opera songs for beginners?
Leave a comment and let us know, and if you enjoyed this video consider
subscribing so you can receive more helpful singing lessons.