The term "Bel Canto" is often thrown about quite loosely in modern times, but literally means "beautiful singing" in Italian. Music groups and even wine and coffee companies use the words "Bel Canto" in their names so frequently these days that the term could mean almost anything to anyone. But in fact the term "Bel Canto" has a very real and specific meaning in the singing history.

The greatest singers that the world has ever known have been "Bel Canto" singers. Most of them are primarily associated with opera singing, but they are not limited to any particular style of music, and many of them have demonstrated their immense artistry by singing a variety of styles and genres with effortless beauty.

The term "Bel Canto" was coined during the 1800s in Italy to describe the kind of singing that composers like Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti endeavored to promote with deeply expressive opera compositions. They were holding fast to the Old School of singing.

"Bel Canto" became the term used to describe the Old Way of singing and teaching, including not only the singers and the compositions promoted by artists such as Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti in the mid to late 1800s but also composers and singers that had gone before them even hundreds of years earlier.

"Bel Canto" today, when properly used, refers to any singer who sings with VOCAL FREEDOM and who has studied the Old Way of singing with a proper teacher and who has remained true to that way.

Bel Canto - It's all about the storytelling