Last updated: 7/2009

those first 60 years
of recordings?

For singing tips
listen to:

Adelina Patti
singing Mozart

Nellie Melba
singing Gounod

Ezio Pinza
.. Verdi

Enrico Caruso
.. Puccini

Lawrence Tibbett
.. Rossini

John McCormack
.. Handel

E Schumann-Heink
.. Brahms

Geraldine Farrar
.. Puccini

Rosa Ponselle
.. Verdi

Galli-Curci &
Tito Schipa
.. Bellini

Luisa Tetrazzini
.. Donizetti

Claudia Muzio
.. Debussy

Richard Tauber
.. Schubert

Elisabeth Schumann
.. Strauss

Lauritz Melchior
.. Wagner

Fritz Wunderlich
singing Mozart

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Links

Lectures

Courses

Picture gallery

Don't miss out on the valuable singing lessons of the great singers from the early years of recordings. We explore not only their implications on how to sing, but also their huge relevance to performance practice.
Perhaps:

you're already a lover of historical singers and recordings,

you're a singer and enjoy exploring how to sing,

you give singing lessons and are always looking for sound ideas on vocal technique,

you're looking for singing instruction through historically informed performance practice,

you're an opera buff,

or you're newer to this area and just want to know what all the fuss is about!

We are at a very interesting stage right now. We have the tremendous history of a hundred years of singing on record. But singing technique has changed in that time. And every day now, one musical writer or another bemoans present standards.

So who were these legendary singers of the past? What changes came along? What singing tips do they leave us? Did these singers really learn to sing everything from Mozart to Puccini? Was there a golden age of bel canto? Where does the recent "early music movement" fit in? These - and many other topics - make up our ongoing discussion.

We look at these older singers in a changing series of articles, and examine their way of singing. We also present testimonials from those who heard them live, and include the singers' own views on their art.

"The vocal past has so much to show us that I am glad my dear friend James F Anderson is helping draw attention to it. His knowledge of the history of singing and performance - and of the current operatic world - should assist us all in this process."
Count Beuthen
"Why not broaden your knowledge and listen to the great performers who sang for Verdi, Puccini & Strauss? It seems to me as a young singer from the Guildhall School of Music, London, that I've everything to gain."
a London student

Some current articles:

What are some of the obvious differences between older and more recent singers? We list a dozen differences for a start.

"I hear you haven't got a wobble". That's why the English coloratura soprano Gwen Catley was chosen for an important radio programme. We examine her pure art.Opera versus Oratorio? For some of our thoughts on the current state of play, click here.

Puccini coached Maria Jeritza. We look at Jeritza's account of this, and her dramatic singing.

Fifty things we used to know about singing and have since forgotten

Over our years of research, we have collected a unique data bank of what great singers have actually said or written about how they sing. If you are a singer yourself, we find any new tip or idea is always welcome. If you are a listener, these tips offer valuable insight into the singer's art. So click here for more details, and set yourself up with a century's worth of advice from the top singers for less than the price of a singing lesson.
FIFTY SINGING TIPS - click here

We also run occasional Courses with tips on historical singing, and you might like a peek at our changing Picture Gallery for picking up occasional lessons from old singers.

Singers Legacy:
Patron: Lord Rees-Mogg
Editor: James Frederick Anderson
Asst Editor: Maria Barbera Martinez

Our editor, James Anderson - who gives Lectures on singers - says, "I am a classical musician currently running the prestigious Festival de Pollensa in Majorca. I have also worked at the Arts Council of Great Britain. I fell in love with the human voice twenty five years ago. It is very important to me that these old singing voices become a bigger part of our culture."

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