Paride Venturi on technique (translated)
“Arturo Melocchi - the greatest teacher of all times, but this man didn’t discover anything new, simply made you sing using the voice like this- a loud speech, supporting it on the breath. For example, a singer goes to study and says “The sound has to be in the mask, let’s speak about some technical things, the sound starts (demonstrates a constricted nasal sound) and everything is high, in the mask”. Melocchi thought the opposite. The sound is created in the throat, I’ll make an example. (Sings an A vowel). This sound, if one wants to reinforce it and doesn’t support it, like he was teaching, happens this - the sound becomes fixed, boring and ugly. If you want to reinforce it, you become red in the face, because you are forcing the vocal cords. (Shows a pushed A vowel with a neutral larynx). Melocchi wanted the opposite, that we would support the voice on the breath which means (shows an A vowel with a lowered larynx) that you start the sound almost like inhaling (makes a gesture back and down) to bring the force on the diaphragm (shows a wrong example with a neutral larynx and then shows a correct example with the larynx lowered gesturing back and down). Here is the force of the sound. Mario del Monaco is an emulator with his emission and as a name of the great Enrico Caruso. We have a couple of his discs, but of things recorded in the years 1910-1915, when the technology wasn’t very advanced. But for me and many others he is the only singer that passes something great to us. If you hear Caruso you say “He sounded like this in those recordings, who knows how great he was really”. The same emission of Enrico Caruso you hear also in Mario del Monaco. This beautiful and supported giro, this manly, burnished and beautiful voice with these powerful high notes, that is not from force, it’s the diaphragm that creates this sound.”
Ready to Take Your Singing to the Next Level?