AboutPamela Thomas Expertise Questions on Opera performance, repertoire, vocal technique, acting for opera. I have some 20 years experience in opera in both leading roles and chorus. I have sung with New York City Opera since 1981. I have studied voice in NYC for over 20 years and have also taught technique and coached singers in acting.
PR wrote at 2008-12-10 16:36:53
IMO its to do with strength and bones not fat.
You need a good strong voice box, then you are given by God a certain amount of bone space for the voice to resonate within. Large heavily built people with large bone structures in the head may well have large heavily boned bodies. But not by implication, they can be tall and thin, and look a bit like a Martian with a large chest! A large chest helps, as this can aid resonation. Fat is in my opinion nothing to do with the equation. But you have to be strong. I've known huge fat sopranos with tiny voices, and small thin sopranos with huge voices.
As to the fat singer thing, well large heavily bones bodies may house large muscles that may in later years give in to aging somewhat. Check out Pavarotti as a young man, he was strong, fit and powerful. Not in anyway at all fat!
