Expert: Pamela Thomas - 9/15/2008

Question
Is voice training for opera still taught the same way it was one or two hundred years ago or have the techniques changed?

Answer
Hi Wanda,

Hard for me to say what they really did 200 years ago :)

However I think that the basic techniques are probably similar..  we have more technical knowledge of course (since we have cameras and sound equipment, etc.) and thus we can actually "see" what happens and explain things scientifically.

But I believe the basics are the same.  I think the difference is how people sing lies in how differently we perform.  In the old days singers would study roles for a very long time and then perform them.  They stayed in one place much longer (because of the lack of transportation) - now everything is so fast that we can fly from Milan to New York to Tokyo  and perform in each city.  However our bodies don't have time to get used to the time changes and everything else.  That causes more stress on the body and the voice.

I think we also act better now... in the old days the voice was king - acting was something you did if you have good instincts - now we must study acting as well as technique - the demands (because of video - now HD movies from the Met) of the complete performance are extremely high.

At least - those are my thoughts...

All the best,

Pamela