While its origins may be traced as far back in history as the Middle Ages, the Bel Canto style of opera developed during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Bel Canto means literally “beautiful singing” but it also denotes all Italian singing, in “particular the light, bright quality that Italian opera singers use” (Thiers 1). There are a number of factors that paved the way for the bel canto style. The rise of theaters, opera, and the Romantic era occurred simultaneously while the Catholic Church’s restrictions against theatrical singing were eroded by the rise of secularism and the off-limits dramatic stage. As singing for entertainment became more popular, so did the dramatic expressiveness in singing that is a hallmark of the bel canto style. Romanticism, increasing dramatics in the theater, increasing audience interest, the rise in popularity of singing, and the removal of religious barriers led to the development of the bel canto style that would be influential on its most famous composers: Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Marcello and Puccini.
Singers were drawn to the bel canto style of opera also, because it offered them more flexibility and latitude than traditional dramatic theater or religious singing. It is the “beautiful singing” of the bel canto that represented its raison d’etre. As David Gordon explains: “The period of musical history between the late 1600s and 1740 or so has become known as the ‘Golden Age of Song’. During this era the art of singing is acknowledged to have achieved a high degree of perfection. The vocal style became known as ‘Bel Canto’, or beautiful singing. The very reason for writing the music at all was to show off the pure beauty of the singer’s voice” (4). This analysis will now explore how the bel canto and its concurrent movements impacted the musical compositions of some of the greatest composers of the era.
Once the Italians began to embark...