In a world full of extraordinary feats and astonishing artistry, the stand-outs of classical music are surely the singers. Specifically, the opera singers.
These astounding people have to have immense stamina — operas do indeed go on for a long time. But it’s the vocal range that’s the most impressive.
The ability of an operatic bass to belt out thunderous low notes that give you a physical response in your belly. Or, in the case of lyric tenors and sopranos, the facility of singing very, very high.
I’m going to focus on the soprano voice here — that most stupendous of opera sounds, the one that gives us the Queen of the Night and the cartoon spectacle of a high note breaking a glass. Since its origins in church choirs, to the beauty and dexterity of Italian ‘bel canto’ to the sock-it-to-em power of a Wagner heroine, this sound has been the emblem of opera and singing.
But how’s it done? How is it possible to sing so high? Australian soprano Nicole Car knows all the tricks.
“High singing is all to do with your physicality. So we have those two little vocal cords inside our throat. And dependent on how long or short they are, will determine whether we’re a bass or a high soprano.
“And then, at the end of the day, it comes down to breath, you know actually breathing properly to be able to create the sound. Because it requires a lot of muscle in your core.
“And then I think it’s just about confidence! Open your mouth and let it go!”
Is it something that was hard for you to learn?
“Yes! Absolutely, when I first started. Because I come from a jazz background, and you don’t really sing much higher than maybe, maybe to the top of the stave. So like an E or an F maybe. Then all of a sudden I was singing more than half an octave higher than that.
“And so I just worked on it slowly with my teacher. She was great in encouraging me to work with the voice I had. And then you gradually move it up.
“It’s like training to do athletics. You might be a really fast runner to begin with, then you really want to run long distances. So you just go longer and longer over time. And that’s kind of how the voice works as well. You work over time and hopefully, at the end of the day, you can sing as high as your little vocal folds will let you!”
Russell Torrance presents Classic Breakfast on ABC Classic (Monday to Friday, 6am–10am).