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The tenor voice is a phenomenon. Tenors are the heroes of opera and the kings of high B.
Juan Diego Flores, tenor: «I think the audience loves high notes because they ring in the ears and it excites.»
No other voice evokes such a reaction from the audience. It's like a circus act on a tightrope.
Benjamin Bernheim, tenor: «The bet we make on the tenor is whether he will succeed?»
That kind of pressure requires nerves of steel.
Benjamin Bernheim: «Even I when I go to the opera, I listen to the tenor, because I know that's how they look at us — let's see if he succeeds.»
Two world-famous tenors will tell you how to achieve high notes .
The secrets of the tenor voice
This is one of the highest notes for the tenor — the notorious high B. The tenor is the highest male voice. His vocal range typically spans two octaves from B to B.
World-famous tenor Benjamin Bernheim says that it takes years to master the technique.
Benjamin Bernheim: «The tenor is a voice that does not exist in nature. It takes a lot of patience to create it. Many fans, many people who love opera, find this voice a little magical, because all other voices are «natural». Voice a soprano that goes to high notes is a natural voice, while a tenor is like an extra task that has been added. There are special expectations from tenors.»
How does a tenor manage to sing from the bottom to the top the limits of your range, without switching, it would seem, from one gear to another? The secret is called the passaggio.
Benjamin Bernheim:_»The natural voice of the tenor, like the natural head voice of the baritone, has a certain limit, and this passage will indicate at what point you need to switch to a mixed or full voice in order to chest the voice remained to the very top. _Strong chest voice.
Now I will perform the same phrase in a mixed voice. A mixed voice is a voice that is associated with both chest and head voices. Finding balance is an art. This passage is the natural limit, it is the sky. And behind him — space».
But what actually happens inside the body when a tenor sings in the upper register?
In Salzburg, tenor student Ivan undergoes magnetic resonance imaging in order to to see what we never see — huge physical exertion.
Nikolaus Mayr, Chief Radiologist, Diagnostic Center Salzburg:_»You count up to 7 seconds and then hold the note for as long as you can._It all starts with the diaphragm. There should be pressure coming from the chest. The lungs contract. The throat muscles also work.< /p>
You can see how the tongue rises, the larynx tightens, and here you can see how the air comes out to produce the sound».
Ivan Sanchez Aguila, tenor student, Mozarteum University Salzburg: «It was very difficult to sing like that because it is very loud. You also need to breathe well with your muscles to keep the sound for a long time, even when you are lying down. It was interesting to find out.»
Nikolaus Mayr: «So this whole mechanism that we observed can be described as the peak performance of the human body. It is the brain functions that allow you to control all the muscles so that you get one exact note. It's amazing.»
< p>There's another reason why the tenor voice resonates in us, says an otolaryngologist at the Salzburg Festival.
Josef Schlemicher-Tier, otolaryngologist: «The tenor has a peculiarity to emit a special cluster of overtones. All singers have this, but in the tenor it is especially pronounced around 3000 hertz.
But then what happens to the audience?
This concentration of energy, the cluster, touches the special sensitivity of the ear, because there 3000 hertz are perceived especially well. That's where this sensation comes from: it sends goosebumps up your spine. I get goosebumps when this point is reached, this explosion. And then people get up and go crazy.»
The art of modern tenor vocals originates in Italy. It was Gioacchino Rossini who brought the tenor voice into the spotlight.
One of the greatest tenors of our time, Juan Diego Flores has a special connection with the Italian composer.
Juan Diego Flores: «Before Rossini, the main stars of opera were sopranos and castrati. But when Rossini came, the castrati were abolished. Therefore, he gave the star parts to those who looked like the voice of a castrato — tenors and mezzo-sopranos.
In 1831, during the performance of Rossini's opera «William Tell», there was a sensation: the French tenor Gilbert Dupré amazed the audience with his revolutionary performance of high si.
Juan Diego Flores: «Dupré was in Italy, rehearsing in the dressing room and trying these high notes. And in the dressing room he takes this high si with his full voice. And he is amazed by this sound. And he wants to keep it. He wants to sing the same way. And he does it. And everyone says, «Wow, what is this?» So he became the father of high si as we know him today.
Then a world superstar was born.
Huang Diego Flores: «He really was the first tenor who sang for a lot of people, for arenas. And everyone in the world had an Enrico Caruso CD at home. He was so famous.»
Sparkling and breathtaking vocal fireworks — a feature of Rossini's operas, among them «Count Ory».
Juan Diego Flores prepares for an epic performance.
Juan Diego Flores: «So this is the first high B in the opera. And it's full of high Bs. One after the other, one after the other. And you have to sing — yes, yes, yes…
To the high
Are you addicted to standing ovations? Of course, it's nice when you get a standing ovation. And the audience, when you go out, they get up and go, like this, it «Of course, it's great. But I've always been very hard on myself, very self-critical. I still record rehearsals and listen to them later. Lately I've started ticking the score when I'm good at something. So I think you need to have a good balance.»
Benjamin Bernheim: «The question is always asked — how do you do it, how do you manage to keep these notes? You watch, you look at others. You have to jump into the void, into the unknown, and then spread your wings and fly.»
Juan Diego Flores: «I don't think you have to have a high B — you have to be a good singer. It's important to me that the singer touches me . The best singers are the ones that make you feel something.»