# Do any "modern" composers write in the bel canto style?



## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Admittedly, I'm not very informed about operas that were written within the last twenty-five years or so -- but it seems that all the ones I have heard were composed in what I would call a modernist style. Are there any composed more in the style of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, or early Verdi -- in other words, are there any that could truly be called modern "bel canto" operas?


----------



## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Well, that's akin to find someone writing in Shakespeare's English, or painting like Vermeer.

Rather unlikely, right?. 

However, there are quite a few recent operas for which, even if they are not written in 'Bel canto' style, traditional singing is paramount. You can take a look to the Contemporary Opera thread, there are some examples.

Try this one, for instance, _Florencia en el Amazonas_, an opera written by Daniel Catán back in 1996. Yes, it resembles more Puccini and Strauss, than Rossini or Bellini, but this is modern opera, with a center role for melody, and operatic singing:


----------



## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

schigolch said:


> Well, that's akin to find someone writing in Shakespeare's English, or painting like Vermeer.
> 
> Rather unlikely, right?.
> 
> ...


It did occur to me that any contemporary "bel canto opera" would be basically a pastiche or "throwback." Partly what I was wondering was if any opera composers write _coloratura_ anymore. But I suppose that would be sort of like a contemporary playwright using "thou" rather than "you" in his plays.

So it seems the closest thing we can get to a Bellini-like bel canto opera today is an opera that prizes melody and needs a pure singing tone -- like the one you've recommended.


----------



## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Bellinilover said:


> It did occur to me that any contemporary "bel canto opera" would be basically a pastiche or "throwback." Partly what I was wondering was if any opera composers write _coloratura_ anymore. But I suppose that would be sort of like a contemporary playwright using "thou" rather than "you" in his plays.
> 
> So it seems the closest thing we can get to a Bellini-like bel canto opera today is an opera that prizes melody and needs a pure singing tone -- like the one you've recommended.


For coloratura, I can think of the role of Ariel in Thomas Ades' famous _The Tempest_:






Prizes melody and needs a pure singing tone? How about Cosma' Marius et Fanny? (Gheorghiu and Alagna is amazing here!)










 (full opera)


----------



## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Bellinilover said:


> It did occur to me that any contemporary "bel canto opera" would be basically a pastiche or "throwback." Partly what I was wondering was if any opera composers write _coloratura_ anymore. But I suppose that would be sort of like a contemporary playwright using "thou" rather than "you" in his plays.
> 
> So it seems the closest thing we can get to a Bellini-like bel canto opera today is an opera that prizes melody and needs a pure singing tone -- like the one you've recommended.


Well, coloratura is used today more like a characterization tool. One of the more brilliant examples is Gepopo, from "Le Grand Macabre":






Another modern opera use of coloratura, from "Merrick":






It's no longer a showcase for the singer, that was taken advantage from a dramatic point of view by the best composers, like the ones you mentioned above. Rather the other way around, a musical tool to enhance the drama.

On the other hand, "Marius et Fanny", the opera by Vladimir Cosma mentioned by silentio, is indeed a very good example of how to use traditional melody in a contemporary opera. There are also some American operas in that vein, but I guess you are already familiar with them.


----------



## Bardamu (Dec 12, 2011)

As said by schigolch, it doesn't make much sense to write music exactly like 200 years ago but it's indeed a rather interesting question.
In the 20th century some composers wrote operas in similar style of Rossini or Donizetti but most of the time they were either parody/intellectualistic attempts or usedbecause the libretto had subjects/characters from that era.
An example of the latter is Un segreto di importanza (1992) by Sergio Rendine which is fantasizing over Rossini and Mozart.






What I find more interesting is Le nozze di Rosalba by Costantino Costantini because it was an Opera written as if the composer was living in 1830 while in reality it came out one hundred years later.
A historic false if you wish but faithful (both for libretto and music).
I find its totally anachronistic purpose to be at least noteworthy (of course can't really be considered contemporary an Opera from 1933).


----------

