# A Bel Canto Conductor



## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Marco Armiliato is a frequent conductor of the Italian repertoire at the Met, Vienna, Munich, etc., etc., and is particularly well known as a "singer's conductor". In an interview a few years ago, he was asked what makes a bel canto conductor:

_A bel canto conductor, you know, it's a crazy definition, because what is a bel canto conductor? Is it one who follows well the crazy things that the soprano and the tenor do in bel canto music, and he is happy with that, and just keeps the orchestra quiet? Or is a bel canto conductor someone who supports the singers and give them space to breathe, and to work on the musical line while they simply sing? Bel canto is definitely not difficult music to play that would require difficult techniques. The way to play Bellini, Donizetti, etc., is to have the vision of beautiful legato, of phrasing, and to allow the singers to be comfortable, to be able to breathe and do all that they need to do. One needs to express each note in the orchestra while making musical sense of the totality of the piece.

The goal of the conductor in bel canto is one of not bothering the singers. The voice is what is important in this style, and the orchestra needs to be the pillow that provides support. A "singer's conductor" is someone who really loves singing, loves the voice, and understands what the voices need to perform their best. For me, if you want to conduct opera, you need to love voices. If you don't love the voices, it won't work, because you'll probably want your orchestra to play too loudly, and to make your own show, when definitely opera is a collaboration between the orchestra and the singers. The orchestra is at the service of the voices. Opera singers are people who can understand the moment and pick up on the fact that they are supposed to be number one._


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