Italian Linguistics Commons^™

Adolphe Nourrit, Gilbert Duprez, And The High C: The Influences Of Operatic Plots, Culture, Language, Theater Design, And Growth Of Orchestral Forces On The Development Of The Operatic Tenor Vocal Production, Micheal Lee Smith Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The operatic tenor voice has evolved from a variety of influences. This document identifies four influences involved in the development of the operatic tenor voice and describes their impact on performance practices including the chest voice high C (C5). Modern tenors’ performance practices originate in the nineteenth century ascendance of an Italian singing technique. This particular singing technique achieved popularity when Gilbert Duprez sang the role of Arnold in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell with a do di petto (i.e. from-the-chest) production of sound rather than the mix of falsetto and head voice that was traditional at the time. The role of …