🎼 Day 3 of Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Bel Canto Reimagined

A five-day series at the Royal Academy of Music with James Platt, Michael Pugh and Ben Johnson

Sunday 21st December 2025
Arrival from 10:00am, for a 10:30am start

Suitable for all singers, teachers and teachers who sing.

Vaccai’s injunction to sing on the vowels is also an instruction in stylistic line. Pure, resonant vowels sustain legato and reveal harmonic direction in the score. García and Lamperti taught that the vowel is the carrier of musical meaning; modern science explains how vowel modification sustains resonance at extremes. This day explores how vowel clarity refines the interpretation of recitative, aria, and song — from Monteverdi’s declamation to Puccini’s soaring lines.

• Practical focus: vowel purity, modification, resonance strategies.
• Interpretive focus: identifying how harmonic rhythm and text stress guide vowel length and colour.

The day offers an inspiring blend of hands-on practical work, historical context, and scientific insight. With Michael Pugh at the piano, participants will have multiple opportunities to sing and apply these principles in repertoire.