🎼 Day 5 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 22nd February 2026
Arrival from 10:00am, for a 10:30am start

Suitable for all singers, teachers and teachers who sing.

Vaccai’s portamento studies, Marchesi’s messa di voce, and Lamperti’s chiaroscuro drills were always intended as laboratories for artistry, not just gymnastics. On this final day, we revisit these exercises as tools to deepen our interpretive response to style: how a messa di voce reveals a composer’s dynamic shading, how portamento embodies expressive yearning, and how chiaroscuro balances stylistic light and shade. Modern science (Chapman, Estill, Bozeman, Howell) reframes them, but their artistic purpose remains: to let the score breathe fully.

• Practical focus: daily drills, historic exercises.
• Interpretive focus: applying exercises directly to repertoire — Puccini, Strauss, Britten, and contemporary works.

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.