by Pearlsha Abubakar (pearlsha@yahoo.com) 439-8838
Most vocalists can’t sing on stage without a microphone.
But not soprano Sherla Najera. She doesn’t need a shiny microphone to amplify her voice. In fact, just about the only shiny thing you’ll notice about her is her shimmering vocal prowess.
How does she do it?
Bel Canto.
“Bel canto, which is Italian for “beautiful singing,” is a vocal technique that originated in Italy during the Renaissance,” explains the Music Education Department head of the UP College of Music. “In bel canto, the singer finds the best place to allow the resonators – the head, mouth, throat and chest – to amplify the voice. An opera singer does this all the time. Without the aid of a microphone, she can sing to an audience of 2,000 in an auditorium and manage to be heard. It’s really an amazing technique.”
On this note, Najera invites everyone to experience the magic of Belcanto as she, together with renowned pianist Carolyn Cheng, performs in the first of a series of Belcanto concerts to be staged throughout the year until 2010.
“You don’t have to be a classical music aficionado to enjoy bel canto,” Najera says. “If you like sound in general, you’re going to be fascinated by the variety of tones that you will hear in this concert.”
Entitled Belcanto Series: Across Vocal Styles, the concert features Najera performing some of the most challenging vocal pieces from the Baroque, Romantic and Modern eras of music. These include oratorio arias by Bach and Handel, lieder by Schumann and Brahms, French art songs by Faure and Berlioz, opera arias by Puccini, Mozart and Offenbach, as well as Spanish art songs.
The highlight of the night is Najera’s much-anticipated performance of homegrown Filipino art songs composed by National Artists Nicanor Abelardo, Lucio San Pedro and Lucrecia Kasilag.
Belcanto Series: Across Vocal Styles happens on March 29, 2009, Sunday, 8pm at the Ayala Alabang Village. Visit belcantoseries.blospot.com or call 09266674549 for more details.
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