How do opera singers do it??

Question

I sing a soprano and I'm doing musical theatre. The only reason I have started to sing is because I want to be Christine in the Phantom of the Opera one day. I guess I'm good because I've been getting lead roles alot. I was just wondering how to make your voice sound like an opera singer's (preferably how Christine does it in songs like 'Think of Me'). I sing fine, but I just can't get it to sound like that!

Will I ever be able to do it?? Or is it something that comes naturally??

Answer 1

I'm glad you have an open mind to the concept of operatic singing. Lots of people are turned off by it. I know I was when I was a kid, simply because I wasn't ready to handle the intensity of the action. Operatic singing is a full body sport, ok, in a smallish way. But we do use the whole body to sing. The people who have mentioned eliminating extra tension have the half of it right, but singing is a very dynamic activity, and there is such a thing as having the right amount of tension. ( Vitality, body tonus, energy are other, more positive ways to refer to this.)
the three main pillars of a good vocal technique are:
breath support ( or breath flow management as it's referred to nowadays- a much better term);
accuracy of tone production( includes how to handle the various muscular activites throughout your body, including those voluntary muscles in your neck), and also includes staying in tune;
optimising resonation- where sound is "focused" in your body, learning to produce the sound in the most beautiful and yet efficient way possible.
I agree with the recommendation for Richard Miller's excellent book. He has written several and all are worth the time of reading. Not only does he know his topic inside and out, he also writes with style. ( Ah, style!)
Other authors to look for are Oren Brown, Dr. James McKinney, Dr. Robert T. Sataloff( who will give you the medical point of view), the late Dr. William Vennard, who is considered to be the original american guru of voice, and many more. ( You'll find them all at your on-line bookstore. Isn't that nice?)
But the best thing you can do for yourself is to invest in singing lessons. Since you are already involved in musical theater, there should be plenty of people to ask for recommendations. Be picky about whom you select. Ask everyone for a trial lesson. If they promise you the moon in five easy lessons, RUN AWAY. If they say, I can fit you into my scheme of things, but you're going to have to do it all my way, RUN AWAY. If they aren't willing to give you the time and energy you deserve, they aren't worth it. you need someone who is well-grounded in their subject, yet flexible enough to handle all sorts of styles. It's worth the look around: you h ave only one voice, and there are no replacement parts.
Best wishes and keep on singing

Answer 2

The only way you will find out if you have the capacity to sing opera is to get lessons from a reputable operatic vocal teacher. Singing musical comedy (Phantom) and pop even with the best teacher will not reveal your operatic potential. If you have operatic potential after working with a vocal teacher on exercises and simple arias you will find your voice will change in sound after approx 6 months. If after a year you did not sound operatic, it would lead to the conclusion that you might be more suited to lighter forms of singing. Opera singing is a sport and requires years of training and alot of money and effort - it is a very difficult occupation so it is essential that you the natural talent to start off with.
There are many great singers in the pop,jazz and musical comedy and yet very few of these singers would be capable of singing opera - you either have the voice to sing opera or you don't.
If you take proper lessons and find out that you don't have the voice suitable for opera take heart - most opera singers cant sing anything but opera!!!!!

Answer 3

Well the answer to your question is yes you can do it.. I am assuming you are talking about the vibrato that opera singers have. If you can hit all the right notes, then you can certainly sound like that. To start, you need to use a hell of a lot of breath support. That doesn't mean more air, it means faster, and more controlled air. Also, a lot of sopranos tend to have a lot of neck tension. This is THE BIGGEST thing you need to get rid of for a vibrato to come out. This also ties in with the breath support. You need to tune your notes using air, not your throat. Just relax. A good thing to try is laying on your bed, without a pillow. Just let everything go. Don't allow any tension to build up anywhere, and if your voice cracks, that's fine. The muscles in your throat probably used to tightening up to tune the sound, so once your muscles stop tightening, the sound is going to kinda suck.. But once your muscles relearn (the right way) how to tune the sound, it will be a lot easier. If your doing everything the right way, the vibrato should just come naturally.

Answer 4

I would suggest you work with what you've got instead of trying to sound like someone else. Everyone's voice is unique and that's what I love most about singing. Perhaps, your voice isn't built for "opera" type songs (Not, saying it isn't because i've never heard your voice). But obviously you have an exceceptional voice already if you're getting leads. So I would just work with that.

P.s.
I love Phantom too. I sang "Think Of Me" for a performance once. It's a very pretty song.

Answer 5

Take classical voice lessons - find a teacher who teaches the bel canto/operatic style, and preferably had some operatic experiences. These lessons will teach you how to sing the right way in the correct style, without you damaging your voice. Breath support and control is very important, as is learning to relax your neck muscles while hitting higher/louder notes.

Another reason might be because you weren't born with an 'operatic' kind of voice. You might have a more 'belting' kind of sound. If that's the case, it'll be much harder for you to learn to sing that way.

Answer 6

Vgfdg D is very wrong. In most cases, opera singers will not have the luxury of being on a mic. There will often be recording mics set up in the concert hall in order to record the performance, but it's up to the vocalists to have the vocal power and energy to be heard above the orchestra.

Savan was absolutely correct in everything they said. The key to having that kind of vocal power is in the breath control and lack of tension in the neck and shoulders. It takes a lot of practice and training to get to that point, but it is very possible.

Answer 7

This is a contradiction in terms, opera singers are extremely rare and very talented. Learn the language, culture and give your voice a try.

Answer 8

It has to do with technique.

I can sujest a book.

Richard Miller's

The Structure of Singing: System and Art of Vocal Technique

It is required reading by my voice teacher and I would call him the God of Vocal pedegogy.

Good luck.

Answer 9

Tehre are 3 answers to your queston
1 They atack boey mikes to sound loud
2 The body mike s are wirerlesslee canected to what is called a soundbrd so an operater can make your vise sound good
3 Ones you have that make your voise loud and dremadic then your good.

Answer 10

practice
take voice lessons
you have to train your voice to sound like that
it usually dosent happen naturally