Imperfect technique, indeed, is to be deprecated, if merely for the reason that it may debar a singer from interpreting accurately the composer’s ideas. How seldom, if ever, even in the best lyric theatres, is the following passage heard as the composer himself indicated:
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or the concluding phrase of “Celeste Aida” (in Aida, Act I), as Verdi wrote it and wished it to be sung:
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At present the majority of operatic tenors, to whom are assigned the strong tenor (fort ténor) rôles, can sing the higher tones of their compass only in forte, and with full voice. Thus an additional and very charming effect is lost to them. Yet Adolphe Nourrit, who created the rôle of Raoûl in Les Huguenots, sang, it is said, the phrase as written. The late Italo Campanini, Sims Reeves, and the famous Spanish tenor Gayarré, were all able to sing the
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