Using recording equipment to mask poor technique can lead to the demise of Italian bel canto.

Using recording equipment to conceal poor singing technique ultimately leads to the demise of Italian bel canto.

1 Juan Diego Florez Lalba separa dalla luce lombra
2 Enrico Caruso Lalba separa dalla luce lombra Victor 1917

Red represents the original volume of Flórez's voice, while blue shows the volume after being amplified by the recording equipment. We can see that the volume has nearly doubled. It is evident that the original sound is less than half the volume of Caruso's.

Caruso's voice is more than twice as loud as Flórez's.

The fundamental reason is that Flórez's vocal cords do not open 100%, and his abdominal and chest cavities do not serve as large internal resonators. Now, the sound equipment has been adjusted to amplify Flórez's voice, but it can't fool me. I don't need complex equipment to distinguish the volume of a voice. The volume of a voice is not a unique characteristic; it results from a lack of vocal technique. Thirty years ago, Flórez's。

But if you only listen to recordings, the volume might seem similar. However, the shortcomings of Flórez, who only opens his vocal cords 50% and lacks abdominal breath support, are masked. If it's just him, it's one thing. But many people learn from him, and he teaches students using incorrect methods, which has even more serious consequences. So, a lady asked me why there are no dramatic tenors nowadays. I said they are all afflicted with 'small abdominal' disease and 'half-open vocal cord' disease.

Flórez lacks any abdominal breath support and can't achieve it because there's no space in his abdomen for the breath to be stored. As a result, his high notes lack penetration. Is there chest resonance? Is there head voice? No. The high notes are stuck in the hard palate. The sound is all confined to the oral cavity, with notes that move unevenly and sound unnatural. In the end, it’s just shouting. Caruso—just listen, I don’t need to explain further.

Flórez, although far behind Caruso in comparison, may be the best lyric tenor of the past half-century with this kind of performance.