We evaluated cerebral activation maps of 43 subjects with respect to their classical singing skills. Professional opera singers, music conservatory vocal students, and medical students overtly sung parts of an Italian aria in a sparse sampling functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) experiment. Professional opera singers compared to medical students revealed increased activation in bilateral dorso...

The present thesis explores factors and processes associated with the artistic profession and development of opera singers. The profession of opera singers has a long story deriving its origin in early 1600s in Italy. What is performed on opera stages today is written in the musical scores in the 18 and 19th century. The question arises how the modern opera singers live, learn and excel in thei...

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Opera is a complex musical form that reflects the complexity of the human condition and the human brain. This article presents an introduction to the portrayal of medical professionals in opera, including one neurologist, as well as two characters in whom neurological disease contributes to the action of the musical drama. Consideration is also given to the neuroanatomy and neuropathology of op...

Equivalent sound level (Leq), sound pressure level (SPL), and fundamental frequency (F0) are analyzed in each of five Kunqu Opera roles, Young girl and Young woman, Young man, Old man, and Colorful face. Their pitch ranges are similar to those of some western opera singers (alto, alto, tenor, baritone, and baritone, respectively). Differences among tasks, conditions (stage speech, singing, and ...

Long-term-average spectrum (LTAS) characteristics were analyzed for ten Kunqu Opera singers, two in each of five roles. Each singer performed singing, stage speech, and conversational speech. Differences between the roles and between their performances of these three conditions are examined. After compensating for Leq difference LTAS characteristics still differ between the roles but are simila...

This thesis addresses aspects of voice characteristics in operatic and musical theatre singing. The common aim of the studies was to identify respiratory, phonatory and resonatory characteristics accounting for salient voice timbre differences between singing styles. The velopharyngeal opening (VPO) was analyzed in professional operatic singers, using nasofiberscopy. Differing shapes of VPOs su...

This paper presents a case study on the use of ultrasound as visual biofeedback in a short master class lesson for two young, tenor singers-in-training. Even in such a short period of time, the singers both exhibit subjectively improved changes in production techniques such as the movement and position of the tongue and the Low Mandible Maneuver (LMM – the downward relaxation of the singer’s po...