Bel canto

Bel canto (Italian for 'beautiful singing' / 'beautiful song', Italian: [ˈbɛl ˈkanto])—with several similar constructions (belcanto, bellezze del canto, bell'arte del canto, pronounced in American English as /bɛl ˈkɑːntoʊ/ ^ⓘ)—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing,^[1] and whose definitions have often been misunderstood.^[2] Bel canto was not only seen as a vocal technique, but also as a source of national pride for Italians, specifically in how the musical qualities aligned with their identity. However, this pride was often complicated by political circumstances.^[3]

The phrase was not associated with a "school" of singing until the middle of the 19th century, when writers in the early 1860s used it nostalgically to describe a manner of singing that had begun to wane around 1830.^[4] Nonetheless, "neither musical nor general dictionaries saw fit to attempt [a] definition [of bel canto] until after 1900". The term remains vague and ambiguous in the 21st century and is often used to evoke a lost singing tradition.^[5]