Leone Giraldoni on the Low Larynx: Operatic Technique in Verdi’s Time
Leone Giraldoni (1824–1897), the renowned Italian baritone who created the roles of Simone Boccanegra and Renato for Giuseppe Verdi himself, was not only a brilliant performer but also a thoughtful teacher. In his book Compendium, he explains the essential technique of maintaining a low larynx in singing - a method that defined operatic voice production in Verdi’s era.
Giraldoni’s insights provide a rare glimpse into 19th-century vocal practice from a singer who worked directly with one of opera’s greatest composers. The following text, carefully translated, presents his reflections on tongue and larynx positioning, showing how these seemingly small adjustments can dramatically improve the quality, resonance, and control of the voice.
First of all, let us focus on two of the most essential points:
1. The action of the tongue, which, by lowering and raising, indispensably modifies the resonance of the sound.
2. The position that the larynx must occupy in the act of singing.
Regarding the tongue, one should aim, in simple vocal production, to keep it naturally extended, with the tip near the lower teeth and a slight hollow in the middle, producing the sound first on the vowel A, neither open nor closed, as in the word madre (“mother”). As the voice rises through the tones of the scale, one must gradually apply a slight pressure at the base of the tongue, suitable for the natural physiological movement it makes in the act of yawning.
The reason is very simple. As I assert, to achieve a proper voice placement, the larynx must first of all always remain below its normal position (as will be explained in the following paragraph). The tongue, which has at its base a cartilage that attaches to the larynx like a lever, forces it (through this slight pressure) to remain in the indicated position, lower than normal - a position that must never be abandoned throughout the entire vocal scale.
One should only avoid pressing the throat as well, which would give the voice a very unpleasant sound, and instead allow it to freely resonate in the cavities of the pharynx, which, for the voice, serves as the resonating chamber where richness, amplitude, and sonority are acquired. Just as a violin, with its shape and the quality of its wood, gives value to the sound of its strings, without which the sound would remain shrill and devoid of tonal waves. I therefore recommend giving this slight pressure of the base of the tongue on the larynx the utmost relaxation possible - an absolutely essential condition.
Regarding the larynx, I repeat: when producing sound, it must occupy a position slightly below its usual one. The movement indicated with the tongue, being entirely natural, will help achieve this purpose. I also repeat that the larynx must maintain the indicated lower position throughout the entire vocal scale, from the lowest to the highest note. This is not merely essential, but I would say indispensable, to obtain the power of resonance, uniformity of the voice across the so-called registers, and to give the singer true control over their voice.
Another enormous advantage of this movement is the extraordinary resistance to fatigue, without any negative effect on the voice. The mezzo voce also acquires, with this placement, for theatrical singing, a roundness and homogeneity very difficult to achieve when the larynx is allowed to rise above its normal position.
I am surprised that García, in his learned Metodo di canto, barely touched upon the immense importance of this, and that few teachers and authors of vocal pedagogical works have addressed this point, which, I repeat, is indispensable for a stage singer. Therefore, I do not hesitate to assert that I consider this vocal placement a sine qua non for any artist destined to sing in the theater, regardless of the type or quality of their voice.
If I were to make an exception, it would only be for light sopranos, whose vocal production does not require the power of sound necessary for other voices. They particularly need clarity of execution and that light trilling, reminiscent of birds, which allows them, more than others, to leave the larynx in its natural position.
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