Heyang Zhang
Achille Peri Higher Institute of Musical Studies of Reggio Emilia and Castelnovo ne' Monti, Reggio Emilia 42121, Italy.
*Corresponding author: Heyang Zhang
Abstract
Starting from the bel canto tradition as its point of departure, this paper analyses the dramatic progression of vocal expression in Wagner’s Die Walküre. It shows how, despite the singer possessing the bel canto skills of breath control and timbral shaping, Wagner transfigured vocal performance from an art of lineamental beauty into a vehicle of psychological power and dramatic agency. The paper contends that Wagner never denied the legitimacy of bel canto as such; rather, through the use of his own terms “endless melody” (unendische Melodie) and “total work of art” (Gesamtkunstwerk), he realised a new musical-dramatic unity that redirected nineteenth-century vocal aesthetics from an emphasis on “beauty of melody” to an emphasis on “truth of drama”. In doing so, he not only transformed the nature of opera but also set a dramatic direction and objective for the modern vocal art.
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How to cite this paper
From Bel Canto to Wagnerian Drama: The Transformation of Vocal Aesthetics in Die Walküre
How to cite this paper: Heyang Zhang. (2025) From Bel Canto to Wagnerian Drama: The Transformation of Vocal Aesthetics in Die Walküre. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 9(10), 1996-2000.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.10.026