Italian Bel Canto in the Age of Vocal Science : Australian Academic Press : 9781925644296 : 06 Sep 2019 : For singers, the term bel canto (beautiful singing) denotes the highest technical and aesthetic achievement in vocal culture. A complex mixture of vocal ideals and style that every school of singing claims to teach, but very few can. In this, the third and final volume in a trilogy on the development of vocal science since 1562, Joseph Talia, noted tenor, teacher, researcher, and operatic director, critically evaluates the modern Italian School of bel canto, its connection to the past, and challenges forthe future. Over the last fifty years, advances in voice science and teaching have changed much about the fundamentals of teaching singing. For the Italian School, a fountainhead of such deep knowledge and enduring affection, moving forward into the 21stcentury requires a resolution for duelling paradigms of empiricism versus physiology. This is not just an Italian phenomenon though