Perfect Italian Diction for Singers

Timothy Cheek has taught Italian lyric diction at the University of Michigan since 1993. As collaborative pianist, he has performed throughout Italy, and worked for nine years in Tuscan summer vocal programs, both at Cincinnati Conservatory’s Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca program and at the University of Michigan’s spring term program in Sesto Fiorentino. Cheek has written books on Czech lyric diction and opera, and he is the series editor of Rowman & Littlefield’s Lyric Diction series. His long association with Italian pianist/coach Anna Toccafondi extends to over three decades of collaboration and consultation.Anna Toccafondi performs regularly in major festivals and theaters in Italy, Europe, and Japan. She recently began a cooperation with the Municipality and the Teatro Garibaldi of Modica (Sicily) for the project Cantare in Perfetto Italiano, Singing in Perfect Italian, a series of masterclasses devoted to foreign singers and collaborative pianists. Committed to unpublished or lesser known compositions of the Italian vocal repertoire, Toccafondi has done research, transcriptions, revisions, and recordings of important composers.

Bravo! A book for serious craftspeople in opera. I think of a talented student of opera singing as a diamond in the rough, and perfect Italian diction is the table facet on the brilliant cut. This book makes the cut and polish.

• Recorded Examples and Exercises Preface 1. The Basis for the Most Beautiful and Correct Lyric Italian Diction2. The Seven Italian Vowel Sounds3. The Essentials of Stress and Length4. The Pronunciation of e and o5. The Italian Consonants6. Double Consonants and Phrasal Doublings7. Legato8. Mastering Glides, Hiatus, Diphthongs, and Triphthongs9. Italian Style10. Working with Text11. Best Use of Supplemental Resources12. RecitativeAppendix A. Verb Endings Appendix B. Essential Grammar Selected References Index About the Authors