Bel canto, Italian for “beautiful singing,” is the famously “lost” art of classical singing that combined rapturously smooth, soaring phrases with fireworks of virtuosic coloratura. Gently cultivated in the conservatories and singing studios of Italy since the 16th century, the bel canto maestros fine-tuned their students’ voices to have perfectly even and blended tone throughout the entire range of the voice and perfect poise in the delivery of rapid, florid passaggi; All in a technique completely in harmony with nature and the laws of health. The masterwork of the Italian voice teachers brought about the first international music stars, with Italy exporting their best castrati like Farinelli and sopranos like Faustina Bordini to the greatest opera houses of Europe. Composers like Handel and Mozart, and later Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti delighted in composing music that exploited the exquisite beauty of these voices. Unfortunately, like fine Mandarin china and the Stradivarius vio