Bel Canto Rediscovered 1700-1900

Experience innovations in singing sounds and practices

We acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which the Sydney Conservatorium of Music stands. We pay our respect to Elders past and present, acknowledging the ongoing connection to Country, culture, and community.

Upcoming Research Event

Extrapolating 18th- and 19th-century bel canto: Processes, practices and pathways

June 26–28, 2026

Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney

The symposium will bring together expert musicians from across the globe to demonstrate cutting-edge methods of realising techniques and practices appropriate to historical bel canto, with a view to contributing to a publication (edited book). As part of the symposium we will have a world leading expert in bel canto—Professor Christoph Meier (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna)—as a keynote presenter in SCM’s special Hook Lecture Series.  

Welcome to Bel Canto Rediscovered 1700–1900. This site is an outcome of the Australian Research Council funded Discovery Project The shock of the old: Rediscovering the sounds of bel canto 1700–1900  (DP220101596). The research team is excited to share the project’s outputs including historical recording emulations, experimental creative research, discussions, resources and written publications.

Image: The Austrian baritone Johann Michael Vogl (1768–1840) singing with Franz Schubert (1797-1828) playing the piano at a gathering at the home of Joseph von Spaun (1788-1865) an Austrian nobleman. Drawing by Moritz Ludwig von Schwind (1804–1871). 19th Century.