Directly translated as “beautiful singing” or “beautiful song,” the term bel canto more often refers to a style of vocal performance made popular in the early-19th-century operas of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. The works of these master composers showcased a vocal style that was smooth, rich, and elongated, in contrast to the aesthetic of earlier decades, which favored ornamented showmanship.
Although many opera historians confine true bel canto to the era in which it thrived, the term is still in use as a reference to high-quality classical voice performance. A bel canto singer can produce sustained unbroken lines of melody, supported by carefully scheduled breathing, and possessed of a legato quality that remains steady throughout the singer's vocal range.