The first video focuses on American Bass Jerome Hines. First off, I could tell how his speaking voice sounds because the tones that he's producing sound as if he's elongating his speech patterns. Nothing seems forced of manufactured. Nothing but normal, healthy tones. I could also hear the squillo that everyone talks about. That's something I'm really focusing on this semester. One of my remarks from the MET competition was that I didn't have enough resonance in my sound, and how it just needed to be more forward. The good news is that at the tender age of 26, I finally accepted the fact that I'm a baby bass, and it's okay. I don't have to try and sound like I'm 40, because I'm not. So I'm looking for the squillo to start introducing itself to all of my new repertoire. What a sad story about Tatiana Troyanos however. She really had a beautiful gift. The sound was very focused and forward. Honestly I couldn't tell if she was a mezzo or soprano if I was never informed. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or if that's just a personal issue for me. As she prepares for her high notes, you can hear that the lower notes are sung in the space of the highest note of the phrase. In Essence making it sound super easy. Leontyne Price is a stunning! I did notice how she left her chest voice to better focus more on her upper register, but it didn't sound out of place which, at times, can be an extremely difficult thing to pull off. There was no way that she could've made it up there that high without abandoning her chest voice voice. Wouldn't it have been too much weight?

Listen as Nicolai Ghiaurov finds "the spot" in Il Lacerato Spirito. The resonance is excellent!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIQEMt0HlOU