Singing Guide: Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Singing Guide: Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources

Are you a beginner or advanced singer?

If you want to learn singing like Nicolas Cage in "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", there are a few things you should keep in mind. The movie is set in 1940s Greece, and the story goes that Mandras, the stubborn Greek soldier, teaches the captain how to sing. Antonio Corelli is a captain of the Italian army, played by Cage, who falls in love with a Greek girl named Pelagia. Here are a few tips to sing just like him:

  1. Master the Italian Opera Style: Nicholas Cage's character is an accomplished professional classical musician, and therefore he sings in the traditional Italian Opera style with proper breath control, diction, and phrasing. The idea is to make sure you sing in the same classic Italian style, your breathing and articulation should be impeccable, and you should avoid carriage return and short phrases.

  2. Focus on the Diction: Diction is another vital aspect of singing. Cage's diction is adequate and precise. Make sure that you can enunciate every syllable and pronounce each word correctly. Therefore, you can refer to the article on Articulation at Singing Carrots for tips.

  3. Control Your Breathing: Being an opera singer, Cage understands the importance of controlling his breath. His breath control, particularly while singing long notes, is perfect. If you want to sing like him, you need to focus on your breathing. You can start by taking the Farinelli Breathing exercise on Singing Carrots and expand your lung capacity.

  4. Work on Posture: Posture while singing is essential to achieving a professional singing style. You should, therefore, pay attention to good singing posture and start practicing it to improve your singing style.

  5. Sing Authentic Italian Operatic Songs: The type of music that best suits Cage's singing style is Italian Opera. If you can't learn the traditional Italian Opera style, begin by singing songs from this genre to master the style. Singing Carrots offers a searchable database for finding songs by vocal range, difficulty, and genre preference.

  6. Try Singing with Vibrato: Vibrato is a technique used in opera singing, and Cage uses this to great effect. Learning to sing with vibrato isn't easy, but practicing with specific exercises like Diaphragm Bounce from Singing Carrots can get you there.

By following these tips and putting in the necessary hard work and practice, you can learn to sing like Nicolas Cage in "Captain Corelli's Mandolin".

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