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We are now in a highly visual world. With readily-available culture all around us - operas, plays, musicals and even television - we are past the days when a singer could stand upon the stage and just have a good voice. Now, a singer must possess: strong acting skills, a good ear for languages, an ability to dance/move, a sense of original performance practice/style and on top of these skills, have a fantastic voice.
Developing these skills, which make up the complete package that is the modern day singer, is a task which cannot be rushed, especially in young singers. The voice is a very complex object which requires a lot of care and attention. To push the voice past its limits can be very dangerous.
When training, the voice should be kept free and open and should contain a sense of height to ensure that nothing is being forced or pushed. This keeps the voice healthy and allows the voice to mature naturally with age. The repertoire that a young singer chooses should encourage this vocal health whilst allowing the other skills such as language, musicality and stagecraft to develop quite naturally in parallel to the voice.
