Q&A for How to Sing Opera

You might try to pay attention to your conversational pitches. Many people tend to speak near the bottom of their perceived singing ranges, so their singing voice will be somewhat coordinated to their speaking voice. You can use a pitch reading app like Pano Turner to easily discover what your default pitches are.

Schedule times every day to practice so you're constantly training your voice. If you can afford it, take vocal or opera lessons so you can get a more formal training.

Theoretically, yes, but some people will have voices that are better suited to the high demands of opera singing. It also takes a lot of training, so be prepared to dedicate many years to the art.

Core includes all the abdominal and lower back's muscle groups. To achieve singing through the core, you must use your diaphragm. The diaphragm is just under your rib cage and should expand while you sing. In other words, your belly should move a little forward. Avoid tension in your throat and keep your shoulders relaxed, without lifting them up during inhalation. This usually takes plenty of practice to master, so you need to be patient.

If the songs you choose are too pretentious, opt for easier ones. Also, singing opera is very hard and takes years of practice and training to master, so be patient with yourself. Repeat the lines you find difficult over and over. Don't hesitate to consult a vocal coach.

Play a note on the piano, then listen carefully as you start to sing. If the note on the piano is lower than what you are singing, drop the pitch of the voice until the notes sound the same. If the note on the piano is higher, raise your pitch to match the note.

You need to warm up every day for a while. If you know solfege (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do) then sing do re mi fa so fa mi re do in steps going up a half step (pitch wise) until you can't go any higher. do this every day and after a while you're range will increase.

Some people don't like opera, but others love it, just like any other type of music.

I would recommend using not head voice, but as you're a mezzo, you might have to. Try keeping your voice steady, and then get louder. Don't strive for perfection the first few times.

You could try doing breathing exercises to calm yourself, and look at anybody you know in crowd the whole time. Don't drink caffeine, and try to practice in front of a small group of people to get a little comfortable.

To perfect your vibrato you must perfect it in your chest voice first. Practice the technique in your chest voice and do vocal warm ups daily. Then you can move up the scale and master vibrato while singing opera.

Don't be shy. Ask a close friend or relative to evaluate your singing. If you don't want to that, consider hiring a voice coach. You won't know this person, so you might feel less nervous about singing in front of them, and they'll surely give you an honest appraisal of your talents.

Not at all. The only possible thing planks could do for your voice would be to make it shake (opera singers' voices do this, it's called vibrato), but that is just caused by the physical exertion. Planking will not make your tone quality rich and round like an opera singer's, which is only acquired through practice. The best way to sing better in opera is to actually practice and take lessons (this can mean hiring a voice coach, or just watching YouTube videos to learn techniques).

Yes, this is absolutely normal. I'm the same exact way. My recommendation for you is to stick with your "head voice" that you use in opera. Continue to develop your choral voice, because that is your strong suit. If you are set on singing pop songs, practice is the key, but don't force it or you risk damaging your operatic voice.

The best way to breathe for any type of singing is using the diaphragm. For singing opera, the diaphragm is especially helpful so you have enough air to reach those high notes. Also, remember not to take shallow breaths but instead, take deep breaths to fill the diaphragm.

If you haven't had much experience with opera, try starting off with one of the following: Queen of the Night’s aria- Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen, Verdi’s La Traviata- The Drinking song - Libiamo ne' lieti calici and Puccini’s Tosca- Vissi d’Arte.