HN001 CANTATE V CANTATORE

In the wonderful book written about Naples by Marius Kociejowski, in which he interviews contemporary Neapolitans in a quest to delve deeply into their city and culture, he discusses with a contemporary street performer, the difference between a cantate and a cantatore. Kociejowski writes, “‘There is a difference between the cantante and the cantatore,’ Marcello continued. ‘The cantante is simply a singer whereas the cantatore improvises or. rather, creates the lyrics and music, telling stories that come from real life.”^[i] The English language lacks a word for such a difference.

How does the performance of opera relate to this difference? Coloratura would be one place to start. Embellishment of the arias and songs. Live theatre as we know, allows the performers to reference contemporary events by altering the words but not the story. The street is not so far from the theatre as one might suppose, nor is opera so far removed from daily life and the hopes and fears of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Bringing an opera to life through performance makes a classical singer de facto into a cantatore. When an audience is profoundly moved it is the performer that creates that response.