FRANCESCO DEMURO

Bellini wrote a high F for Giovanni Rubini in I puritani (1835)—a note that modern tenors routinely avoid, transpose down, or substitute with falsetto. But Rubini was not a freak of nature. This music was performed across Europe, which means there must have been many tenors who could sing it as written.

Luckily, the ROH has a wonderful tenor, Francesco Demuro, who also capable of sustaining Arturo's high F. He will be with us on stage as part of the artists panel discussing I puritani at the Insight night.

https://www.rbo.org.uk/people/francesco-demuro

If you've wondered what makes a tenor's high F sustainable, it was the subject of my doctoral research in which I reconstructed the technique that enabled it. The answer lies in understanding how singers start from a specific laryngeal coordination and modified the voice through resonance tuning, creating a sound that rang with true tenor brilliance.

The voice's anatomy hasn't changed in 200 years. What was lost was a shared, learned method—not a genetic gift. The technique is recoverable. That recovery is the work of evidence-based vocal pedagogy grounded in historical sources.

Tuesday 9 June, I'm discussing this reconstruction at the Royal Opera House as part of the Insights programme for I puritani.