Velum Behavior in Professional Classic Operatic Singing

The velopharyngeal opening (VPO) is analyzed in 17 professional operatic singers, 3 high sopranos, 3 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, 3 tenors, 2 baritones, 2 bass-baritones, and 2 basses singing the vowels [a, i, u] at middle degree of vocal loudness at different pitches throughout their pitch range. Three methods were used for detection of a VPO. One was nasofiberscopy, which revealed VPO of various shapes in several singers. Another method was recording nasal and oral airflow by means of a divided flow mask. These measurements showed a nasal DC airflow at least at some pitches in a majority of the singers. A third method was a comparison of the level of the fundamental in the nasal and oral airflow signals; this level difference was less than 15 dB in cases where a nasal DC airflow was observed. Values less than 15 dB were observed in some cases, thus suggesting the presence of a VPO. The tokens produced by the singers were assessed by an expert panel with respect to nasal quality of the vowel timbre; no correlation was found between rated nasal quality and the presence of a VPO.