--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bel canto is to opera what pole-vaulting…" description: "\"Bel canto is to opera what pole-vaulting is to ballet.\" — Ned Rorem" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/ned-rorem-14618_ballet_bel-canto-is-to-opera-what-pole-vaulting_1336942.png" --- # Bel canto is to opera what pole-vaulting is to ballet. ![“Bel canto is to opera what pole-vaulting is to ballet.” quote by Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/ned-rorem-14618_ballet_bel-canto-is-to-opera-what-pole-vaulting_1336942.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/ned-rorem-14618_ballet_bel-canto-is-to-opera-what-pole-vaulting_1336942.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/ned-rorem-14618_ballet_bel-canto-is-to-opera-what-pole-vaulting_1336942.png) > “Bel canto is to opera what pole-vaulting is to ballet.” [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bel canto is to opera what pole‑vaulting is to ballet. **In simple terms:** Bel canto is opera’s high‑flight skill. Key Takeaway Cultivate vocal agility. Themes music technique comparison Mood analytical appreciative Type critical educational When to use this quote - opera training - performance critique - artistic education Key Concepts vocalism dance analogy Questions to Reflect On - What other art forms share similar analogies? - How does technique shape artistic expression? A Different Perspective Not all opera emphasizes bel canto. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) ## Related quotes > [I want to be known by people who are knowledgeable about opera, who appreciate bel canto singing, people who have more sensitivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-kraus/i-want-to-be-known-by-people-who-are-knowledgeable-about-opera-who/) [Alfredo Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-kraus/) > [There was something in the bel canto, not just opera, but a certain style of Italian singing that I responded to deeply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-davi/there-was-something-in-the-bel-canto-not-just-opera-but-a-certain/) [Robert Davi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-davi/) > [I prefer it when the conductor follows me. It is more difficult to work with a conductor who does not listen - even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-netrebko/i-prefer-it-when-the-conductor-follows-me-it-is-more-difficult-to/) [Anna Netrebko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-netrebko/) > [My voice is not so much 'bel canto' as 'can belto'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-secombe/my-voice-is-not-so-much-bel-canto-as-can-belto/) [Harry Secombe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-secombe/) > [My vocal style is called bel canto, which is an old Italian vocal style going back hundreds of years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-bach/my-vocal-style-is-called-bel-canto-which-is-an-old-italian-vocal/) [Sebastian Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-bach/) > [Anytime you look at anything that's considered artistic, there's a commercial world around it: the ballet, opera, any kind of music. It can't exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/anytime-you-look-at-anything-that-s-considered-artistic-there-s-a/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [My parents used to park us kids at the public library in downtown Honolulu every Saturday. They'd leave us there at 8 A.M. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/my-parents-used-to-park-us-kids-at-the-public-library-in-downtown/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [Rather than opera, football is more like ballet or a chess game. You can really see it in a team like Arsenal, especially when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-du-sautoy/rather-than-opera-football-is-more-like-ballet-or-a-chess-game-you/) [Marcus du Sautoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-du-sautoy/) > [The first time I took a plane to dance in front of an audience outside France was when I was in the Paris Opera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/the-first-time-i-took-a-plane-to-dance-in-front-of-an-audience/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [When you are confronted with an opera, you have to keep an eye on everything: the musicians, the chorus, the ballet, the singers, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/placido-domingo/when-you-are-confronted-with-an-opera-you-have-to-keep-an-eye-on/) [Placido Domingo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/placido-domingo/) > [New York. It's home to opera, Broadway, museums, the ballet and orchestra - everything that I love. The most real people in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-chenoweth/new-york-it-s-home-to-opera-broadway-museums-the-ballet-and-orchestra/) [Kristin Chenoweth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-chenoweth/) > [One of the first things I created was music for the Paris opera's ballet troupe. That was the first time that electronic music was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-jarre/one-of-the-first-things-i-created-was-music-for-the-paris-opera-s/) [Jean-Michel Jarre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-jarre/) > [Flawless . . . Tightly choreographed . . . Shipstead gains entry into exclusive worlds and trains her opera glasses on private social rituals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-corrigan/flawless-tightly-choreographed-shipstead-gains-entry-into-exclusive/) [Maureen Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-corrigan/) > [Since I was a child I've loved going to the opera, theatre and ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-lacroix/since-i-was-a-child-i-ve-loved-going-to-the-opera-theatre-and-ballet/) [Christian Lacroix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-lacroix/) > [My father, my uncles, my aunts, from my father's side and my mother's side... they were all professional musicians. My father was a concert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalo-schifrin/my-father-my-uncles-my-aunts-from-my-father-s-side-and-my-mother-s/) Lalo Schifrin ## More by Ned Rorem > [Greatness is not the effect of which inspiration is the cause. We are all inspired, but we are all not great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/greatness-is-not-the-effect-of-which-inspiration-is-the-cause-we-are/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Intelligence is silence, truth is being invisible. But what a racket I make in declaring this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/intelligence-is-silence-truth-is-being-invisible-but-what-a-racket-i/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [If a composer could state in words what being a composer means, he would no longer need to be a composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/if-a-composer-could-state-in-words-what-being-a-composer-means-he/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Perfection is no more a requisite to art than to heroes. Frigidaires are perfect. Beauty limps. My frigidaire has had to be replaced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/perfection-is-no-more-a-requisite-to-art-than-to-heroes-frigidaires/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Anyone can be gay - it's no accomplishment - but only I can be me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/anyone-can-be-gay-it-s-no-accomplishment-but-only-i-can-be-me/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Inspiration could be called inhaling the memory of an act never experienced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/inspiration-could-be-called-inhaling-the-memory-of-an-act-never/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [The Great don't innovate, they fertilize seeds planted by lackeys, they leave to others the inhaling of the flowers whose roots they've manured. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/the-great-don-t-innovate-they-fertilize-seeds-planted-by-lackeys-they/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [If music could be translated into human speech, it would no longer need to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/if-music-could-be-translated-into-human-speech-it-would-no-longer/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [As a lifelong pacifist, Quaker, and a gay man, I despair that gays and lesbians are expending energy trying to get into the military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/as-a-lifelong-pacifist-quaker-and-a-gay-man-i-despair-that-gays-and/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [“We endow our poor lovers with godly traits, and then destroy them for being mortal. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/we-endow-our-poor-lovers-with-godly-traits-and-then-destroy-them-for/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [All men are forced into one of two categories: those with eleven fingers and those without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/all-men-are-forced-into-one-of-two-categories-those-with-eleven/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Art's the biggest vanity: the assumption that one's view of peace or fright or beauty is permanently communicable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/art-s-the-biggest-vanity-the-assumption-that-one-s-view-of-peace-or/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [In music the present is extended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/in-music-the-present-is-extended/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [“Sooner or later you’ve heard all your best friends have to say. Then comes the tolerance of real love. The same holds true for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/sooner-or-later-you-ve-heard-all-your-best-friends-have-to-say-then/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [To start writing about your life is, from one standpoint, to stop living it. You must avoid adventures today so as to make time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/to-start-writing-about-your-life-is-from-one-standpoint-to-stop/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) [Explore all 46 Ned Rorem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) ## More Ballet quotes > [“Afterwards Isabelle often wondered if the moments themselves were greater or the memory of them. At least the memory did not pass, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/afterwards-isabelle-often-wondered-if-the-moments-themselves-were/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones > [So I'm studying ballet every day and really training so people will see me as a ballet dancer, which no one's seen before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/so-i-m-studying-ballet-every-day-and-really-training-so-people-will/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/) [Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/) > [What I love most about ballet is being able to express my emotions through dance, and to be able to bring others joy through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/what-i-love-most-about-ballet-is-being-able-to-express-my-emotions/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [Even though I am a professional, and I know what the steps are, I don't quite know how I'm going to do them, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-farrell/even-though-i-am-a-professional-and-i-know-what-the-steps-are-i-don-t/) [Suzanne Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-farrell/) > [I'd rather be a guy that can build a house or fix a car than be able to walk like a ballet dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-fimmel/i-d-rather-be-a-guy-that-can-build-a-house-or-fix-a-car-than-be-able/) [Travis Fimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-fimmel/) > [When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/when-i-was-16-i-moved-to-torrance-california-to-train-at-a-more/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [You can imagine me as a kid growing up in redneck Texas with ballet shoes, tucking the violin under my arm. I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/you-can-imagine-me-as-a-kid-growing-up-in-redneck-texas-with-ballet/) [Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/) > [I only started writing in the latter days of Spandau Ballet. I didnt know I could write because all had our roles within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-only-started-writing-in-the-latter-days-of-spandau-ballet-i-didnt/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [All ballet, all reading, all music. That was my world, my inner world,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/all-ballet-all-reading-all-music-that-was-my-world-my-inner-world/) [Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/) > [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) [Browse all 1,227 Ballet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Bel canto is to opera what pole-vaulting is to ballet.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ned Rorem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/bel-canto-is-to-opera-what-pole-vaulting-is-to-ballet/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ballet" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/bel-canto-is-to-opera-what-pole-vaulting-is-to-ballet/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/ned-rorem-14618_ballet_bel-canto-is-to-opera-what-pole-vaulting_1336942.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/ned-rorem-14618_ballet_bel-canto-is-to-opera-what-pole-vaulting_1336942.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/ned-rorem-14618_ballet_bel-canto-is-to-opera-what-pole-vaulting_1336942.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bel canto is to opera what pole-vaulting is to ballet.” — Ned Rorem", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ned Rorem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Bel canto is to opera what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/bel-canto-is-to-opera-what-pole-vaulting-is-to-ballet/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/bel-canto-is-to-opera-what-pole-vaulting-is-to-ballet/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```