Why classical training travels so well

Every so often a singer comes along who makes a point better than any teacher can. For me, right now, that singer is Ekaterina Shelehova.

Ekaterina is a soprano who trained the traditional way. She holds a Master's degree in Opera Performance from the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, and her stage credits include Rigoletto, L'elisir d'amore and Don Giovanni. Yet if you know her name at all, it is probably because of something that looks nothing like a night at the opera.

The piece above is “Earth Melodies”, an original composition that she performed on Italia's Got Talent in 2021, and it travelled around the world. Press play and listen closely. Beneath the unusual colours and the freedom of the sound, you can hear everything her training gave her: the breath, the placement, the effortless top. It is a voice built on solid foundations, and that is exactly why it can go anywhere.

A career beyond the opera house

In the years since, she has won the Golden Buzzer on Spain's Got Talent, become the solo voice of the atmospheric music project ERA, and written music for an Italian film adaptation of The Tempest and for the video game Atomic Heart. She calls her style ethno-operatic fusion, blending classical singing with folk and world music traditions, including the throat singing she grew up hearing through her Kazakh heritage.

That is a long way from a recital hall, and yet none of it works without the foundation she built there. For the clearest example, watch her take on “Skyfall”, a contemporary pop song. Listen for the same control and line you would expect in an aria.

“What connects them is breath: proper breathing, diaphragm support, and grounding help with transitions.” Ekaterina Shelehova, on moving between styles

What is actually doing the work

A good classical technique is not a single style. It is a set of reliable habits that let the voice do whatever the music asks of it.

• Breath managementSteady support lets a phrase be soft and floating in one song and full and powerful in the next, without strain.
• Freedom and resonanceA singer who knows how to shape the vocal tract can change colour on purpose, rather than pushing and hoping the sound holds.
• Control at the extremesThe pinpoint high notes opera demands become a real advantage in pop, film and experimental music, where a clean, secure top line stands out at once.
• Stamina and healthTechnique that protects the voice is what makes a busy, varied career sustainable, whether that means eight shows a week or a full schedule of recording and touring.

What this means for your own singing

You do not need to want a career in opera to benefit from classical training. Many of our students at BLO Academy come to us for exactly this reason. They love singing across a range of styles, from art song and musical theatre to jazz and contemporary repertoire, and they want a technique that will serve all of it.

Ekaterina's story is a reminder that the time you invest in breath, posture and vocal freedom is never wasted, and never limited to one genre. Build the foundation properly, and it will carry you into music you have not even thought of yet.

Henry Pinder
Founder and Artistic Director, Brisbane Lyric Opera