bel canto

See also: belcanto

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian bel canto (literally “beautiful singing”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌbɛlˈkæntəʊ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æntəʊ

Noun

bel canto (uncountable)

1. (music) An elegant style of singing characterized by beautiful tone and an effortless technique.
   • 1993 June, Louis Cha, “The Deer and the Cauldron—Two Chapters from a Novel by Louis Cha”, in John Minford, transl., edited by Geremie Barmé, East Asian History, number 5, Australian National University, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 55:

     'Slender' West Lake lies on the western outskirts of Yangzhou. In the early years of the Manchu Emperor Kangxi, the area beside the lake, known as the Alley of Chiming Jade, was famed for its high concentration of houses of pleasure, and for the beauty of its singsong-girls (whose skills extended to a great deal more than bel canto).

   • 2012 March 22nd, David Blockley, Engineering: A Very Short Introduction (309), Oxford University Press, →ISBN, chapter 1: “From idea to reality”, page 5:

     Bel canto, or the art of beautiful singing, in 17th- and 18th-century Italy cultivated embellishment through ornaments such as cadenzas, scales, and trills which declined as the size, power, and volume of the orchestra increased.

Translations

elegant style of singing

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 美聲唱法 / 美声唱法 (měishēng chàngfǎ)

• Esperanto: belkanto
• Finnish: bel canto
• Georgian: ბელკანტო (belḳanṭo)
• German: Belcanto (de) m
• Greek: μπελ κάντο (bel kánto)
• Italian: belcanto m
• Korean: 벨칸토 (belkanto)
• Russian: белька́нто (ru) m (belʹkánto)
• Slovak: belkanto n

Further reading

• bel canto on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• balconet, can belto

Italian

Noun

bel canto m (invariable)

1. alternative form of belcanto

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian bel canto (literally “beautiful singing”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌbel ˈkanto/ [ˌbel ˈkãn̪.t̪o]
• Syllabification: bel can‧to

Noun

bel canto m (uncountable)

1. (music) bel canto (a form of Italian opera singing)

Further reading

• “bel canto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025