Estelle Liebling: An exploration of her pedagogical principles as an extension and elaboration of the Marchesi method, including a survey of her music and editing for coloratura soprano and other voices.

Abstract

Estelle Liebling (1880-1970) was a phenomenally successful voice teacher who occupies a place in the chain of succession of voice teachers devoted to the ideals of the bel canto. Turning out over seventy-five Metropolitan Opera stars over the fifty-plus year span of her teaching career, she was regarded during her lifetime as one of the most distinguished voice teachers in America. Her editions, compositions, and pedagogical writings exerted an influence on the world far exceeding the boundaries of the New York professional musical sphere in which she operated. Despite this, almost nothing has been written to date that documents her contribution to the world of singing. Much of Liebling's pedagogical outlook was derived from that of her immediate predecessor, Mathilde Marchesi, and direct comparison of Liebling's Vocal Course to Marchesi's Theoretical and Practical Vocal Method shows this relationship. Liebling herself acknowledged Marchesi's influence, but the pedagogy she espoused was by no means a carbon copy of that of Marchesi. Important differences exist, distinguishing Liebling's pedagogy as separate and individualized, a legitimate successor to the Marchesi Method. Liebling's legacy consists not only of her teaching and pedagogical writings, however. The tremendous body of vocal literature which she edited, arranged, and composed, mostly for coloratura soprano, is enough in of itself to justify her place in music history. Additionally, her catalogue work of cadenzas and ornamentation for coloratura soprano literature still stands today as the monumental work on the subject.