Bel canto, anyone? The great Bonci was among the last—and greatest—of the bel canto tenors. The crescendos, portamentos, decrescendos, rapid vibrato, dynamic variations—all the characteristics of the bel canto school of singing are here. The big verismo tenors—Caruso inter alia—were about to claim the public's attention, and slowly but surely the great bel canto tenors of the past would slip away, with only the occasional burst of the old brilliance, such as early Lauri-Volpi, to remind us of what was being lost.
