If you are anything like me, you have asked yourself a few questions about food. And it’s funny, I have been asked by many people, mostly non-singers, what the typical “singer food” is… this sounds a bit like dog food or cat food, I like it, we are a peculiar species of songbirds after all… What should singers eat? What’s good and what’s bad for our voice?
In my experience, the only things which are a problem if eaten just before singing are nuts – everything from almonds to walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, not sure about macadamias, need to try that! They just make my voice break. Apart from things like that, I think that what agrees with you in everyday life is good for you voice as well. The way we react to food differs greatly from one person to another, so your best bet is to find out what makes you feel good and stick to that when you are singing. Back when I was studying in Sulmona I wasn’t very clued up on food yet and I hadn’t found out a few crucial things I know about myself now. So one day, the morning of a public concert I asked the great Gianni Raimondi who was teaching at the Academy what I should eat before a performance. And without the slightest hesitation, and a bit surprised about my question he said: Well, a really big plate of spaghetti with butter and parmesan, what else! Great, I thought, I love that! So I went and had exactly that for lunch, and by the time I had to sing my second aria at the student’s concert that afternoon, my sight went black, I felt like my heartbeat was grinding to a halt, my legs got shaky and I was about to faint. Biggest sugar crash of my life so far… I was going to have a few more of them in the following months and then slowly started drawing the right conclusions from the experience. My body hates carbs as much as I love them, which is pretty unfortunate. But the old pasta trick keeps working for generations of lucky opera singers and you might be one of them! What works for me is a big piece of meat or fish with a small salad 4 hours before the performance. Find out what works for you! I know of opera singers who drink cold Coke before and during the show… that would kill me, but maybe it’s great for you. Some say you shouldn’t drink coffee before singing, I personally never had any problems with that, others say you should eat raw eggs before singing, but the mere thought makes me heave… There again, find out what works for you. It’s more important than you think! For example, you want to avoid anything which can bloat you because it’s almost impossible to sustain the voice properly if you’re struggling with waves of air in your belly. And eating onions (bloating alert there as well!) and garlic can be detrimental to the outcome of a love duet ?
Around 4 hours after a serious meal is a very good moment for singing because your stomach has emptied but you’re not starving yet. And you really don’t want your belly to get in your way when you’re singing, because you’re using the whole area so much for this task, you want it a 100% available and dedicated. If you suffer from reflux at night, this can affect your voice heavily. In order to avoid that, make sure you don’t eat too late at night! Try and go to bed with an empty stomach, this can save you so much grief! Whatever your food needs and preferences are, one thing is true for all of us, but we sometimes forget: we need to drink enough water.
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