This talk by DS alum James Prud’homme (’26) offered DS students ways to listen to and understand the sung voice with the pleasure it deserves. Taking classical vocalists as examples, James laid out many of the fundamental tenets of healthy singing. The approach is technical and functional rather than critical, it being assumed that evaluations best inform preference when they follow comprehension. Topics discussed included the two registers of the voice, chest and head; the effect of the orchestra on vocal production; the ideal form of vibrato; vocal agility; and the varieties of interpretative possibilities open to singers and the ways in which these possibilities can be realized. The lecture concluded with an analysis of various performances of the high C phrase in “Salut demeure” from Gounod’s Faust meant to illustrate the significance of seemingly small interpretive and technical differences.