Bel canto

'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).

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.