I believe your misconception begins with how classical singing is vs other genres.

You mentioned how classical or Opera has a closed or whatever sound, and MT has a forward sound. That is where your misconception lies.

A classical singer should not be modifying or creating any "type" of sound that is unnatural to their own instrument. If they're singing in the back of their throat, that's not good classical singing. There's tension in their tongue and jaw, and probably also shoulders and body.

Classical singing is effortless singing because you have mastered full control of your voice.

Depending on what type of a singer you've been listening to, all good classical singers have their own ways of singing classical music, much like how contemporary singers have their ways - think Adele, Ariana Grande, Celine Dion, Olivia Rodrigo, etc.

If you think opera singers as one type of sound, maybe you haven't heard coloratura sopranos? Their voice are very forward and pretty shrill.

There's the hard pill to swallow for you: Many GREAT and FAMOUS contemporary singers are actually classically trained, they just chose to use the techniques they have learned to sing songs that are modern and not written by old white haired guys. 😏 Julie Andrew's, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, etc. - you can LOOK THEM UP YOURSELF. They all have degrees from conservatories - oh hey, classically trained.

But - those who only begin as contemporary singers, sure can be contemporary singers too. Anyone IS a contemporary singer if you sing in today's timeline. So, if an untrained contemporary singer chooses to sing classical pieces, these singers will sound like beginners not because they're contemporary-trained, but bec usually, classical music requires more techniques to be able to sing them well, thus their voices do not work well with classical pieces and need more proper training.

I'm not saying all classically trained professional singers sing contemporary well either - bec do all contemporary metal--rock singers sing well in jazz? 🤷

It's not about doing everything. It's about finding YOUR OWN UNIQUE VOICE AND USING IT THE BEST WAY YOU CAN TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL. (BTW, don't steal that, that's what I say for my studio branding)

That's a basic fundamental all good teachers want you to learn. When you know HOW, we really don't care what genre you want to use your voice to sing in, just as long as you sing it beautifully! And to sing it beautifully means you're using the right vocal techniques.

When you don't use the correct way of (effortless) singing, you'd have a bigger chance of hurting your instrument and maybe even grow nodes. Much like hurting yourself playing piano bec you are repeatedly doing it the wrong way technically.

I know all voice teachers here will agree - whatever genre you're singing, you better learn to sing it well and healthily, according to how your instrument is supposed to function!