Bel canto (Italian: 'beautiful singing') describes the Italian operatic tradition that prioritises the beauty, smoothness, flexibility and ornamental agility of the singing voice over dramatic declamation. It flourished most purely in the operas of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti (approximately 1810–1840), whose vocal writing requires exceptional breath control, florid embellishment, the ability to execute runs, trills and ornaments at speed, and the capacity to sustain long, arching melodic lines. The castrato voice was bel canto's original vehicle — male singers castrated before puberty retained childlike vocal agility with adult lung capacity. With the abolition of castration in the 19th century, bel canto was rewritten for soprano, mezzo and tenor. Maria Callas in the 20th century revived the bel canto repertoire and redefined what the style demanded of a singer.