Coming home

   This trip has felt both long and brief at the same time.  All the experiences I had in Italy contribute to who I am as a person and as a singer. I love Italy, and particularly Sansepolcro so very much. Dr. Williams worked to provide us with an spectacular experience. It was not always easy, but it was a good experience. I spent a little over three weeks with some amazing people. I had voice lessons with Stella and Dr. Price. I sang a lot and I ate incredible food. I will miss my 1.10 euro cappuccino and my 1 euro delicious pastry. The bakery called Chieli will always be my favorite. Thus far, this role in Le Nozze di Figaro has been my biggest operatic experience and I hope not my last. I learned so much and at the end of the day really enjoyed my character. I will miss the lovely language, the beautiful buildings, and the pace of life. It was fantastic to be able to make music in Tuscany this summer. I am so grateful for this opportunity. I look foreword to the upcoming school year and hope to utilize what I have learned this summer.

The Sansepolcro performance

     We performed in a lovely location for our Sansepolcro performance. There is a stage located outside in a courtyard of a place that was renovated to be a home for disabled children, but lies empty. It is behind the Santa Marta Church. Even though we were outside, the acoustics were good. We were to begin at 9 pm  but it was a little later. which is normal for Italian productions. The orchestra played wonderfully. There was quite a difference in the musicians from Friday night. The stage was quite noisy and I had a tenancy to make it sound lie I was stomping off stage. It was intentional, but I think it may have been a bit much. There were strong lights to illuminate the stage, so I could not see the audience, but I could make out the conductor. There seemed to be something in the air, we all felt it was very dry. We all ended up drinking a lot of water. We performed and did our best to ham-up the really funny parts. Even though people made mistakes the show was well received and everything seemed to flow together. I cannot believe it; we did it. It was a lot of work for a lot of people for us to put on a four act opera, but we did it. We learned a lot from the experience and it was fun.

The Monterchi performance

     We arrived in Monterchi an the skies were darkened; it had just rained. There was great concern that the weather would not hold for this three hour show. Dr. Williams and her husband arrived early and with the help of some other people worked out an alternative location. Meagan, who is a part of the Tuscan Art and folk song class, presented information about Pierro's Madonna del Parto before we headed to a public theater in town that would serve as our venue for the evening. The space was dry, but it had a stage with two possible entrances to the stage. Backstage was packed with things and smelled of cat urine. I may have moved around a bit too much, but one of my favorite things to sing in the opera was the duet I got to sing with Susanna. I had fun with Stella when we did this number. The sextet was fun, even though some things went a little wonkie. We were all very hot and the space was interesting, but despite the challenges we faced, we went out and did a four act opera and had a lot of fun doing it. I loved singing with Stella Peruzzi, Andrea Sari, Dr.'s Neal and Price. We just had fun in parts of it. We were nervous and people made mistakes, but we worked to put on a good show. We were flexible and I learned a lot from the experience.

Lorenzi

     I had intended to interview someone else for an assignment that we were given on this trip, but an opportunity presented itself and I took it. Mrs. Labelle and I were taking a walk one morning and some jewelry caught her eye, so we went in the shop to take a closer look. After the conversation that we had with the shop owner, I only had to go back and as her a couple more questions. Her English was pretty good. This shop, Lorenzi,  is located on the main street in Sansepolcro. It is across the street from the K café. She sells pieces by craftsman mostly from Tuscany. She has one child, a son, who attends university in Florence. This shop was opened by her grandfather in 1924, and it was originally an antique shop. After the shop owners parents passed way, the shop lay empty for a while. She sold the items left in the shop. She could not bare to sell the place because it was a part of her roots. Back then she was needed by her husband and her son, who was small at the time, so the shop lay in wait until he son grew and she got the idea to sell jewelry, which is a passion of hers. After some time had passed, she opened the place back up. She loves to work at her shop and her wares are beautiful, although very expensive. She, also loves music and very excited about our presence in Sansepolcro to make music. She said that she sings around the house all the time, and her son wrote to her when he went away to school and told her that he missed that so much. She says that she does not have a nice voice, but loves to sing. Her son, she told me, has a beautiful voice, but has had no interest in pursuing music since he was in his adolescence. She is a kind women, who had the pleasure of doing something she loves.

Monterchi

     After a couple days of rehearsals with the orchestra, the principles of the opera piled into one rental car and a taxi to view the Monterchi venue the night before. The opera was to take place on a little stage outside the museum of the Madonna del Parto by Pierro della Francesca. The views from this city, which is on a mountain, are amazing. We were surrounded by fields of sunflowers, tobacco, wheat, and beautiful old buildings. The colors were amazing, and temperature was perfect. The stage itself was a bit rickety, but we walked through each number and we made it work. There was a landing and stairs that a person could descend on the right and left sides. The stairs were going to be lined with candles tomorrow night. I sure it will e lovely, but I hope our dresses do not get to close to the flames. The energy of the cast was high and we were all pretty silly. My favorite part was when the count asked for forgiveness the countess rolled her eyes and walked off stage. At the end, we sang through the finale and added a can-can dance and did the do-si-do. The weather in Italy has been a bit strange. There has been quite a bit of rain in Tuscany. There are some concerns about the performance tomorrow being rained on, but we have hope that the weather will hold. Notice I said rained on and not out, because we are set to sing no matter what happens.

The final week

     The final week of our trip will be cram packed with events. There will be two performances of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. Some of the principle roles were double cast, such as the roles of Susanna and the Countess. I am fortunate enough to be able to be in both productions as Marcellina. Our first rehearsal with Paolo Belloli, conductor, went well. Dr, Lyman played the piano and Paolo gave instructions to all in areas that needed adjustment. He was commanding, funny, and a pleasure to work with. We took a break after each act. Even though the conductor did not speak English very well, he was able to give helpful, precise instructions after, and at times, during each number. It is an amazing pleasure to be able to work with Stella Peruzzi and Andrea Sari, who are Italian opera singers. After about a five hour rehearsal, we all gathered to have dinner at a restaurant called Carobabbo, which is located in the middle of a sunflower field. The ambiance was exquisite. We sat at a long table outside that was under a pergola. There was good conversation, laughter, and pretty good pizza. Tomorrow, we will rehearse with the orchestra. We have exactly two rehearsals with the orchestra before the performance.

A day...

     I love getting up to walk around this ancient city as it wakes. Following breakfast, we attended an Italian language class. Then, we had a master class with an Italian opera singer and voice teacher. This was followed by a delicious lunch that was served at the Servi. We had a few hours of time to warm-up, or practice, or rest before rehearsal for the opera was to begin. This rehearsal served as the conclusion of our scheduled daily events. This will be our schedule, for the most part, for the remainder of the trip. The opera is really coming together, and I cannot wait to perform it next Friday and Sunday. The show has been well advertised. I guess we are a part of the Tiber festival, and we saw our shows in a schedule in a British/Italian magazine today. There are also brochures laying about different cafes that advertise the schedule of the festival and out names were listed in it. It was really neat. Tomorrow will be the first rehearsal with the conductor that we will use for the performances. We will be rehearsing everyday this week and performing on Friday and Sunday. I am nervous and excited. I hope we get a few laughs. As our performances approach, I am faced with the realization that our time here will come to an end very soon. It has been an incredible blessing to be able to come to sing in Italy again. I am loving the pace of life and the vibrant nature of the people.