First week at Bel Canto Institute!

Buon Giorno a Firenze!

It’s been a little while since I posted here, but I hope to let you catch a glimpse of my activities in Firenze thus far through this update! I am settled at my host home now, and am quite happy. I was a little homesick upon arrival, seeing as I had already traveled for 6 days prior, but am very happy now and embracing this amazing experience and opportunity! The Bel Canto Institute is going very smoothly, and I have already had 10 hours of beginning Italian class. Here is a typical day in the life of Heather in Firenze this past week, with several fun experiences thrown in, so enjoy!

6:30 a.m.: Wake up, stumble to the shower, and start getting ready for the day! I have a yogurt and cereal for breakfast, and grab a small croissant as I go out the door. I have to leave the apartment by 7:45 for the bus because I take one of two busses, and there’s no telling when they will come. So, I either arrive at my Italian Language class right on time (8:30), or a little early with time to settle in. Then, I have Italian class for 2 hours, studying verb forms, vocabulary, articoli indeterminativi, and preposizioni. We learn from the teacher, then do exercises, and read back examples to our fabulous teacher, Sara. I had always thought I would die in a language immersion class where the whole class is taught in Italian, but I am actually doing quite well and catching on, yippee! Plus, our teacher was obviously trained in teaching foreigners Italian, as she goes at a wonderful pace and is very encouraging… not to mention drop dead gorgeous, which the guys in the class appreciate ;) I have about 17 classmates, and we are all enjoying the class.

10:30-11/12:30: Depending on the day this past week, I had practices that were at 11, 11:30, or 12, so I would dedicate the next bit of time to singing and memorizing. Jane Klaviter, the inventor and head of the program, assigned us singers only 30 minutes of practicing a day. Now some would believe this to be too little, but she explained that with the hour coaching or voice lesson a day we will have starting next week, half an hour of practice was plenty for our voices, and I agree! I really enjoy singing in Florence, and had a 3.5 octave range when I first practiced, lol! That has since diminished, but it was a fun moment ;) My practices went well, and we actually very fruitful as I had to be focused the whole time since I only had thirty minutes. I think I may change my style from now on to be more like that as it is much for productive.

12:30-1:15: Next, I would eat lunch! I am saving my money by not going out every day, but by going to the supermercato (super market!) about once or twice a week and buying chiabatta bread, tuna, fruits, veggies, and other snacky items that I can keep in my apartment room and bring to school each day! It has been working out very well, and I can pick exactly what I want to eat, as breakfast and dinner are with the host family and a set meal ;) Plus, then I have more money for gelato… :D Ah yes, the famed GELATO! Yep, it’s as good as it is famed to be! AND, some friends told me about a place right across from the music school where you can get a 1 euro gelato, yippee! That’s the cheapest I have seen, and it’s a nice small amount too which is good for my not-so-flat stomach ;) There is also a coffee and small snack place right next door to the music school, and I have had 4 “caffe latte” there so far, also for 1 euro, which is reasonable.

caffe latte I have as part of my morning routine now :)

1:15-3:45: Performance class! Well, actually, this time and area varied widely this week –
Monday, we went on a small tour around Firenze. Our guide didn’t have a microphone, and when you are 1 of 50, and in the back of the line, it’s doesn’t help… so, I talked with people and introduced myself and met new people instead! It was fun to walk around and see the sites (Duomo, Ponte Vechio, and multiple piazzas) and also get to know the other program participants. Several of you have asked me how many are in the program, and now I have an answer! There are 50 total participants in the program: about 10 instrumentalists, about 15 youth singers (ages 15-17), and about 25 SVP (summer voice program participants, those 18 and older). So we range in age from 15-55, quite the spread! I think the largest group is in the 20-22 range, but there are those older and younger as well.

Tuesday/Wednesday: On these days of performance class, Jane went through a thorough list of Italian terms with us, ones that I had never actually defined clearly before! She played musical examples and provided each student with a large packet of information on the examples, as well as each composer we are studying: Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Puccini, and Verdi. Things like the difference between a “legetura“ and a “portamento” were spoken of, and it was great to learn about the different tempo markings and emotion markings in the various pieces, and even special markings by certain composers.

Thursday/Friday: These last two days of the week began the first performances by students of the program, with Jane coaching them in front of the other participants! We had 3-4 people on Thursday, and I got to go with 3 other people on Friday! It was a great experience, and I really appreciated Jane’s candor and wisdom in coaching me on the recit portion of “Oh Quante Volte” by Bellini. It was neat because another student, Ju, is also learning the aria, so we kind of split it – I sang the recit and was coached on that, and Ju sang the aria and was coached on it! We each got about 30 minutes, which was a perfect amount of time to sing it through, and then go work through the piece. I will get another coaching with Jane later on in the program :)

3:45-6:15: I typically had this time free in the day, so I used it to eat a light snack, do my homework, check my email, and mark up my music for the role I am learning. There is a nice sun room off the main area of the Language school, so I would typically walk back there and sit in that room to work. It was quiet and out of the way, and it was nice to have some solitude for the day ;) On Tuesday, my friends showed me a good “internet point” as they are called here, where I could bring in my little Netbook (small laptop) and surf the internet and Skype, yay! So, on Wednesday, I brought my computer with me and went there during this free time and got to Skype with Matt and my family, yippee! It was good to see their faces and hear their voices… something missing when you can only communicate through email. But hey, I know I’m lucky to have both, and can’t imagine a time when relationships were sustained through letters that would take weeks in the mail, yikes!! I’m spoiled to have lots of good email to read in my inbox when I check my email :D

view from sun room off of language school where I like to do my work

6:15-8:15: During just this first week, we had diction classes every night for 2 hours… It was really great information, and had a very patient, yet insistent, teacher, but the timing of the class wasn’t that good ;) We were all in a very warm room (no air conditioning in any room except the auditorium where we have the performance classes!), about 20 of us, sitting, a little hungry or full of gelato, for 2 hours… lol. But I learned sooooo much, especially about the actual differences between closed [e] and open [E] and closed [o] and open o, and also about the importance of doubled consonants and how to do them, and the VERY important [f]! Our teacher liked a LOT of [f], so he would write about four on the board and say “that much!” ffff…. :D We all spoke and sang a lot in class, so I know my pronunciation and flow of Italian phrasing got much better, and I think the other people in the class can say the same.

8:15-10:00: After class, Yuri and I would walk to the bus stop (10 minutes), and wait for our bus to pick us up! Typically, people would have dinner at 8:30, but since we live the furthest away, we asked Barbara, our host mom, if it was ok to move dinner to 9:00. She is soooo sweet! I like her more and more each day, and she tells us that she is “our mommy” while we are here. So, Yuri and I caught the bus, and watched our purses and backpacks (lots of thieves and pickpockets on the bus), and traveled home. We walked to the apartment and arrived with a “bueno sera!” (good evening) to Barbara, who was busy cooking our super. She usually tells us to “relax” (one of the few English words she knows) and we go into our shared bedroom to drop off our things, wash our faces (it is SO humid here…), and relax for a little before dinner. Around

9:00 Barbara calls “Yudi, Erik!”…. um, oh yes, did I mention how hard the name “Heather” is to say in Italian? Barbara has asked me twice how to say my name, but now I just respond to “erik”, lol :) My Italian language teacher calls me “edeh”, and that’s close enough too ;) So, we would sit down to a nice dinner with the prima and seconda courses = LOTS of food! I’m still getting used to having a big bowl of pasta, and then also having my plate filled with meat, bread, and salad after that (not to mention sleeping shortly afterwards..)! We’ve had some great pesto with spaghetti noodles, tortellini (filled with meat or spinach), and then some chicken stuffed with cheese, or chicken kabobs, or melon (cantaloupe) wrapped in prosciutto, and on Friday night she really spoiled us with some red wine and cooked mussels! They were very very good, and she put a heaping serving of them on top of a piece of bread in a bowl and then poured the juice over them, which soaked into the bread and made a delicious ending to the meal. The wine from Tuscany is very good (and inexpensive!)! We had a strong red wine, but I’m forgetting the exact name. It had a lot of body and flavors that would dance in your mouth, but was also not too dry at the same time – very pleasant :)

After dinner, Yuri and I said “grazie della cena!” (thank you for dinner), and headed off to get ready for bed. By then it was 9:45 or 10:00 (depending on how much conversation we were able to have at dinner), and we were tired from our full day. If we didn’t do it earlier, Yuri and I would do our Italain homework (competi), before we went to sleep. Then, we would lather ourselves in mosquito repellent (there are so many here!!) and drift off to sleep, hoping that the night would become cool and blow into our window a little so we could sleep ;)

Whew, it’s takes a lot longer to type that all out than to speak it! I hope you enjoyed the first week of the Bel Canto Institute with me, and I believe I will be able to update the blog again on this coming Wednesday. Today, Sunday, we will be having a shorter performance class with 3 singers around 12:30, and then will be meeting all the voice teachers and coaches who will be working with us during the next 3 weeks around 5:00. This first week was a week for us to get acclimated and have intense Italian diction, and now, during these next 3 weeks, we will continue the 2 hours of Italian language and also the performance classes, but also add in a total of 16 hours of coachings and voice lessons, so one hour everyday (including a Saturday).

Ohhhh!!! I almost forgot! Yesterday, Saturday, was a day out of the norm in that we didn’t have the typical schedule you see above (that was for Monday through Friday), but instead took a day-long tour! The first stop was Puccini’s house where he composed a lot of his operas and also where he is entombed. This house was gorgeous and was located in a very small and tranquil town by the name of “Torre del Lago” in the countryside of Tuscany. It is located right on the water, and was a place of quiet and opportunities for Puccini’s other interests as well which included hunting, fishing, and driving automobiles. When Puccini died, this house immediately became a Museum to him, with all original artifacts. He is entombed in a wall of his house, directly behind his piano (the one where he composed), along with several other members of his family. It was very neat to see this and to have a guided tour to hear all about Puccini’s personal life. Apparently he would hunt and fish and do his other interests during the day, and then go home to compose at night.

Puccini’s house in Torre del Lago

Puccini's view from his house :)

Our next stop was the very famous town of Lucca, the place where Puccini was born and spent his childhood years. We also got a guided tour of the town and its history there, which was very interesting as well. The guide would tell us in Italian, and then Jane would translate into English for us. When we first got to Lucca, we were able to wander off around town on our own and go find lunch. So, three friends, Joane, Sarah, and Hannah and I wandered away from the MASS group of students, and found a quaint piazza with a pretty fountain and a nice outdoor eating area. We only had to wait about 5 minutes for a seat, and then ordered our food, which was very reasonably priced :) We laughed a little at their menu as they listed the items both in Italian and English, but the English translation wasn’t that great ;)

Puccini’s house in Lucca

We then went on our tour, and then back on the bus for the ride back to Firenze! We got back around 5:00, and then Joane and I went walking and talking around Firenze’s shopping areas for about 2 hours, which was so pleasant! We both have very similar interests, and it was very good conversation :) we also found out that a lot of the clothes are waaaaay too expense for us (135 euro for jeans??), but we also stumbled onto a free organ concert while walking down random streets! So we sat in on a pipe organ concert for a little while, enjoying the sights of the inside of the beautiful church, and I even recorded some of the concert on my camera… shhhh ;) Next, we again accidently stumbled upon a paper shop! Kelly, a wonderful lady I babysit for in Colorado, told me to find some paper shops in Florence when I was there as Florence is famous for its marbled paper and paper in general. Well, she was right! We looked around for a little while, and I finally settled on buying a beautiful card with a cut-out on it and behind the cut out is the famous marbled paper :) Joane and I then parted ways, and I started heading for the bus for home! On the way, I stopped in a clothing store, and actually got a nice white shirt for 8 euro, yay! That’s much more my price range ;)


Ok, that’s all I can type now! I typed this up on the evening of Saturday night and then also Sunday morning, and will post it Sunday afternoon when I am on the internet.
I hope you all are well, and please feel free to comment and tell me how you are doing and ask me any questions you would like to!

Ciao!

~Heather

***Disclaimer: I tried to post this blog 3 times with issues each time :( So, hopefully this time will work!!