Autumn Arts Festival-Italian Opera Appreciation
Dates: 10/25/2010 - 11/3/2010
Location: Tuscany - Dievole Chianti Classico Winery
Instructor: Lincoln Clark
Price: $Included in the program 
workshop details |
This evening lecture series on Italian Opera Appreciation is open to all participants of the Autumn Arts Festival.
This is an incomparable introduction to Italian Opera from its birth. This will be a priceless opportunity see what all the fuss is about in a relaxed, informal setting. Professor Clark will present his lecture, with excerpts and stories from the great Italian works, each evening an hour before dinner. Together we will listen to famous recordings as Lincoln relates stories of his international career as a performer, director and artistic director. We will experience the great Italian composers Rossini, Verdi and Puccini, learn about vocal styles and understand cultural and historical influences that make opera one of the most passionate artistic expressions throughout Italy. (DVD excerpts from great operas are played on a large screen TV.)
Notes from the instructor:
Ah ha! There it is again, that familiar glow of excitement that I feel when I begin to prepare my talks for the Autumn Arts Festival in Tuscany - and, it will mount and grow until, back in Italy at last - and turning up the road to Vagliagli, I reach the summit and descending down through the vast Chianti vineyards, I finally reach the proud, centuries old Villa Dievole. A little farther north, in Florence, Opera, was first performed in 1598. That unique marriage of drama and music was, of course, the Italian Renaissance`s gift to the world, and most European capitals eagerly adopted it. The new art form finally reached New York in 1825. This year I have decided to concentrate my talks on the 19th century, that "golden century" of Italian opera that produced an astonishing wealth of musical geniuses: Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, and Puccini. It is no wonder that Italian cultural life was centered on the opera house. Right now I am reviewing the latest opera DVDs, for examples of these composers` best works to play for you. So far, I`ve settled on:
- Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, Tancredi, and La Donna del Lago
- Bellini: Norma, I Puritani
- Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor, Figlia del` Regimento, l`Elisir d`Amore, Don Pasquale
- Verdi: Macbeth, Rigoletto, Don Carlo, Aida, Otello
- Puccini: La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, La Tosca, Turandot
(To learn more about 19th C. Italian music here are two books I highly recommend: The Golden Century of Italian Opera by William Weaver, publisher is Thames and Hudson - Opera for Everyone by Jean Grundy Fanelli, publisher is The Scarecrow Press)
Opera combines all the arts. Whether you will be painting, collaging, cooking or shooting, whether opera fan or just curious, I would love to see you at one of the daily opera talks at the Dievole cantina. Order a pre-dinner glass of chianti, kick back and....who knows? Ci vedremo a` Dievole?
Prof. Lincoln Clark