I spent June of 2002 in Urbania, Italy for the Oberlin In Italy program. I’d heard about the program from my coaches at Eastman, one of whom attended the program as the opera conductor. I was particularly attracted to the language program, as I have always had a great love for Italian. La Traviata was the scheduled opera; I wanted to get some stage experience as well. I sent Oberlin my tape and was notified fairly shortly thereafter of my acceptance. I had been selected to be in the Concert Touring Group, which was composed of 10 or 12 singers who traveled to small cities surrounding Urbania and gave recitals of various opera scenes and solo arias. I’d heard great things about the Concert Touring Group from a friend who’d been in it the previous year. That combined with the language studies made my decision to go.
About 50 students attended. There were a lot of students from Eastman, so fortunately I had a good friend as a roommate. The house we stayed in was fine, but the distance to the town’s center was considerable. Every morning we passed the “Benvenuti a Urbania” sign while walking to Italian class at Centro Studi Italiani. It was that far away. Not the greatest, or safest, circumstances. Most students lived substantially closer to the school; we were the exceptions.
The daily schedule usually went as follows with few variations. Italian class was held every morning, 9-12 a.m. This was usually my favorite part of the day. The teachers were extremely good. Siesta usually began just after that, so most students tried to get in their practicing during this time, supposing they could find a room. The facilities were not convenient. Rooms were limited, and neighbors disliked singers wailing during their naptime. There was another practice room facility, but it was far away and quite a hassle to get there. Then the coaching/voice lessons began, interspersed with musical rehearsals/stagings. The principals in Traviata rehearsed while the other students did their individual scenes.
The three voice teachers were from Oberlin, and were all very good. I studied with Lorraine Manz. She was careful not to interfere with the technique I’ve learned, but gave me enough new things to think about as well. It was a good, healthy singing experience.
The three coaches were Ubaldo Fabbri, Paola Mariotti, and Lucia Tosi. These coachings were priceless. I’ve already listened to my tapes a number of times. Maestro Fabbri was the most helpful to me. He was extremely attentive to recitative. The diction and inflection he demonstrated were beautiful, absolutely poetic. I couldn’t learn those things in any other way than to be in Italy, learning from an Italian musician.
I deeply regret not being able to have more time with these coaches. This is one way in which the program could improve.
I have to say, I was unimpressed by the level of professionalism in many of the singers. Some never even attended Italian class. It seemed that they had come for the night life, which I don’t understand since they’d forked over so much money. We were asked to arrive in Italy with all our music learned and memorized. Some singers took this seriously, followed all the stage director’s preparational instructions, and arrived with scenes memorized. It was certainly time-consuming, but they didn’t regret it because they knew their stuff. You can imagine how frustrating it was for them when they found that there were few singers who had done this. This is no fault of the staff, obviously. However, they didn’t seem surprised or upset that their requests had not been carried out. The singers who were prepared wasted a lot of time while staff and singers spoon-fed notes and words to less-prepared singers in the first few weeks. It was very frustrating.
On our free time in Urbania, there was much to be enjoyed. Urbania is not a tourist attraction, just a very small town with a good language school and a small opera theatre. So the life I saw there was the real thing. Being a part of that was an unparalleled experience. Everyone was very willing to help us learn the language, and that made a huge difference in the amount I learned. I do wish I had reviewed my Italian more before going.
The surrounding area was beautiful. Many people went hiking. Every weekend there were excursions to close-by cities: Siena, Florence, and Assisi. These were at an extra cost, so many students went to the beach instead. The nearest beach was Pesaro, about an hour bus ride away. Pesaro is a tourist town, but the beaches are beautiful.
The production of Traviata was very interesting. The program didn’t spend money on costumes. To be kind, let’s just say they were less than beautiful. There were no seamstresses available, so most costumes fit poorly. But we had the privilege of performing the opera in two small but exquisite opera houses, in Urbino and in Urbania. The third performance was held in an even smaller facility in Sant’Angelo. The chorus barely fit on the stage. Props were limited, stagehands were limited, and the temperature was soaring. By the second scene, the principals were sweating like they’d just run a marathon in 100-degree weather.
Also, the principals were extremely young. There were two casts; both Violettas were under 23, and one Germont was 20. I came to know some of the natives in Urbania, people who know Verdi like Americans know Britney Spears. They all commented to me about the immaturity of the performers. There’s no fooling Italians when it comes to opera.
However, my experience with the Concert Touring Group was in every way incredible. We performed in five small, nearby cities. One concert in particular I will never forget. Four of us were selected to sing in a piazza in Pennabilli, which is positioned on a mountaintop. The audience was in chairs set up in the large piazza, and we performed in front of a beautiful cathedral, at the top of a set of elegant stone stairs. The people there adored us. The last number was “Non ti scordar di me,” to which everyone sang along. The Italians showered us with gifts: Large framed pictures of Pennabilli, ceramic dishes, flowers, etc. Afterwards, they treated us to an extravagant multi-course meal at a private outdoor restaurant. We ate and laughed until the wee hours of the morning.
The amount I paid versus the amount I learned would probably balance out pretty well. On my wish list however, I would like to see an improvement in terms of the housing situation, the performing conditions, and the general level of the singers’ commitment before returning.
