CLA Italy 2019: Observations

CLA Italy 2019: Observations

I like the purple flowers that bloom right outside our apartment. There weren’t so many when we first came here. The fact that one white flower bush exists in that row of purple intrigues me.

I like saying “Ciao” every time I see someone. It’s a habit I never thought I’d pick up so unconsciously.

I like seeing Ambra every morning as I leave for classes, coachings, or staging rehearsals. She sits outside our neighbor’s house and watches us calmly. A beautiful, big dog with an amber speckled coat to match her name. She never responds when we call out to her…

I love the sound of the river at night. Going to the bridge and listening, watching as time passes slowly.

I love the stars. I’ve seen at least 4 shooting stars.

I like watching the garden by our apartment grow each day. The tomatoes going from green to red. Eggplants getting bigger. Grapes browning and shriveling as no one comes to harvest them.

The little, white wild flowers on the side of the road give me joy.

The cobbled streets make me trip more than usual. I’ve began wearing more sensible shoes.

The market on Mondays is incredibly lively (and cheap).

We have long, fulfilling days.

I love when things suddenly click in lessons/coachings; when things align perfectly. I adore learning new concepts, hearing metaphors, and learning to appreciate the art form which we study.

I love hearing about other people’s backgrounds and opinions. Getting to know people. Humans are social creatures, but often are too lazy to really take the time to get to know someone. I like that there are people here who take that time.

I love learning. I love that everyone at CLA loves learning.

I adore our instructors. They put up with us every day with only our best interests at heart. They strive to help us and for that, thank you.

I like that people share their ideas. I like sitting listening to the opinions of Maestro Paolo after a concert about his opinions and ideas on the actor-singer.

I like staring out the window at the mountains on long bus rides as we travel from venue to venue.

The drawl of Illaria’s “Allora” in Italian class early in the morning gives me happiness.

I love the Teatro. It has incredibly acoustics and now, so many precious memories.

I hate that my time at CLA Italy is coming to a close.

Written by Arthi Nandakumar

CLA Italy 2019: Trip to Pennabilli!

CLA Italy 2019: Trip to Pennabilli!

I walked from my apartment to the piazza with my roommate. The sun was beating down hard that day so I made sure to cover myself completely in sunscreen, wear a large hat, and bring my new fan (I may have looked a little ridiculous). The plan for the evening was to meet at the piazza and then take a twenty-minute bus ride to a town called Pennabilli.

We had talked about the excursion a bit in our Italian class that morning with Illaria, our wonderful instructor. She had explained the gist of the itinerary, and it seemed that we would be going to what appeared to be similar to an open-air museum. As an admirer of art I was already excited for the trip, though that feeling was damped slightly by the prospect of having to hike quite a bit (we were informed that the area is quite mountainous). Nonetheless, that afternoon we were gathered on the bus and headed down the very windy road to Pennabilli regardless of my lack of physical fitness.

Having just finished Italian class, a coaching, and a rehearsal all back to back, I was quite fatigued and ended up knocking out pretty immediately following our departure (seems to be a trend with me). Twenty-minutes seemed to go by much too quickly, and the slowing of the bus alerted me awake. We got off the bus, and as I shielded my eyes from the sun, I took my first good look around.

I thought the view in Novafeltria was amazing.

I was not ready for this.

I wish I could accurately depict the grandeur of this place, but no words could ever truly do it justice, which is why I will attempt, with my meager ability, to paint an image that creates at least a shadow of what we saw that day.

Green.

So much green. All shades. Evergreen, lime green, emerald, etc. covering every inch of the landscape. We were surrounded by mountains, but if Novafeltria’s mountain reminded me of a hug, Pennabilli’s mountains were a force of nature enveloping and knocking the breath out of us with their majesty. They seemed to go forever. When one mountain dipped down, another sprung up from behind it. It was overwhelming. Crushing awe stopped us in our tracks multiple times as we attempted to get anywhere in town, and I tried to sear the image that seemed to be mother nature’s greatest masterpiece into my mind.

We distractedly made our way up the street (literally stopping every couple of minutes to take pictures), and finally arrived at our first destination, the house of the late Tonino Guerra. I honestly had no clue who this man was or what he did when I first entered his house, but I think we all left with so much appreciation for Mr. Guerra, and I, at least, was completely enamored. Upon entering his place, his wife welcomed us with the warmest smile I’ve seen in a while. They had converted their house into a mini museum filled with Mr. Guerra’s artwork, poems, and films. The furniture itself was art. All around us were nature motifs. Cabinets made to look like trees, butterfly paintings covering the ceiling, a large leaf sculpture occupying a quarter of the room carved with such intricate detail. Every piece in that house appeared to be a piece of art and there was some fantastical element to it. Many people commented that the whole atmosphere reminded them of something out of a fairy tale and I’m inclined to wholeheartedly agree.

But the fantasy did not end there.

If you have ever seen a Studio Ghibli movie, think of something in that vein.

If not, once again, here is my poor attempt at describing his garden.

Plants caught on our clothes as we made our way up the narrow, windy path. We were surrounded by plants of all kinds. Lavender, rosemary, and pine filled our noses. The fresh air and cool shade provided by the trees around us made the trek more bearable. I looked up from my feet (I was trying really hard not to trip), and started noticing sculptures popping up. The beautifully carved, round, white stool with Italian inscriptions on them. A little pond. Cats appearing left and right. A meditation garden secluded from the rest of the world. A mystical sense filled the atmosphere.

Once we were out of the garden, we continued to walk up a hill ignoring the burning in our calves and thighs. My excitement kept the energy in my body going, but upon reaching the top, new life seemed to surge through me. The mountains that we had seen on our walk to the museum and garden were now in full view surrounding us. A clear view looking down on the town made it seem so insignificant in comparison to the nature around it. Aeolian harps sounded as the cool, fresh breeze hummed through them. I felt dizzy. This was the scenery that was painted in the background of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. I slowly tried to take everything in walking around multiple times and seeing something new each time. Bells chimed every so often. A bird glided through the air. A mountain shaped like a corkscrew stood in the distance. Small towns looking like a couple of dots on a painting spotted the horizon.

We had to be dragged away.

Reluctantly, we arrived back in town. We saw more gardens. Raspberry bushes, pear trees, figs. An antique chamber where women used to wash their clothes, a sun dial, a sculpture of a large snail, a beautifully painted arch. There never seemed to be an end to the fantasy. But like all fairy tales, this one also had to come to an end.

Before we knew it, we were back on the bus headed to Novafeltria. My exhaustion caught up and I conked out (what was that I said about a trend). I had to be woken up upon arrival, and I swear, Pennabilli really did feel like a dream.

Written by Arthi Nandakumar

CLA Italy 2019: Mondays in Novafeltria

CLA Italy 2019: Mondays in Novafeltria

I thought I knew what hectic meant.

When I say that almost two weeks have passed in a blur, I mean that I literally don’t know what day it is anymore. As many events have occurred between the first post and now, I will try to briefly share with you some events that occurred over the first week of CLA Italy.

Firstly, Novafeltria Mondays are market day.

I thought I could anticipate what this would mean and imagined something on a small scale with a couple of fruit stands and some other miscellaneous booths. When I woke up that first morning, I groggily dragged myself out of the apartment and made my way to the streets. I soon realized that whatever small scale market I had in mind was not the reality. Racks upon racks of, colorful clothing were put out, every kind of shoe on display, and piles of fresh fruit and vegetables filled our vision. Purses, fans, jewelry were placed neatly in rows and the smell of food filled my nostrils. There seemed to be no end to the variety of merchandise and each stall seemed to have something different. The town was completely unrecognizable from the day before and was filled with smiling faces glazed with sweat from setting up shop in the summer heat. Loud chatter filled the air and as we made our way through the many stalls, it became difficult to decide what we wanted to buy. Eventually, even despite the language barrier (I knew literally five words in Italian, but the vendors were super patient and understanding), we were finally able to purchase several items for an astonishingly low price (which made my bank account very happy).

In the past week, there has been already been enough opportunities to explore the area. Not only that, but evenings in Novafeltria sometimes bring unexpected and exciting things. One of these was a fashion show in the main piazza one night. Several of us had heard about “la festa” in Italian class that morning but knew little about it except that it was occurring that night. When we arrived a large, scarlet carpet sat in the middle of the square leading up to a small stage with live music. The area was filled with chairs, and as the sun set, people slowly started filing in. We took a gander at the little booths that had popped up and soon all the seats were filled and an amazing display of live sand art began. This was followed by many other events (some I didn’t get to see, but I saw the belly dancers somewhere in the piazza), and as the night reached a climax, the fashion show started. Amazing, almost “campy” outfits were put on display. We saw gorgeous gowns that were reminiscent of tables with full silver wear atop them and other glorious oddities. But the festivities didn’t end there as the next night there was a small circus show. We watched as someone balanced on top of plates and when a life-sized robot came out and started dancing I didn’t even know what to think anymore, but boy was it a blast.

With the exception of Monday mornings (and all evenings), Novafeltria can be a considerably sleepy town during the day. However, I’ve found that this is by no means a problem, especially with the schedule that participants of CLA Italy follow. A typical schedule may consist of 9:00 am Italian Class, followed by 3 half-hour rehearsals and a 45-minute coaching. This does not include masterclasses, movement classes on other days or even just personal practice time. With such jam-packed days and the non-stop influx of transformative information, it was no wonder that I felt as though I had grown so much already as a performer and musician in the first week.

As of right now, we have had masterclasses with the wonderful Piero Corradino Giovanni, Sandra Hormozi, and Yunah Lee. I’ve always loved attending masterclasses as there is so much to learn just from watching your peers and seeing how other professionals approach similar issues. Mr. Giovanni’s input on how to create a beautiful Italian legato and vowels, Ms. Hormozi’s advice on what to do in the professional world and how to present yourself, and Ms. Lee’s insight on connection to character and text became a powerful catalyst for discussion and thought.

Some food for thought:

There is such joy in music. Oftentimes, when we get into the grind of a chaotic week or an upcoming performance, musicians can fall into a practice stupor where we simply go through the motions of what is “necessary.” But what is necessary? Is it to have all the notes and rhythms correct at all time? To never crack on a high note? To get through a piece of music following every single written direction and singing perfect legato? Sure. However, something I learned, and something I believe in is that one must really want to learn. Delve into the history of the piece. Ask yourself— why THIS dynamic marking as opposed to another? What was important about the subject matter of which I am singing in relevance to the age in which it was written and (maybe even more importantly) why is still important now? These tools are also a necessity, and when you are surrounded by wonderful teachers/mentors who are so passionate about what they do, it inspires you to really remember why and how to love music. 

Written by Arthi Nandakumar

CLA Italy 2019: Welcome to Italy!

CLA Italy 2019: Welcome to Italy!

I groggily opened my eyes as the growing chatter and the slowing of the bus seemed to signal the end of our journey from Bologna. The combination of jet lag and what seemed to me a superfluous amount of air travel and layovers is incredibly effective in knocking out a person for extended periods of time. Thus, in my state of tired confusion, I had no inclination as to how we had possibly arrived so quickly and was only slightly bothered by the prospect that my nap had been cut short.

As I fought the instinct to rub the sleep from my eyes (smudged mascara is not cute), I finally took a good look at our destination. Immediately a wave of excitement blew away any remaining exhaustion that hindered my ability to fully immerse myself in my surroundings.

The first thing I noticed was the fountain. A beautiful, clear fountain sparkling in the middle of the piazza. Then it was the buildings. You always see pictures of Italy and fantasize about walking down the cobbled, picturesque streets with the sun in your eyes, a cool breeze giving a moment of relief from the summer heat, locals shouting “Ciao!” or “Buongiorno!” to each other from across the way. The idea of being able to actually live that fantasy for almost a month had me itching to get off the bus.

And then I saw the mountains.

Breathtaking, majestic, sprawling, green mountains surrounded the city in what seemed like a warm hug evoking feelings of awe and also a strange (but not at all unwelcome) sense of safety. All my senses were flooded with the scene before me. Crisp, dry air filled my lungs and it the realization finally hit.

We were in Italy!

I was soon brought back to my senses at the sight of a group of locals awaiting our arrival. Smiles beamed on both ends as we approached and greetings were promptly exchanged. Glenn called out our names and we were all sent off with our respective host or guide to our apartments for the trip. I walked along with my housemates up a hill and soon entered our living quarters. A beautiful place reminiscent of a super fancy suite with living rooms, dining table, kitchen, gorgeous backyard, and two cozy bedrooms. We quickly began to explore every nook and cranny of the apartment and discovered it to have almost everything we needed. It felt incredibly warm (both figuratively and literally) and after getting to know each other and unpacking already began to almost feel like a home away from home.

Just as the jet lag began to hit hard, all the participants of CLA Italy went to the Checco, a beautiful little restaurant with outdoor seating and lighting that was out of a dream. The cool evening breeze helped lift our tired spirits and our night of feasting began! Introductions were made and MANY dishes served. Loud, joyful conversations ensued with laughter and delicious aromas filling the evening air.

As the sun set behind the mountains painting our surrounding a warm, orange glow, our first night in Novafeltria came to a close. Faces glowing with excitement and possibly sweat (probably sweat) we headed back to our respective residences and turned in for the night looking forward to the work that would already begin tomorrow.

Welcome to Novafeltria.

Welcome to CLA Italy.

Written by Arthi Nandakumar