LA NOSTRA VIOLETTA

Adriana Iozzia as Violetta

Some years ago, I interviewed Modican soprano Adriana Iozzia, whom I have had the pleasure of knowing since she was six years old, for Italy Magazine. 

Since then, Adriana's star has been rising steadily and I'm happy to be able to tell you that this week, she has been appearing as Violetta in La Traviata at the Teatro Fedele Fenaroli in Lanciano, Chieti [Abruzzo].  The performance was a sell-out and I'm not surprised!

Congratulations to Adriana and I'm very proud to have been her first interviewer.

COURTYARD COOLERS

The late Jennifer Paterson's "Suffolk Lemon Pudding" is a dessert I have often made here and my Sicilian friends seem to like it, especially when I explain that it's a sort of semifreddo. My friend Irma is fascinated by this dish and I was flattered when she rang me a few weeks ago to ask for the recipe as she wanted to serve it at a party she was planning.  I hadn't imagined she would make four of them but she did!  You can see them in the bottom picture among the other cool and tempting dolci on the table:

The company of friends, a song from Irma's talented daughter and "Suffolk Lemon Pudding" in a moonlit Sicilian courtyard - what better way could there be to spend a summer evening?

MORE NEWS OF OUR MODICAN OPERA STAR

In June I wrote that our rising Modican opera star, Adriana Iozzia, was going to sing the role of Pamina in The Magic Flute in Béziers, France.  The performances were a great success and tonight I thought you would like to see a photo of Adriana in this role.

Soon she will be off to sing Donna Anna in Don Giovanni in Macedonia and she is to be the cover singer for the role of Mimi in La Bohème at the Carlo Felice Theatre in Genova.

Congratulations, Adri!

You can see my interview with Adriana - whom I have known since she was six years old - here.

OUR MODICAN OPERA STAR

Some of you may remember that I have been following the progress of talented Modican soprano Adriana Iozzia since she was six years old.  Her mother is my close friend Irma and I am proud to have Adriana as a friend too.

Tonight I am happy to be able to tell you that from 1st - 3rd August Adriana will be singing the role of Pamina in The Magic Flute  in Béziers, France.  The part of Tamino will be sung by the famous Macedonian tenor, Blagoj Nacoski.

This is a wonderful opportunity for Adriana and one for which she has studied and worked hard.  I am sure you will all join me in congratulating her and wishing her well.

AN INTERVIEW WITH ADRIANA IOZZIA

This is an article of mine which was published in Italy Magazine this week. I have mentioned Adriana before on this blog and I thought that all of you would like to learn more about her, too:

Pat interviewed Adriana Iozzia, a 23-year-old soprano from Modica, who gave her first interview to Italy Magazine.

Pat: Adri, I’ve known you since you were 6 years old but it wasn’t until I heard you sing in a church choir when you were 9 that I realised you had the voice of an angel. When did you begin to sing?
Adriana: I’ve always sung, around the house or in church.

Pat: When did you take up singing seriously?
Adriana: When I was 17 a teacher from my school heard me sing and he suggested I take some private lessons, so I did, in Catania.

Pat: Where else have you studied music?
Adriana: At the Conservatorio in Parma and at l’Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome under Renata Scotto. I also studied at the Accademia Vignola in Modena under Mirella Freni.

Pat: Are you still studying?
Adriana: Yes, at the Conservatorio in Ferrara. I’m studying for the Biennio superiore in musica vocale di camera and I’ll finish in March. But you never stop studying music if you are a singer.

Pat: You’ve won several competitions, haven’t you? Can you tell us about a recent one?
Adriana: Yes, a few weeks ago I won the Premio Internazionale Vincenzo Bellini at Caltanissetta. I sang O Caro Nome from Rigoletto.
Pat: I’ve heard you sing that on your demo CD. It’s lovely.

Pat: Do you have any favourite composers?
Adriana: Bellini as he was Sicilian but I’m always interested in discovering new music.

Pat: What about favourite singers?
Adriana: Again, I always like to find new singers but I do follow Renata Scotto and Daniela Dessi, especially if I’m preparing a role. Renata Scotto always sings the first phrase absolutely right and it helps me interpret my role.

Pat: What is your repertoire?
Adriana: Lirico leggero and bel canto. Bellini, Verdi, Rossini and Donizetti suit my voice best.

Pat: Do you sing in languages other than Italian?
Adriana: Yes, I sing in French, Spanish, German, Russian and Welsh.
Pat: Do you have a language coach?
Adriana: No, I learnt by listening to other singers though I did study the phonetics of German.
Pat: And when did you have a chance to sing in Welsh?
Adriana: At a concert in Parma in 2007. I sang Beethoven’s Walische Lieder.

Pat: I have no idea what an opera singer has to study altogether and I imagine many of our readers would like to know what your life is like.
Adriana: I can tell you it’s not all about arias! We have to do physical work on our voices, vocal exercises and so on. Then, if I’m rehearsing a particular role, I have to prepare like an athlete, working on my breathing muscles, for instance. My teachers help me with technical difficulties and then I spend a lot of time working out how I want to interpret the role. I listen to singers from the past, like Rosa Ponselle. There are so many steps in preparing a role and of course I have to be a good actress, too.

Pat: I’ve read that an opera singer’s voice has to mature. Is this true?
Adriana: Yes, the voice is enriched as you get older. My voice has characteristics that I want it to keep but I want to add to them. The trick is to do this without losing anything. It’s like adding layers to the voice.
Pat: This didn’t happen for Callas, whom I know you admire, did it?
Adriana: Callas is a special case because by losing so much weight so drastically she became weak and strained her voice. It was a tragedy.

Pat: Do you have to follow any special diet?
Adriana: No. I just make sure that I eat healthily.

Pat: You have to watch the weather, don’t you?
Adriana: I have to be careful when it’s cold because if I get a sore throat I can’t sing. But I don’t make a fuss about it.

Pat: Do you suffer from stage fright?
Adriana: No, I 'm never afraid to go on stage – I just feel a little anxious because I want to do my best. But once I’m on stage it’s a great feeling.

Pat: Who chooses your stage clothes?
Adriana: If it’s a role, the director. If it’s a concert, I do.

Pat: What are your ambitions now?
Adriana: To sing opera as a soloist in theatres and to travel to sing. There aren’t many chances to sing in Sicily. There’s the Bellini Theatre in Catania and the Teatro Massimo in Palermo but that’s all, so I’ll have to travel.

Pat: Has your family encouraged you?
Adriana: Oh, yes, they’ve always supported me, both emotionally and in practical ways.

Pat: Adri, we hope that you achieve all your ambitions. Thank you so much for giving your first interview to Italy Magazine.
Adriana: Thank you. It’s been a pleasure.

A VERY MODICAN DIVA

Some of you may remember that in July I wrote about a concert given here in Modica by the soprano Adriana Iozzia, who is my close friend Irma's daughter. On that occasion, it was difficult to take photographs of Adriana in the theatre so I thought that you would like to see two lovely pictures of her which Irma sent me yesterday. I reproduce them here with her permission:

I am pleased to be able to tell you that Adriana's fame is spreading and on Sunday she starred in a concert in Brisighella, Ravenna, in honour of the brisighellese soprano Maria Pedrini [whose mother was Sicilian].

It is with great pride that I recall that I have known Adri since she was 6 years old.

A SATURDAY NIGHT CONCERT

The soprano Adriana Iozzia is my dear friend Irma's daughter and I have known her since she was 6 years old. So it was with considerable pride that I attended Adriana's operatic recital at Modica's delightful Teatro Garibaldi last night. [Irma had seen to it that my friends and I were allocated a box for the occasion and that made it even more exciting for of course, part of the joy of going to such an intimate and charming theatre is seeing who else is there and what they are wearing!]

Adriana is now a beautiful and confident young woman of 23 who has studied under Mirella Freni and Renata Scotto but I first realised that she had the voice of an angel when I heard her sing in a church during the Christmas festivities of 1995. Many children have pleasing voices but few continue to dedicate themselves to music in the way that Adriana has and when I heard her 10 years later I knew that she was a potential star. She is now completing her musical studies at the Conservatorio "G. Frescobaldi" in Ferrara.

Last night Adriana was accompanied by the Modican pianist Sergio Carrubba and the programme consisted of:

Mozart: An Chloe
Mozart: Giunse alfin il momento...deh vieni non tardar from Le Nozze di Figaro
Gounod: Air des Bijoux from Faust
Donizetti: Regnava nel silenzio...quando rapito in estasi from Lucia di Lammermoor
Verdi: Egli non riede ancora...non so le tetre immagini from Il Corsaro
Rachmaninov: Sogno
Puccini: Quando m'en vo' from La Bohème
Puccini: O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi [always makes me cry!]
Arditi: Il bacio
Tosti: Malìa
Tosti: L'ultima canzone

A well-chosen and interesting programme, I'm sure you'll agree, and how I wish you could all have been there to hear this fresh, lovely young voice! You really would have felt that Adriana was singing just for you, as I did.

Here is a photo of Adriana aged 9, dressed for carnival:

It is not easy to take decent photos under theatre lights so these were the best I could achieve last night of Adriana and Maestro Carrubba:

Grazie per la bella serata, Adri!