INFIORATA DI NOTO 2024

 It was a great pleasure to be back, for the first time since the pandemic, at the Infiorata di Noto (Carpet of Flowers) on Saturday. (Last year, I was all set to go when a severe weather warning was issued and everybody in Modica was advised not to go out unnecessarily.)

The event was as beautiful and joyful as ever but more crowded than I have seen it before and that, of course, is good for Noto! The queue was long and the heat only just bearable but a conversation with some pleasant Americans standing near me helped. 

Then, once you were admitted to the "Carpet", you forgot all about the wait and just enjoyed the beauty before you. The theme this year was Puccini and music from the operas was playing as you walked along. I even shed a tear, as my dad loved Puccini and I thought how much he would also have loved this. I will now let the photos speak for themselves. (Some are inevitably wonky as you are walking along the sides of the display.)

I liked the little representations of instruments
adorning flower containers along the way.

And of course, a visit to the famous Caffé Sicilia is compulsory in Noto! The cake was flavoured with saffron and orange.

Well done, Noto!

MY TWO LANDS OF SONG

Yes, it's been a while. Sometimes life intervenes but I'm back today to tell you how happy it makes me when a special event links my two countries, Wales and Italy, especially when my home town of Cardiff is involved.

Cardiff Singer of the World is a prestigious classical music competition which takes place biannually in the Welsh capital. This year sixteen competitors arrived in Wales to take part and five were selected as finalists. All were worthy but after careful consideration the 29-year-old bass Adolfo Corrado from Salento (Puglia) was declared the winner. He looked absolutely amazed but also, of course, delighted. Asked how he felt, he replied, "Distrutto" and the audience went wild when he said he had learned just one word of Welsh, diolch - thank you. 

Adolfo studied at the Tito Schipa Conservatory in Lecce and this year has performed in Don Giovanni in Valencia and Il barbiere di Siviglia in Bari. He now lives in Florence and I am sure we'll be hearing much more of him in the years to come. Good luck, Adolfo!

You can watch the international version of the final on the BBC 4 website but I don't know for how long. I love the shots of dear old Cardiff at the beginning and towards the end, at approximately 2h.23m., you can see the winner announcement and listen to a very fine rendition of the Welsh national anthem. I have a feeling that Adolfo will be learning it!

A LYRICAL EVENING

I very much enjoyed a concert by the catenese soprano Daniela Schillaci and her masterclass pupils in Modica last week. Daniela Schillaci, besides having a wonderful voice, is quite the most graceful opera singer I have ever seen.  The programme ranged from Puccini to I Feel Pretty from West Side Story and of course, there was some Bellini, so there was plenty for all to enjoy.

Photos courtesy of Marisa Di Natale

I'm sure we are going to hear more from Daniela's pupils, Mariagrazia Caruso, Domenico Mento and Roberta Celano, too.

Daniela Schillaci -  Ah, chi mi dice mai [Don Giovanni]

SABATO MUSICALE

This week I've been reading the autobiography of the soprano Katia Ricciarelli, so let us hear from this interesting lady in Sicily's favourite opera:

Katia Ricciarelli - Casta Diva [Norma di Vincenzo Bellini]

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.

SABATO MUSICALE

This was, I think, the first piece of classical music that I ever listened to intently and I thank the teacher who made me love it - when I was five years old. I think you all know why the following words are in my mind at the moment:

"Che farò? Dove andrò?
Che farò senza il mio ben?"

Kathleen Ferrier - Che farò senza Euridice?

SABATO MUSICALE

The soprano Magda Olivero died on Monday, aged 104. La Scala honoured her with a minute's silence before that evening's performance.

Magda Olivero - Un bel dì vedremo

SABATO MUSICALE

Let's hear from soprano Daniela Schillaci, who is to perform in the wonderful setting of Modica's Villa Anna tomorrow night. Here she is in Norma at the Teatro Antico, Taormina, in 2012:

Daniela Schillaci - Casta Diva [Norma]

SABATO MUSICALE

When Aida, directed by Enrico Castiglione, opened at the Greek Theatre in Siracusa last Saturday, the production received a ten-minute standing ovation. There is also a performance tonight and next Saturday, so let's take a peek:

Teatro greco, Siracusa, luglio 2014

Aida - Marcia trionfale  

SABATO MUSICALE

Let's hear from the palermitano baritone Nicola Alaimo, who tonight sings Raimbaud in Le Comte Ory at La Scala:

Nicola Alaimo - Di Provenza, il mare, il suol [La Traviata]: Muti

VERDI DAY - MAYBE

Bust of Verdi outside
Teatro Massimo, Palermo
Image: Wikimedia Commons

I am not going to say, "Happy birthday, Verdi" as I abhor the online habit of wishing the dead a happy birthday / Christmas / weekend / everything but I am going to mark the composer's  bicentenary on this blog. Actually, there is some doubt as to whether Giuseppe Verdi was born on the 9th or 10th October 1813 but let's do it today. Italy is doing it tomorrow.  The Guardian has already asked its music writers for their favourite "Verdi moments" and you will find mine at the end of this post.

First, though, I want to tell you that when I spent some time in the Emilia-Romagna in 1981, I visited the region's Verdi locations with an Italian friend. The following is copied verbatim from my travel diary of that period:

Yesterday we went to seek out "Verdi land" which is near Parma.  We started at Roncole Verdi [formerly Le Roncole] to see the composer's birthplace. It's such a modest little house for someone who was to become so famous! It has a stone floor and walls and no lining of the roof. It was an inn and changing station for horses and Verdi's father ran a small grocery store next to it. Nearby is San Michele Church where Verdi learned to play the organ.

My souvenir booklet of the Verdi locations

We went on to Busseto. Here there is a Civic Museum, housed in the Villa Pallavicino: it has letters written by the master, manuscripts, opera posters and portraits of the Verdi family. The painter is usually Levi, born in Busseto. You can see Verdi's spinet, which his father saved up for. Verdi received it when he was nine. There is also a double bass which he played.  In Busseto, Verdi was encouraged by a local businessman, Antonio Barezzi and he later married Barezzi's daughter Margherita. The couple had two children, who died young. Margherita died after only four years of marriage. Now I understand how Verdi came to write so much sad and moving music. 

The Milan Conservatory said that Verdi had no musical talent!

Verdi's second wife was the soprano Giuseppina Strepponi but they had no children and the couple adopted a girl - the daughter of a cousin - from Roncole.

When Verdi was 55, the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi was opened in Busseto. It is a lovely theatre - very intimate and familiar, but with wonderful accoustics. Busseto is only a little town, but the love of its people for the "maestro" is evident in the way the theatre and museum are kept. I really think it's the nicest little theatre I've ever seen. Toscanini conducted there twice. Concerts are also held in the piazza in Busseto. 

Further on, in Villanova sull'Arda in Piacenza Province, is the Villa Sant'Agata or Villa Verdi. This is preserved much as Verdi left it and the guide there really knows her stuff. [You have to ring and wait for her - we nearly went away as we thought no one was coming!] She referred to Verdi as "il maestro" throughout her talk and you felt that she knew him - which, in a way, she does, living among all his belongings and telling his life story every day.

The first room you see is the one in which Giuseppina died and the second is the room where Verdi worked and slept. 

There are two pianos in the house - one that the composer used up to "Aida", and the other one that he used afterwards. There are portraits of his parrot and a little dog - he loved animals and the guide assured us that when he went hunting, he never killed.

We were shown the glove that Verdi used to conduct the Requiem for Manzoni - the only time he conducted in public. A bust of Manzoni is on display.

There are two small studies and then a room which contains the furniture from the Milan hotel room where Verdi died. It was all donated to the villa by the hotel.

It was a very rainy day and we'd had difficulty in finding the villa and then there was the wait in the cold for the guide but it was worth it! It was the 24th April, the anniversary of my Dad's funeral. I so wanted him to know I was in Verdi's house! What beauty Verdi brought to this earth, and from such humble beginnings, yet he was true to his origins to the last.

Incidentally, part of Bertolucci's "La Luna" was filmed in the countryside surrounding the villa.

If you go to the Villa Verdi, I can't promise that you will get the same, knowledgeable guide as I did all those years ago but it is possible in Italy!

Now here are some of my favourites:

Nabucco:  Anch'io dischiuso un giorno - Mirella Parutto

Un Ballo in maschera: Preludio - Claudio Abbado
 

La Traviata: Parigi, o cara - Callas e Kraus
  

The work of immortal artists can be reinterpreted down the ages so that it speaks to us all and this is certainly the case here:

Nabucco: Va, pensiero - Pavarotti e Zucchero

Happy Verdi Day, wherever you are!

SABATO MUSICALE

I've spent a pleasant day in Catania so here is something to honour the great maestro of that fair city:

Bellini - Casta Diva from Norma:  Daniela Dessi

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.

SABATO MUSICALE

Enjoy:

Fiorenza Cossotto - Inneggiamo 

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!

NABUCCO

I've been having terrible trouble with youtube tonight, and would have liked to have been able to get the aria Un giorno sol on as well, but it just won't load. The words of that aria, I think, describe exactly how benevolent you feel towards other lovers when you, yourself, are in love and how painful it is when you "lose that enchantment". Librettists, I believe, receive scant praise! Anyway, you'll have to make do with Va, pensiero. I like this treatment - there is something about the juxtaposition of the classically trained voice and the rougher one of the pop star that touches me and I like Zucchero's take on the words. Va, pensiero was, by the way, a favourite of my Dad's.