I know! I only wrote two posts and then ...........well my blog went into a coma. However I finally have the mental and physical energy to write again :)
I had two wisdom teeth out and two rounds of the flu (one was due to a post wisdom tooth infection), so I wasn't really in the mood to type after school and work.
In just over a week I will be going home for the first time in two years! I cannot believe that two years really have past since the last time I saw my family and celebrated Christmas in the warmth! Where has the time gone? What have I done in two years and hang on, I got old! I keep thinking I am still 21 when really I am now 23. In my head I am 21 and have just arrived in Italy to study music. In reality I am turning 24 in 6 months, I work, study, cook and clean in Italy and have done so for almost 3 years now.
I am anxious to see how I will feel at home. Will I have that reverse-culture shock that I hear people talk about? Will I love it so much I won't want to come back to Italy? All I know is that I need a big dose of Australia because I am going insane! I need some Thai food, Aussie style BBQs, real beaches (not the fake ones with umbrellas and bars!), over friendly customer service and two do nooooo housework for a while :)
In my next post I will fill you in on how my trip went :)
Meanwhile on the opera front.......I will be singing Serpina from La Serva Padrona again in Feb!!! very exciting. I will fill you all in closer to the date.
martedì 7 dicembre 2010
martedì 2 novembre 2010
Taking Out Wisdom Teeth in Italy
So when I ask people in Australia about getting wisdom teeth taken out they always tell me horror stories. It's a big deal and they usually put you to sleep. My brother told me he couldnt eat proply for weeks after he got his out. Naturally I was very scared when a dentist in Brazil told me I had to have all of them out!!!!!
Back in Italy I went to see the dentist and he told me to come in today (tuesday) for the x-rays. I arrive at our appointment ready for my quick and easy x-ray when he tells me......'so lets rip this one out, he looks easy!'
I almost had a heart attack! I had come on my bloody bike and now he wanted to take one of them out!
I was not prepared for this at all and must of had a horrified look on my face as the dentist asked me if I was feeling ok and told me not to worry as up until now he hasn't stuffed one up.
Half an hour later I was one wisdom tooth less and you know what.....it didn't even hurt that much. The dentist told me he would give me my tooth then forgot about it and told me about his cousins who live in Melbourne (do I know them by the way?).
I then popped back on my bike and rode home.
It was one of those 'only in Italy' moments.
Back in Italy I went to see the dentist and he told me to come in today (tuesday) for the x-rays. I arrive at our appointment ready for my quick and easy x-ray when he tells me......'so lets rip this one out, he looks easy!'
I almost had a heart attack! I had come on my bloody bike and now he wanted to take one of them out!
I was not prepared for this at all and must of had a horrified look on my face as the dentist asked me if I was feeling ok and told me not to worry as up until now he hasn't stuffed one up.
Half an hour later I was one wisdom tooth less and you know what.....it didn't even hurt that much. The dentist told me he would give me my tooth then forgot about it and told me about his cousins who live in Melbourne (do I know them by the way?).
I then popped back on my bike and rode home.
It was one of those 'only in Italy' moments.
lunedì 1 novembre 2010
My first post
Hey everybody! Benvenuti!
So I decided after reading a few blogs that I wanted to start my own. Hopefully it will make it easier for my family and friends to keep up to date with my life here in Italy plus I would like to write down some of my funny/strange experiences as I try to start my life over as an Opera singer after almost 3 years trying to find my path in the hills of Tuscany (I know it sounds cliche haha).
I first came to Italy in 2005 with my family on holidays and I knew I would come back. I totally agree with Anna Akhmatova when she says "Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life". In 2007 I won the Franco Schiavone Memorial Scholarship for Italian language students. I decided that it was now or never and I used the money to study a 3 month course in Italian Language and Culture at the Università per Stranieri di Siena. I also studied Russian at the time and decided I wanted to travel there as well to practise the language.
Those three months in Siena were amazing and ended up changing my life forever. I had the time of my life (so far) and I met people and had experiences that literally changed my life forever. An example of this is my boyfriend, Daniel who I have lived with for almost 3 years now. We took the same Italian class for a month in April 2007. Only god knows how we got together......maybe it was destiny but this Australian met the Brazilian love of her life trying to get her head around passato remoto and other forms of tricky italian grammar! Not that I knew he was going to be the love of my life at the time......I found that out almost a year later but that is another story.
After returning home after my Euro trip I decided that I wanted to do what I loved most in the world and that was music and performance. So I dropped out of Uni where I was studying languages and headed back to Europe to pursue singing and modeling. Well the modeling didn't turn out so well in Italy due to all the pasta and gelato but I started a singing course at Siena Jazz and had a great time taking classes and performing in their jam sessions. It felt great to be studying what I loved but it was also frustrating as the course was only 3 days a month and I wanted to be learning more. After completing only 3 months of the course the school closed down the singing department. Around the same time my boyfriend was offered a spot playing in a soccer team south of Rome so we moved to give it a shot. After a month living by the seaside exploring Jazz schools in Rome the team decided not that hire Daniel (which sucked!) and we moved back to Siena. I didn't know exactly what to do next and we were also broke so I started working in retail full time. To cut a long, boring story short I ended up working in a Pizzeria for about 6 months where I also sang karaoke style after the lunch rush and sometimes in the evenings. I got sick of that real fast and Daniel and I decided we had out grown Siena and that we should move to Florence to see what else we could find!
I auditioned for the Florence Conservatory for the Jazz Course. I was so nervous auditioning as I had no clue how the system worked here in Italy. Infact I don't think anyone knows how the university system works in Italy! The school website said we had to prepare a half an hour program and that we could be asked questions about our songs. Well I did just that and on audition day I sang only 2 songs (which were just my warm up songs) and then was asked to play piano. I DON'T PLAY PIANOOOO. I almost cried right there and then in the audition room (luckily I held it together and cried outside the audition room). The professor who auditioned me also informed me that my voice was very high and clear sounding (derrr I was a 22 year old soprano at the time) and that I would have to find a teacher who would help me lower it and make it sound deeper. I was confused by this comment and it got me thinking, 'maybe I shouldn't sing jazz? Maybe I could try something else that suits my voice?'. I was sure I had not made it in and went looking for another school. I found the Accademia Musicale di Firenze which is supported by the city council and went in to ask information. I said I wanted to study singing and the secretary told me for Pop and Jazz Singing there was a waiting list but I could start Classical Singing. I took that as a sign from above and signed up straight away. In the mean time I started watching operas and different arias and really enjoyed it. I have always done Classical Ballet and Theatre so Opera was like a mixture of all the things I love. I decided that this could be for me after all!
I have a great teacher and she really helped me through my first year as a classical vocal student. She never put pressure on me and slowly guided me through the basics. I started off learning Caccini and then progressed to Zerlina who is the maid in Don Giovanni by Mozart. I loved learning these pieces and I felt at home singing their songs. Towards the end on the year my teacher asked me to understudy Serpina from La Serva Padrona and I was thrilled to do it. I never thought I would actually perform it and it all seemed a little over my head. After studying the role for a few months I actually did get to sing it in July in a castle in Montespertoli. I made my debut in a castle in Tuscany after 9 months studying opera. I felt so lucky and that a lot of australian singing students might rip out my hair for being so lucky so quickly!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxD33V9mA8A
(me singing 'A Serpina Penserete'. I know it is no where near perfect as it was my first time and I was also sick up until 3 days before and hadn't rehearsed!)
Now I am in my second year studying and I am still loving it. I have studied 2 arias from Le Nozze di Figaro, 'Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio' and 'Voi che sapete' which are all sung by Cherubino and as of last week I am learning 'Deh vieni non tardar' which is Susanna's aria.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3NItbi7PDY
So I decided after reading a few blogs that I wanted to start my own. Hopefully it will make it easier for my family and friends to keep up to date with my life here in Italy plus I would like to write down some of my funny/strange experiences as I try to start my life over as an Opera singer after almost 3 years trying to find my path in the hills of Tuscany (I know it sounds cliche haha).
I first came to Italy in 2005 with my family on holidays and I knew I would come back. I totally agree with Anna Akhmatova when she says "Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life". In 2007 I won the Franco Schiavone Memorial Scholarship for Italian language students. I decided that it was now or never and I used the money to study a 3 month course in Italian Language and Culture at the Università per Stranieri di Siena. I also studied Russian at the time and decided I wanted to travel there as well to practise the language.
Those three months in Siena were amazing and ended up changing my life forever. I had the time of my life (so far) and I met people and had experiences that literally changed my life forever. An example of this is my boyfriend, Daniel who I have lived with for almost 3 years now. We took the same Italian class for a month in April 2007. Only god knows how we got together......maybe it was destiny but this Australian met the Brazilian love of her life trying to get her head around passato remoto and other forms of tricky italian grammar! Not that I knew he was going to be the love of my life at the time......I found that out almost a year later but that is another story.
After returning home after my Euro trip I decided that I wanted to do what I loved most in the world and that was music and performance. So I dropped out of Uni where I was studying languages and headed back to Europe to pursue singing and modeling. Well the modeling didn't turn out so well in Italy due to all the pasta and gelato but I started a singing course at Siena Jazz and had a great time taking classes and performing in their jam sessions. It felt great to be studying what I loved but it was also frustrating as the course was only 3 days a month and I wanted to be learning more. After completing only 3 months of the course the school closed down the singing department. Around the same time my boyfriend was offered a spot playing in a soccer team south of Rome so we moved to give it a shot. After a month living by the seaside exploring Jazz schools in Rome the team decided not that hire Daniel (which sucked!) and we moved back to Siena. I didn't know exactly what to do next and we were also broke so I started working in retail full time. To cut a long, boring story short I ended up working in a Pizzeria for about 6 months where I also sang karaoke style after the lunch rush and sometimes in the evenings. I got sick of that real fast and Daniel and I decided we had out grown Siena and that we should move to Florence to see what else we could find!
I auditioned for the Florence Conservatory for the Jazz Course. I was so nervous auditioning as I had no clue how the system worked here in Italy. Infact I don't think anyone knows how the university system works in Italy! The school website said we had to prepare a half an hour program and that we could be asked questions about our songs. Well I did just that and on audition day I sang only 2 songs (which were just my warm up songs) and then was asked to play piano. I DON'T PLAY PIANOOOO. I almost cried right there and then in the audition room (luckily I held it together and cried outside the audition room). The professor who auditioned me also informed me that my voice was very high and clear sounding (derrr I was a 22 year old soprano at the time) and that I would have to find a teacher who would help me lower it and make it sound deeper. I was confused by this comment and it got me thinking, 'maybe I shouldn't sing jazz? Maybe I could try something else that suits my voice?'. I was sure I had not made it in and went looking for another school. I found the Accademia Musicale di Firenze which is supported by the city council and went in to ask information. I said I wanted to study singing and the secretary told me for Pop and Jazz Singing there was a waiting list but I could start Classical Singing. I took that as a sign from above and signed up straight away. In the mean time I started watching operas and different arias and really enjoyed it. I have always done Classical Ballet and Theatre so Opera was like a mixture of all the things I love. I decided that this could be for me after all!
I have a great teacher and she really helped me through my first year as a classical vocal student. She never put pressure on me and slowly guided me through the basics. I started off learning Caccini and then progressed to Zerlina who is the maid in Don Giovanni by Mozart. I loved learning these pieces and I felt at home singing their songs. Towards the end on the year my teacher asked me to understudy Serpina from La Serva Padrona and I was thrilled to do it. I never thought I would actually perform it and it all seemed a little over my head. After studying the role for a few months I actually did get to sing it in July in a castle in Montespertoli. I made my debut in a castle in Tuscany after 9 months studying opera. I felt so lucky and that a lot of australian singing students might rip out my hair for being so lucky so quickly!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxD33V9mA8A
(me singing 'A Serpina Penserete'. I know it is no where near perfect as it was my first time and I was also sick up until 3 days before and hadn't rehearsed!)
Now I am in my second year studying and I am still loving it. I have studied 2 arias from Le Nozze di Figaro, 'Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio' and 'Voi che sapete' which are all sung by Cherubino and as of last week I am learning 'Deh vieni non tardar' which is Susanna's aria.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3NItbi7PDY
(Here is a link of Lucia Popp doing a wayyyyyy better job than I do :) )
Anyways that is an introduction to where I am at today :) Hopefully I will have some interesting stuff to write soon!!!!!!
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