july 22-23
July 22nd: An aside
So today was pretty uneventful. We explored Viterbo a little before going grocery shopping, and then lugged all of the groceries up the hill. We should be set until Monday or so. I practiced some, Gabby cooked dinner (onion quiche and salad!), and then we headed off to rehearsal. Our new roommates arrived around 4. Harmony is a cute little thing originally from Shanghai now going to school in LA, and Svelta (?) is originally from Russia, now at school at MSM. We’re not sure how much they’ll be around as the singers’ schedules are far more extensive than ours, but they seemed interested in joining us for our dinners. Plus, they did the dishes last night after a day’s worth of travel and jet lag…they get an ‘A’ in my book. Since nothing of importance happened today I’d like to take a moment to comment on the festival and rehearsals, etc. Our first production, Suor Angelica, is only about an hour long. However, we’ve had 15 hours of rehearsal time for it. It’s fascinating how unorganized the staff is and how unprepared the chorus has been. For 30 minutes yesterday we repeated once section over, and over, and over again because the people backstage couldn’t open a door at the right time in the music. It was ridiculous! Tonight, the conductor had a fit (all in Italian, of course) because there was lighting coming from backstage that shouldn’t have been there (“BEEBITY BOOOPITY LA LUCHE BLAH BLAH BEEPITY”). Which reminds me…it’s so funny hearing a conductor yell at somebody about something for a good 10 minutes in Italian. Not only do I have no idea what he’s saying, but the fact that he covers all of the Italian stereotypes (loud, arms flailing, sweating, speaking really quickly) brings a smile to my face.
I view my participation in this unorganized and chaotic festival as my payment for living in Italy for free for a month. By withstanding the nonsense and 5 weeks of playing second clarinet in a mediocre orchestra, I have been given the opportunity to see and experience a new country. Thus, I am not only content, but happy. Had this festival experience been in the United States I’m not sure I could say I’d feel the same. Alas, tomorrow night is our first Suor Angelica performance. It should be interesting.
July 23rd: 10-Euro skirt and a good book
Today was a rather uneventful day as well. Jenn and I went into town late morning to find me a cheap, black skirt. I hardly have the will power to put on shorts on these hot days, let alone black pants for performances. After hitting a few stores with no luck, success was to be had a tiny, cheap shop entitle “Bei Jing”. My super cute/faux leather skirt set me back only 10-Euro, and satisfied my desire to be as cool as possible with its above-knee length. The rest of the afternoon was spent practicing and reading in the loft area of the house. It’s the coolest room in the villa, with large cross breeze-providing windows on either side of the room. I can’t think of the last time I spent a good portion of an afternoon reading. I’m reading a book by Stieg Larsson, a Swedish writer who died shortly after submitting his first three manuscripts in 2004. I’m almost done with the book, and will be sure to read his other two. Jeff and Tracy made dinner (salad, pasta, bread), and we all headed into town for Suor Angelica’s opening night. Minor glitches occurred within the orchestra (due to the Italians’ incompetence), and the operetta (which had, of course, started 30 minutes late) was over in about 45 minutes. We did some research on coastal towns for a possible get-away on Monday, had some gelato (mmmm) and headed home. Tomorrow….more of the same!
So today was pretty uneventful. We explored Viterbo a little before going grocery shopping, and then lugged all of the groceries up the hill. We should be set until Monday or so. I practiced some, Gabby cooked dinner (onion quiche and salad!), and then we headed off to rehearsal. Our new roommates arrived around 4. Harmony is a cute little thing originally from Shanghai now going to school in LA, and Svelta (?) is originally from Russia, now at school at MSM. We’re not sure how much they’ll be around as the singers’ schedules are far more extensive than ours, but they seemed interested in joining us for our dinners. Plus, they did the dishes last night after a day’s worth of travel and jet lag…they get an ‘A’ in my book. Since nothing of importance happened today I’d like to take a moment to comment on the festival and rehearsals, etc. Our first production, Suor Angelica, is only about an hour long. However, we’ve had 15 hours of rehearsal time for it. It’s fascinating how unorganized the staff is and how unprepared the chorus has been. For 30 minutes yesterday we repeated once section over, and over, and over again because the people backstage couldn’t open a door at the right time in the music. It was ridiculous! Tonight, the conductor had a fit (all in Italian, of course) because there was lighting coming from backstage that shouldn’t have been there (“BEEBITY BOOOPITY LA LUCHE BLAH BLAH BEEPITY”). Which reminds me…it’s so funny hearing a conductor yell at somebody about something for a good 10 minutes in Italian. Not only do I have no idea what he’s saying, but the fact that he covers all of the Italian stereotypes (loud, arms flailing, sweating, speaking really quickly) brings a smile to my face.
I view my participation in this unorganized and chaotic festival as my payment for living in Italy for free for a month. By withstanding the nonsense and 5 weeks of playing second clarinet in a mediocre orchestra, I have been given the opportunity to see and experience a new country. Thus, I am not only content, but happy. Had this festival experience been in the United States I’m not sure I could say I’d feel the same. Alas, tomorrow night is our first Suor Angelica performance. It should be interesting.
July 23rd: 10-Euro skirt and a good book
Today was a rather uneventful day as well. Jenn and I went into town late morning to find me a cheap, black skirt. I hardly have the will power to put on shorts on these hot days, let alone black pants for performances. After hitting a few stores with no luck, success was to be had a tiny, cheap shop entitle “Bei Jing”. My super cute/faux leather skirt set me back only 10-Euro, and satisfied my desire to be as cool as possible with its above-knee length. The rest of the afternoon was spent practicing and reading in the loft area of the house. It’s the coolest room in the villa, with large cross breeze-providing windows on either side of the room. I can’t think of the last time I spent a good portion of an afternoon reading. I’m reading a book by Stieg Larsson, a Swedish writer who died shortly after submitting his first three manuscripts in 2004. I’m almost done with the book, and will be sure to read his other two. Jeff and Tracy made dinner (salad, pasta, bread), and we all headed into town for Suor Angelica’s opening night. Minor glitches occurred within the orchestra (due to the Italians’ incompetence), and the operetta (which had, of course, started 30 minutes late) was over in about 45 minutes. We did some research on coastal towns for a possible get-away on Monday, had some gelato (mmmm) and headed home. Tomorrow….more of the same!