After a long, sleepy, (and definitely too-hot) August, Rome is waking up just in time for September. This month is so jam-packed with stimulating things to do that you’ll probably have a hard time narrowing down your options. September’s intriguing events kick off with something that makes my romantic heart go all a-flutter...
Read MoreToday is an important day for all Italians, as opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, one of Italy’s best-loved national heroes, was born 200 years ago today, on 10 October 1813. For Italians, Verdi is much more than just an opera composer. He is the man who wrote the soundtrack of the Risorgimento, the decades-long struggle for Italian unification and independence. As someone who prefers the music of Puccini to Verdi hands down (I’ve received a lot of flack for this from Italians over the years), I didn’t always get the connection between Verdi and Italy.
Read MoreAfter the all-important Halloween on Monday, and the, for some, even more important Ognissanto (All Saints' Day) yesterday, how about a brief tribute to today's lesser-known holiday, All Souls' Day. If Halloween is the day the dead are permitted to walk the earth, and Ognissanto is the day we celebrate all the saints in heaven, All Souls' Day is the day to reflect upon and remember those we have personally lost.
Read MoreI'd wager most of you would agree with me that La Traviata's Violetta is one of opera's all-time greatest heroines. She is mature and worldly-wise. On the surface she's as cold as ice, but inside she is a volcano of passion. A woman who, when confronted with love for the first time in her life, tries to fight against it, but eventually gives in, only to discover a depth she never knew she had.
Read MoreWhy is it that a joyful song can never move us the way a melancholy one can? Why is nostalgia so sweetly painful? After listening to the frenetic and high energy 'Libiam ne' lieti calici' from La Traviata, the bacchanalian drinking song that opens the opera, close your eyes and savor the sublime and poignant third act aria, 'Addio del passato'.
Read MoreI must credit my officemate with the brilliant title of my newest blog feature: "Viva VEneRDI!" From today on, every* Friday, I will post about one of my favorite works by Verdi.... or Puccini, or Bellini, or Leoncavallo, or ANY Italian opera composer, actually. For the sake of those who aren't opera/Italian history/Risorgimento freaks (unlike myself), I will explain the connection.
Read More
