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Hey guys we're with FIO Americas in the inaugural 2013 opera festival program
here in BarĂ£o Geraldo, Brazil!
It's our first year the program but already the level of the talent of
both the faculty and the students is incredible.
We have faculty who have taught
sung, worked at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the New York City Opera,
the Chataqua Opera, the Rossini Opera Festival
and the list goes on and on. Some of our directors have performed with
legends of the Opera such as Pavarotti,
Joan Sutherland, Carreras and many others.
We have some terrific coaches, our language coach, our Italian Language coach Leo is just brilliant
and has been so helpful. The faculty has been wonderful
I've have been able to make some great contacts and
networking and has been happening. Carroll Freeman
is a fantastic and wild and crazy director, he is an inspiration to all.
We always think that celebrated people are going to be a little bit stuffy or
whatever but we've got some great folks.
I've learned a lot from Ben Smolder
I mean he just took me back to basics of my technique and it's helped so much
and this is such a phenomenal program, great staff,
everybody brought something new and unique to the table and we got to just learn a
little bit and take everything home with us.
New tool bag for the states, so be ready!
You should see some of the costumes and the sets and the intricacy and the color and the life that we're going to bring to the stage.
We have some of the best lighting designers, costume designers,
set designers in the entire country. We have three different operas
in seven different cities, twelve different performances plus a couple concerts.
I've had so many amazing opportunities to perform here.
If you're looking for a program where you can have performance opportunities
this is the one to go to. I was able to be in two operas and I was in two opera scenes
and we were able to work through so much repertoire and we got a lot of
opportunities to work with the amazing staff and faculty here.
Now, this is not unlike someone the experience I had as a young artist
where you would be rehearsing one or two
productions even, and singing that night another production altogether
and learning the music for the production that you are
doing in the next city two weeks from now, or next week, and so
it's a it's a wonderful a microcosm of what the industry is really like.
12 shows 12 performances of three operas
two scenes programs and wonderful gala concert, all in really amazing opera houses.
On top of that they're getting lessons
in Alexander Technique and movement
and acting and then they gotta learn some the language and experience some the
culture and do some dancing because here we are in Brazil!
Think what does your character want and we're going to finish the sentence:
"I want Antonia or Antonio"
"I want food, I want money." Ready, one, two, three!
[Students yell stuff]
If your need to speak
doesn't shake you and knock you off balance
your need is not strong enough.
So for me it's my first time to Brazil or South America for that matter and
it's the same for just about ninety percent of the students and faculty here.
When we got here we didn't even know how to say "thank you" or "please" or "hi,"
nobody had really studied on their Portuguese I guess, and
the people, the local people here, are just so accommodating and so welcoming
and just so helpful.
So many people from Brazil, very excited about the future, very excited about what we can do
to bring more more operas to Brazil. I'm particularly thrilled with the quality
and the interest and the enthusiasm of the Brazilian students who are a part of the program.
They're so, so nice, and they wanna help, anytime, anywhere.
It was amazing to see the diversity of our audience from young, middle-aged,
old and how much they enjoyed the experience of opera
and to see tears in their eyes from some people who
were so excited that we brought this to their town.
This is exciting! Students get to experience a completely new culture,
immersed in a place where not everyone speaks English and they have to go
outside of their comfort zones just a little bit. The month July in Brazil,
because it's south of the Equator of course, is considered their winter,
but the winter in Brazil means 70 and sunny just about everyday.
This program is so unbelievable delightful, fun.
The work ethic of the students and the faculty and staff blew my fragile little mind.
People were applauding each other in the first rehearsals
and kept giving each other energy. It's been an amazing experience to see
the interaction between the different participants from different nationalities.
I think what's neat about this program is that it allows you to work with people who are
10 to 15 years older than you
and at the same time work with peers who are your same age and even younger than you are.
And it's a great motivator because you're able to see what you wanna be
in the future but you're also able to see that you can compete now and that your
gift is rare and that your gift is special.
One other wonderful features about this program is the fact that the
participants get to experience an international opera culture,
because they are working with other participants from Canada,
from the United States, from the Bahamas, from Brazil.
Well the students will get a great deal out of this program because
they both have the opportunity perform, meet people from around the world
and realize where they fit into the process. And that's an extremely important
part of any young person's growth
where do you fit into this world potential of opera?
And what they're finding out is that indeed they do fit in.
It's kinda like we're taking it to a whole nother level this time around so it's been pretty interesting.
I've learned a lot about myself I did not know before.
If you want to immerse in opera, if you want to learn what you need to do to be a professional, this is the program to be.
It's been inspirational; it was a great run; fantastic show;
we love Brazil! It was so fun, lots of great moment; it was ridiculously fun
little bit too fun; it was such a great experience;
a huge learning experience; oh man it's been awesome; because it's in Brazil!
you're never gonna get an experience like this anywhere else and there's never
been a program like this in Brazil before, its incredible.
What an amazing month we've been put
in this melting pot of different cultures and different countries
and different music, and we've put it all together
and we've made something beautiful out of it; we've made beauty and we've made
art and we've made music. And I think what may be most important
is the relationships that we've made during this intense month here in Brazil,
relationships that we can take to the United States
to our own home city our own home country and build upon
and keep for the rest of our lives.
Come join us in Brazil!