Il Concerto a Urbania

WE DID IT! We had two glorious nights of Il Trittico by Giacomo Puccini. It was glorious. First, we had cast B present Il Trittico with piano accompaniment in the courtyard of the Castello Brancaleoni in Piobbico. I sang in the chorus of Suor Angelica and enjoyed watching my friends sing to the people of Piobbico. So many more people came than expected! It was standing room only! It was so special and personal because the majority of the audience was made up of members from the Scuola Italia and our friends and neighbors from town.

Next, on Friday night, we presented Il Trittico at the Teatro Bramante in Urbania with orchestra. I had the blessed privilege of singing Suor Angelica. It was a glorious and all encompassing experience. As a confessed perfectionist, my goal for myself was to do my best and just BE Angelica rather than get caught up in vocal technique and so forth. I can honestly say that I did it! I was so blessed to have the wonderful opportunity to enter into the life and pain and joy of a character such as Angelica. Through many months of reflection and many years of life experience and soul searching, I was able to find a very deep, real connection with Angelica and felt very much like I was Angelica throughout the entire production. It is so fulfilling to see growth and progress in yourself and your music. I received many compliments, most of which had to do with my acting and ability to convey the emotion of the character. This blessed me profusely because it was my very deep desire to do just that. I enjoyed every moment of the opera, which climaxed at the end with a small Italian child being brought out onto the stage to play the part of my son. When I looked over and saw this beautiful little one reaching out to me, I just lost it; I embraced the child and cradled him in my arms as the chorus finished and the curtain closed. My heart soured with thanks to God, both as Angelica and as Lindsay.

In the coming days and weeks I desire to reflect more on my experience in Piobbico, however for today I want to share my deep felt heart of appreciation and gratitude for the opportunity given to me on Friday night. Some incredibly talented and dedicated artists and now dear friends, who all collectively and individually gave of themselves way beyond the point of full capacity, surrounded me. I was so emotional Friday night, I could hardly stand up. I sobbed and sobbed throughout the evening as I reflected back over this month with my new friends and prepared to say good-bye. I have been so deeply touched and stirred and changed by this experience.

As I mentioned, I plan to reflect on this month a lot more and share many more wonderful stories here on my blog, but for now what I can say is that the production was a tremendous success and the opportunity of a lifetime. I am FULL!