WORKSHOP

July 1st – August 13th 2010

FACULTY Marcel Danesi, Ph.D. University of Toronto – Director of Semiotics/Linguistics Department of Anthropology

Sara Maida‐Nicol, soprano     B.Mus Voice Performance – University of Toronto                 M.A. Italian ‐ Middlebury College  

Language Pledge

 

The Italian for Singers Workshop is part of the

Italian School of Middlebury College.

Therefore, all students are required to follow the Language Pledge – a

promise to speak only the language of study for the duration of the program. This is the foundation of Middlebury’s philosophy

of language education.

 

www.middlebury.edu/academics/ls/italian

For program details: Middlebury College 

Sunderland Language Center 356 College Street 

Middlebury, VT 05753 802.443.5510   

Middlebury College

 

Italian for

Singers

 

  

Why is proper diction so important? 

The Italian for Singers Workshop is divided into three genres of Italian music:

Opera/Art song/Arie Antiche: Singers will choose from their own and assigned repertoire. Composers will include: Handel, Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Bellini, Donizetti & Rossini as well as early composers Caccini, Gluck, Pergolesi, Scarlatti, Vivaldi and Monteverdi.

The Neapolitan Song: Singers will be assigned classical repertoire in Neapolitan dialect from composers such as Donizetti, Rossini, Denza, Tosti, De Capua as well as traditional Neapolitan pieces made famous by artists such as Caruso, Gigli, Di Stefano and Pavarotti.

Songs from the 50’s/60’s: Singers will learn what is to be considered the history of Italian ‘rocknroll’, singing hits (solo and in groups) by famous Italian musicians of the era such as Domenico Modugno, Massimo Ranieri, Little Tony, Mina, Renato Carosone, Louis Prima, Adriano Celentano, Fred Buscaglione and many more.*

*This section of the workshop is the most popular and due to the variety of musical styles (rock, jazz, classical) applicable to this era, each and every voice type can be accommodated.   

There is a difference between studying a foreign language and singing it. Here at the Italian School we have combined the study of Italian language (which requires study and development of primarily vocabulary, grammar and syntax) with the study of Italian diction (focusing on speech sounds, enunciation, study of texts and style as well as overall expression – as the act of conveying the meaning of each song or aria.  

The Method: The intense study of Italian language and diction using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) will include regular coaching in a master-class setting with a focus on expression through correct pronunciation and musical style.

The Performances: Each singer will perform in a series of public concerts representing the Italian school. Students are expected to bring a minimum of 3 songs /arias (memorized); the instructors will assign additional repertoire for the remainder of the workshop.