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I hope these photos can download here. My last post was about the Friday (21 August) concert at the Castello di Verrazzano, about 10 km from Greve.First, check out their website:verrazzano.comThe home page opens to a spectacular view of the castello (castle) at night. Find the small British flag in the upper right corner to…

As some of you know, this second week of MOS has been challenging to me due to physical issues…the chronic soreness of my left ankle is pretty much controlled if I do my calf stretches and wear these blasted orthotics, but also depends on a fairly minimal amount walking. When I am home, I get my…

These were taken during the weekend when Manuela and Simone were here…first one is Simone; then the much-photographed statue in the Greve main square; then at the wine tasting (with our charming guide Miryam); Simone and her mother in law Manuela, and the posters about MOS’s upcoming concerts as well as the Jennifer Larmore master…

This took a while…I will try to refine it. This is a view of one of the towers at San Gimignano, a famous town in Tuscany about an hour from Greve (where we are located for MOS). It is referred to as the “medieval Manhattan” because of the very tall towers surrounding the square. “Back…

Well, my stomach has settled down but the zanzara (mosquito) bites are still red, swollen and itchy…need I say ugly as well? I found some Zyrtec at the pharmacy which I will take tonight before going to bed, as it’s supposed to make one drowsy. I had 2 great sessions this morning…11:30, lesson with Jack; 12:30, drama coaching with Dona.…

The heat and mosquitoes and bum ankle have finally taken their toll. To top it off, I woke up this morning (Tuesday) around 3:00 with diarrhea. On top of a somewhat sleepless night on Sunday, I am just done in and decided to forego my 3 classes today. I think it might be a combination of…

Hello, everyone – I have now been here in Greve for one week, and on the practical side of things, it’s been a challenge. Everybody goes “ooh, ahh” when your friend or colleague goes off to study and sing opera in Italy, but few people know about the heat, the zanzara (mosquitoes), and getting used…

Since half of Monday classes were cancelled due to the weather event, they were made up on Friday morning. I had one coaching with Felice, and am starting to work on my second big aria for MOS, “O, ma lyre immortelle” from Gounod’s opera Sapho.Felice knew right away that I presented him with a transposed version (originally…

Hello, everyone – study and coaching are glorious, but it’s an effort due to the heat and mosquitoes, which follow us to the school where we have classes.Here is a typical day – in fact, this was my day today (Francesca, the scheduling coordinator, sends out the schedule around 9:00 pm for the next day): 10:30 – half hour…