Feltre, Cortina d’Ampezzo and Venice
The third weekend in February was an exciting and fruitful time for Vox Integra. On Friday, February 16th Theresa Goble, Co-Founder and Director of Vox met with the Canadian, stage director Christopher Lane who agreed to join the team in Feltre for Vox’s first ever Opera Scenes Workshop this August 19th - 26th , 2018. Christopher is based in London, and has worked in theaters across the globe, and is a specialist in the cutting edge art of Virtual Reality for Theater! Christopher’s participation in the Workshop is sure to bring a forward thinking perspective to our fantastic creative team.
On Saturday, Theresa and Caterina Ciani, Business Development Manager for Vox, met in the charming historic town of Feltre (Italy) to see the spaces that will be used for the Opera Scenes Workshop. The day began with a coffee at the wonderful Hotel Doriguzzi which has been booked for course participants. The hotel is being renovated and will be ready just in time for the course. The service is extremely friendly and the rooms very cozy and warm, some with views to the Dolomites. A beautiful new terrace is also in the works so that participants can enjoy breakfast outside – weather permitting!
Next stop was a thorough visit to the gorgeous Palazzo Guarnieri where all the classes will be held. Theresa and Caterina met with the owner of the Palazzo, Nicolo’ and the Projects Coordinator, Elena – both of whom were extremely friendly, open and enthusiastic about our collaboration. The beauty of the the 19th century palazzo is enthralling, with its frescoed walls and ceilings, majestic staircases, and original Venetian furniture. Each room, one more beautiful than the next, is elegantly equipped with all necessary amenities for concerts, events and even professional recording capabilities, including live streaming! The entire palazzo will be reserved for our use during the course, including a room for a small Vox office. Wifi is available throughout the palazzo. Instruments at our disposal include 2 grand pianos and two uprights.
The ground floor of the palazzo also has a magnificent restaurant that has agreed to offer a discounted lunch to all participants. The chef from Puglia prepared a delicious meal for us! We are sure that lunches at the palazzo will not disappoint and be a highlight.
Immediately after our visit, we were met by the local cultural representative of the town council who escorted us to the gorgeous and famous Teatro de la Sena, also known as the Piccola Fenice since it was designed by the same architect as Venice’s legendary theater La Fenice. The theater is breathtaking. It has been under restoration for many years and is scheduled to open and be in full use by 2019. Events and concerts are held there every once in a while, but only the orchestra seats can be used for now – because of safety regulations. We cannot yet confirm it, but our goal is to hold future Opera Scenes performances in the Teatro de la Sena. For now, we are more than thrilled to take advantage of the generous hospitality of the Palazzo Guarnieri and of its ideal facilities for the course. Our visit to Feltre ended with a pleasant walk around town and a look at one of the apartments also available for participants. Options for accommodation, nice restaurants, cafe’s and shops are plentiful.
Saturday evening was spent in the beautiful town of Cortina d’Ampezzo where Caterina has a summer/winter chalet and where she organized the Dino Ciani Festival for 10 years. On Sunday morning, we had the absolute pleasure of being invited into the home of the internationally renowned soprano Madelyne Renee. Theresa interviewed Madelyn for almost an hour and we were al riveted by her charm, knowledge, expertise and high-level experience. Topics included advice to young singers, stories and anecdotes about her work with Pavarotti, and musings and comments about teaching, and what it takes to become a professional singer in today’s world! We are thrilled to announce that the interview will be available on the Vox webiste shortly! This is a video not to be missed!
Vox Integra is getting ready for the Italian Aria Workshop in Florence this weekend. Coming up at the end of March, more news about future courses and a surprise Masterclass! Stay tuned!!
