Mozart Recitative Workshop: 14-16 June 2014

 
Irene Geninati and Fernando Ciuffo

 

A Unique Course

A three-day course on singing Mozart recitative, working on scenes from Don Giovanni.  Students can attend the entire course, or just the parts for which they are available.  See below for a price breakdown.

There will be two tutors who between them will cover every aspect involved in delivering great recitative.  They have worked together on several occasions (including a 2013 production of Don Giovanni in Italy).  Please click a name below for a biography.

Course Tutors

Alessandro Bares (musical director)

Multi-talented Alessandro Bares was born in Como, northern Italy.  He has worked as conductor, pianist, violinist, musicologist, music editor and publisher. 

Having studied in Milan and Geneva he began his career as a violinist in 1991 as a member of the European Union Baroque Orchestra.  He went on to lead, as concertmaster or director, many ensembles specializing in 17th  and 18th Century music performed on period instruments in Italy and France (“Il viaggio musicale” Milan,
"Armonico cimento” Ferrara, “Hamadryade” Grenoble, “Ensemble Werther” Lyon, string quartets on period instruments “Linus” and “Myslivecek”).  From 1999 to 2005, he regularly collaborated with renowned orchestras such as “Europa galante” (cond. Fabio Biondi) and “Il complesso barocco” (cond. Alan Curtis).

He studied conducting in Piacenza with M° Pierangelo Gelmini.  His conducting career began in 1995 at the Teatro Municipale in Piacenza where he conducted baroque intermezzos (Orlandini “Il marito giocatore e la moglie bacchettona” and Gasparini “Il vecchio avaro”).  This performance was recorded and released on CD by the label Bongiovanni.

In 2006 Alessandro conducted Mozart's Requiem in Monza Cathedral to mark the creation of the “Alessandro Volta” orchestra, of which he is the principal conductor.  He is also principal conductor of the “Compagnia lirica di Milano”, with which he has performed important operas such as Rossini “Il barbiere di Siviglia”, Verdi “Falstaff”, Mozart “Don Giovanni”, Donizetti “L'elisir d'amore”, and also of the “Orchestra sinfonica giovanile aleramica” - an orchestra aiming to give a serious professional education to advanced students and recently graduated musicians.

As a musicologist he studied at the “Scuola di Paleografia e Filologia musicale” in Cremona.  As an editor and music publisher, he founded the publishing house Musedita in 1999 (www.musedita.it).

Farbrizio Pagella (stage director)

Pagella Fabrizio is an opera director, actor, and promoter for theatrical events.  He is the co-founder of the cultural association Masca in Langa, and agent and co-founder of the Matrice Foundation. 

He graduated from the Paolo Grassi School of Dramatic Art in Milan in 1997.

His work on Italian radio and television has included working for RAI and Italia Uno, in a diverse range of programmes.  In the theatre he has performed roles such as Gloucester in King Lear by Shakespeare, and Tiresias in The Bacchae by Euripides. 

As operatic director Fabrizio has worked on operas including Verdi's Falstaff , Mozart's Don Giovanni, Donizetti's L'Elisir d'amore, and Altai by Wu Ming.  He was co-author and director of La bottega Lirica in 2012, a meeting of opera and theatre.  In 2013 he directed and dramatised Elisir d’amore Vaporotti - a show for junk, puppets, baritone and soprano, inspired by Donizetti.



Content

The course will be very practical and participants will work intensively on recitative from Don Giovanni.  However the course will equip you with the skills and knowledge to approach Italian recitative across a broad range of music.  Focus will be on the following four elements:

  • Understanding the text
  • Correct Italian pronunciation
  • Specific singing techniques relating to recitative
  • Bringing recitative to life on stage

Musical director Alessandro Bares writes:

"The course will concentrate on fully integrating the text with the stage action, singing technique, and stage requirements. In particular a style of recitative will be proposed which is rooted in the natural movement and timing of the best spoken theatrical traditions, far from traditional operatic clichés which are sometimes characterised by static declamation which communicates little.  When a deep understanding of the text and subtext is embedded in this singing technique the result is direct and immediate communication with the audience."

Course Information

  • Dates: Sat 14 Jun - Mon 16 Jun 2014
  • Times: 10:30 - 17:30 each day
  • Venue: The Rag Factory, 16-18 Heneage St, London E1 5LJ
  • Languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish
  • Max no. of participants: 15
  • Preparation: participants will need to have fully prepared at least one recitative from Don Giovanni.

Costs

  • Full course: £225 / £175 unwaged
  • 2 days:        £160 / £125
  • 1 day:          £90  /  £70
  • 1 session:    £50  /  £40
  • Observers:   £15 per session

Applications

If you wish to make an application please email the course organiser Peter Fender at peter@peterfender.co.uk and include your biography.

Please note: the course requires a minimum number of people to make it viable, and if that number is not reached it may be postponed or cancelled. A place on the newly scheduled course or a full refund of any deposit will be made.  Cancellation can occur up until one month prior to the course's start date.

Observers

Observers are welcome at all sessions at a rate of £15 per session.  Spaces are limited: email the course organiser Peter Fender at peter@peterfender.co.uk to request a place.

Download pdf

Donwload a pdf for the course here.  Feel free to send to anyone you think might be interested!

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