Re_do#_re_do#_re,

ta_ka_ta_ka_tà,

one_two_three_four_FIVE:

seemingly an amplified and written trill, portraying the thrill of one entire folle giornata.

Five notes happening in one clock second, in one music bar and countable on the five fingertips of one human hand.

Voilà, the five-in-one DNA of Nozze: a simple cinque letter word, an even simpler cinque note music cell.

And what do cells do, by nature? They multiply: like an embrio, this five-knots figure that kicks off the work starts splitting and stemming right away:

[Ta_ka_ta_ka_tà] = CINQUE;

[Ta_ka_ta_ka_tà] +

[(tripla appoggiatura in levare ka_ta_ka ) +

(ta_ka_ta_ka_tà)] = DIECI;

and counting:

FIGARO: Cinque... dieci... vénti... trenta... trentasei... quarantatre!

SUSANNA: ...ora sì che io son contenta!

What is the bride feeling so accomplished about -in her timely reply to the groom's quarantatre?

But, most importantly, what the heck is our immortal barber of Seville truly measuring, here?

COSA stai misurando,

caro il mio Figaretto?

Indeed, cosa?

In life, we tie knots - /nòzz/ - for different reasons:

to measure distances, or the wind's speed -

"all'eco, all'aria, ai vænti" (with an open æ, this time, although it's seldom sung open) -

but also when we marry someone,

or else to pitch higher notes from a chord tied in between two nodes,

and then to note such notes down in the form of little knots in a fixed, given space.

Some knots will even tie themselves spontaneously!

Like, for instance, if you have long hair.

Or else, when a chord is vibrating in between two nodes:

more little knots will form on the chord, marring their frequency to that of the mother, fundamental tone:

Tying knots was also a way to remind oneself of something at a time when smartphones did not exist and most people couldn't read or write: one would tie a know to their rope belt, or handkerchief - il fazzoletto (a piece of fabric conceived to hold human DNA, basically).

And not far away from the noces we have the nocche, in Italian, the hands' knuckles,

so that we can knock - /nòcch/:

Din din, DON DON!

A mia pòrta il diavol lo pòrta.

(Nice example of rima identica, by the way).

Alright, enough spoilers!

We are finally kicking off this long due Nozze Italiane project,

in the form of an Italian diction masterclass on the Da Ponte libretto.

Wanna join?

To join, it is sufficient that you subscribe to the Fiato plan, here below:

Subscribing to the Fiato will give you immense benefits, other than the free access to the masterclass itself :

you will instantly gain full access to the Cantare Italiano ARKive,

as well as the possibility to have an individual session with me for a fixed, much discounted fee throughout the whole duration of the plan (12 months).

The first meeting is this coming

Monday, Dec 12th,

at 1-3pm Italian time.

We will always be meeting at the same time, for we need to match Hong Kong's late night to New York's early morning and catch everything in between these two faraway nodes on the globe.

If you're busy you can simply tune in with us and just listen,

or else rewatch the meeting later if you don't catch it live.

We have a full cast!

(Except for Antonio, Bartolo and Basilio: still missing! Any takers?)

Nonetheless, I would like to have more than one singer for each role, so that the text can be reciprocally coached on different mother-toungue-influenced speeches.

If you are an aspiring Italian Lyric Diction coach, this is a chance NOT TO BE MISSED to study with the one and only, state of the art

Maestra

See you then!

“extremely good at this” (Graham Vick)

"a fantastic coach, extremely helpful for young singers as well as experienced ones" (Barbara Hannigan)

“bringing the language, the music and the characters to life” (Paul Nilon)

“the foundation of a role” (Jennifer Rowley)

“magic conjunction of vocal technique, musical interpretation and building of the character: a radical rethink of the act of singing” (Anna Piroli)

“her incredible breadth of knowledge makes me feel entirely prepared” (Heather Lowe)

“magic effect on the voice and our art form” (Jessica Harper)

“opened up my voice, and a world” (Giulia Zaniboni)

“180° turn in my work with the singers” (Theophilos Lambrianidis)

"like four professionals in one" (Yiselle Blum)

“invaluable: she’ll make a role really succeed on stage” (Ariadne Greif)

“potentially life-changing” (Amy Payne)

“brings life to operatic drama” (Maria Sanner)

“enlightening, professionally and humanly” (Clara La Licata)

“thoroughly prepared and professional” (Marie Kuijken)

“truly unique method and insights” (Jasmine Law)

“a lingual and linguistic genius” (Peter Tantsits)

“entirely devoted to the art of Opera singing” (Ida Falk Winland)

“incredibly informed, consistent, knowledgeable” (Michael Corvino)

“carrying the torch of finest Italian Opera” (Nathaniel Kondrat)

“a crucial basis for all the singers” (David Cowan)

“a cure and a respect of the Music and the words’ musicality that can be learnt so deeply nowhere else in the world” (Matilde Bianchi)