If Music Be the Food of Love....

People often ask what there is to do in Cervinara.  Aren't you bored?  What is the cultural life like there.  As with any small town, there are certainly moments of inactivity, days where the highlight is the passing of the fruit and vegetable truck or the cheese man.  But there are also moments of such beauty and richness, it seems impossible that they are happening in this small hill town.

We have been here for five days now, several of which have been spent tracking down our errant luggage, a situation which has fortunately been resolved.  So last night, when our neighbor invited me to join her at a concert at our small local church, I was happy to tag along. 

To be perfectly frank, I wasn't expecting a lot.  I knew that there would be some students from the local high school that specializes in music, some of their teachers, and some local talent.  And as is so typical here, the 7:00 pm start time was delayed by an hour to accommodate late arrivals and logistical issues.  But when the orchestra played the first notes of a Rossini overture, I and the rest of the audience were spellbound.  We were in for 90 minutes of spectacular music, both orchestral and vocal. 

The acoustics in our church allowed the voices and strings to fill every corner of the edifice.  The enthusiasm of both spectators and performers was electric.  The absolute beauty that permeated the space gave me "brividi", that absolute pleasure that comes from hearing a beautiful piece of music performed flawlessly and passionately.  The ninety minutes flew by and we were ready for more. 
After amazing renditions of Vissi d'Arte, E Lucevan le Stelle, Nessun Dorma, and Si, Mi chiamano Mimi, the audience begged for more.  So tenor and soprano came out together to finish the evening with a rousing version of Libiamo!  Let's Drink!

This wonderful program is part of the Festival di Maggio, a May festival that publicizes and presents the gifted students, teachers, and performers of this little village.  I've seen my share of great performances, including Pavarotti twice and many operas at the Met, but I swear that our local musicians in our local church provided a more memorable and moving performance than any of the others.  The intimacy of the setting, the fact that we were no more than 10 feet from the singers, that the orchestra was squeezed onto the altar...these all contributed to the magic of the evening.

There are more concerts coming up; a wind quintet on Monday, a string quartet on Tuesday, and student recitals on Thursday are all on the calendar.  I look forward to another week of tidying, planting, and shopping....and more fantastic music, so.....play on!