“Born in the U.S.A.”…

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon, the other day, and I had been in my apartment for most of it.  I was working on some music and decided to do some memorizing while I walked and explored my neighborhood in detail.

I set out passing my local grocery store (you remember…good produce, bad carts) and continued on the streets that I usually pass while on the bus.  As I continued along my path, I came upon a park with a fountain, a little walkway and plenty of trees, grassy areas and benches to sit upon and relax.  Not unlike so many wonderful places in the U.S., most notably Central Park where I recently made my inaugural visit.

Now, in addition, there was an open cafe (keep in mind this is Sunday in Italy!) where people were either enjoying a coffee, gelato or some other libation.  So, I decided that this would be an ideal local to sit down (afterall I’d been walking for roughly 12 minutes, c’mon, I’m American!) and enjoy my beverage of choice, a caffè macchiato…nothing like the macchiato served at your friendly neighborhood Starbucks!

Anyway…it was lovely!  The sound of the fountain, a light breeze, music in the background, a language I didn’t understand and a cup of coffee…those of you who know me well, know that a coffee and an outdoor cafè are pretty much where it’s at for me, so this was nearly perfect…nearly!

Now one might assume that while in Italy one would be surrounded by music on a regular basis.  Perhaps a busker playing a lilting melody on their accordian, a guitarist in the park or maybe it’s just the tolling church bells filling the air with the distant past…or, maybe not!  On this particular afternoon, as I sat down to relax and sip my coffee, the accompaniment du jour was that of none other than Joan Jet and the Blackhearts urging me to “Put another dime in the Jukebox, baby!”  This was followed by a string of other popular American hits from the 80’s!

Well, so be it!  As the sounds of Joan Jet, Simple Minds, Tina Turner, Madonna and those guys who sang “Ahhhhh, freak out!” continued to serenade the park, I sat there and enjoyed my coffee, the scenery, the language, and the sounds that brought me back to my not too distant past and a little closer to home!

The seal has been broken…

…yes people, it exists even here and I took the plunge…boxed wine is alive and well in Italy!  One night last week as I sat down to dinner and heard the crackling sound of the plastic seal of my liter box of vino da tavolo rosso, I couldn’t help but think…ah yes…this, is Tuscany!  I couldn’t help buying it, it was only €1,25 which amounts to roughly $1.95 (give or take) and believe me, it was way better than Franzia.. Who knows what grape it is, but who cares!!!  It was a buck ninety-five!

While on the subject of cuisine, I should mention that for the first two nights I was in Florence, the land of pasta and sauce, I chose, rather, to eat 1/2 a rotisserie chicken and some delicious little potatoes from the prepared section at the grocery store.  It was excellent and who knew italians had such an affinity for rotisserie?  Seriously, they’re everywhere.  Had I known, I would have bought the rights to Kenny Rogers Roasters and franchised the hell out of it…the Gambler would be back in business!

While on the subject of gastronomic endeavours, I have been to my grocery store several times now and I should like to point out a few things.  First, the produce.  Those of you from Chicago would appreciate this, because in my experience some of the poorest produce I’ve seen was there…Tuscany, however, is a different place.  It’s by far some of the best and they take care of it!  Imagine if you will, your local Jewel or Dominick’s employee actually inspecting tomatoes and taking away those that look perfectly acceptable…makes me chuckle too.  But they do it here…it was like a freak-show at the circus, I had to stop and just watch.

Next, italian grocery carts…what some would assume to be a good idea others (Americans) recognize as not.  Who thought it would be a good idea to put 4 “smart wheels” on a shopping cart?  (As a point of reference, a “smart wheel” is like that on the front of American shopping carts, they can pivot and go in any direction)  All of a sudden little old italian ladies are turnin’ corners like their in the General Lee being chased by Roscoe P. Contrain and Boss Hog! The back wheels slide out and there’s panacotta and ravioli everywhere…”clean up, aisle cinque!”

Alright, that’s all I got for today!

Just like the Jefferson’s…I’m “movin’ on up!”

So…what can I tell you about the past two weeks…from living literally in an Italian Villa a la UNDER THE TUSCON SUN, to having coachings with the “Mr. Miyagi” of vocal coaches (“Why do you push?…just use your breath and the sound will come…if you see a wall you do not need to push on it…just let go and it will stay!”)  Whatever, you get the point…I kid you not, he said that.

So, yesterday I moved to Florence, the city that kicked Siena’s a$$, time and again.  I was supposed to be living in an apartment (not the villa, but it’ll do) with an italian violinst named…Valentino…OF COURSE!!!!!  However, I was informed that he might not be in the apartment that much.  Either way, it’ll be nice to be in Florence, on my own and closer to the concert site…all August concerts are in Florence.

On that note (no pun in tended, ha!) I’m happy to say that my first 6 or so concerts have gone really well, each with increasing promise.  From the italians I consistently get asked why my low notes don’t sound louder…and if I could speak italian, I’d be happy to tell them that, because I’m a tenor, I don’t have any.  Unfortunately, they wouldn’t care.

Lastly, per note bene di mia famiglia…my brother and his wife, Sarah, just came to visit.  they were on a three week tour of Europe before my brother starts his M.B.A. at Dartmouth and Sarah starts a new job there.  We had a wonderful time.  The highlight had to be renting a car and driving through the Tuscan countryside of Chianti.  It was gorgeous!  We rarely get to spend a lot of time together, let alone doing something like that, so it was really special.  Sorry I don’t have any pics to share, I’m not at my own computer!  However, if you ever have an opportunity to do something like that…I highly recommend it!

So…that’s all I got for now.  Like always, I hope this finds you well in the world…until next time…

Arrivaderc’ (ah-REE-vah-derch) as the “old timers” say!

Rob

Well, I made it…sort of!

That’s right, I made it…to Paris!!!!!

I eventually made it to Florence, but only after missing my connecting flight in Paris…

Who doesn’t want to spend 4 hours in an airport where no one really speaks your language, or where no one cares that you missed your connection (-”I missed my flight?” -”oui, but of course”…think french accent) or pay 4 Euros for a bottle of water and an indeible banana? My trip was complete…I could go home!

I guess the detail I failed to consider was that the airport in Paris is “effing” huge! Who schedules an international connecting flight with only 50 minutes? My personal scheduler can start looking for another job…idiot!

I did finally make it to Florence…4 hours later…oh yeah, my new flight to leave at 9:55 was delayed for an hour and a half as well, go figure. Brialliant, or “Madonna, mia!” as Franz, the guy I’m staying with says constantly.

Anyway, I made it. Franz was at the airport waiting, we got into his illeagly parked Benz and we wisked our way to the Siena countryside.

That’s all I got now, except to say that the bread and coffee are way better here than back home…I think I’ll have a cup now!

Ciao!

Welcome!

If you’re logging in for the first time, glad you’re here!  I know it looks a little barren, but hopefully soon I’ll have lots of fun information to share…

A little about what’s going on with me at the moment…currently I am in Louisville, KY as a Young Artist with Kentucky Opera!  I’ve been here since the beginning of January and we finish on April 15th with a concert of operatic favorites!  In between, I will have performed on their mainstage in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA, in the outreach tour of ROMEO AND JULIET (as Romeo) and several other appearance throughout the Louisville area.

Immediately following Kentucky Opera, I’ll begin my preparation for my trip to Italy.  I have a lot of music to learn and some old stuff to polish, and I’m looking forward to it.

So, that’s it for now…if you have the chance leave me a comment and say hello!