Italian for Singers

Middlebury College
Language
Pledge
The Italian for Singers
Workshop is part of the
Italian School of
Middlebury College.
Therefore, all students are
required to follow the
Language Pledge – a
promise to speak only the
language of study for the
duration of the program.
This is the foundation of
Middlebury’s philosophy
of language education.
FACULTY
Marcel Danesi, Ph.D.
University of Toronto – Director
of Semiotics/Linguistics
Department of Anthropology
Sara Maida‐Nicol, soprano B.Mus Voice Performance – University of Toronto M.A. Italian ‐ Middlebury College For program details: Middlebury College Sunderland Language Center 356 College Street Middlebury, VT 05753 802.443.5510 www.middlebury.edu/academics/ls/italian
WORKSHOP
Italian
for
Singers
July 1st – August 13th 2010
The Italian for Singers Workshop is
divided into three genres of Italian
music:
Opera/Art song/Arie Antiche: Singers
will choose from their own and
assigned repertoire. Composers will
include: Handel, Mozart, Verdi,
Puccini, Bellini, Donizetti & Rossini
as well as early composers Caccini,
Gluck, Pergolesi, Scarlatti, Vivaldi
and Monteverdi.
The Neapolitan Song: Singers will be
assigned classical repertoire in
Neapolitan dialect from composers
such as Donizetti, Rossini, Denza,
Tosti, De Capua as well as traditional
Neapolitan pieces made famous by
artists such as Caruso, Gigli, Di
Stefano and Pavarotti.
Songs from the 50’s/60’s: Singers will
learn what is to be considered the
history of Italian ‘rocknroll’, singing
hits (solo and in groups) by famous
Italian musicians of the era such as
Domenico Modugno, Massimo
Ranieri, Little Tony, Mina, Renato
Carosone, Louis Prima, Adriano
Celentano, Fred Buscaglione and
many more.*
*This section of the workshop is the most
popular and due to the variety of musical
styles (rock, jazz, classical) applicable to
this era, each and every voice type can be accommodated. Why is proper diction so important? There is a difference between
studying a foreign language and
singing it. Here at the Italian
School we have combined the
study of Italian language (which
requires study and development
of primarily vocabulary, grammar
and syntax) with the study of
Italian diction (focusing on
speech sounds, enunciation,
study of texts and style as well as
overall expression – as the act of
conveying the meaning of each
song or aria.
The Method: The intense study of
Italian language and diction using
the International Phonetic
Alphabet (IPA) will include
regular coaching in a master-class
setting with a focus on expression
through correct pronunciation
and musical style.
The Performances: Each singer
will perform in a series of public
concerts representing the Italian
school. Students are expected to
bring a minimum of 3 songs
/arias (memorized); the
instructors will assign additional
repertoire for the remainder of the
workshop.

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