Opera in Italia: 10 Days in the Veneto

 

PROGRAM DATES:

• July 10-21, 2012

PROGRAM COST:

• $3,975 (double occupancy)
• $4,325 (single occupancy)

REGISTRATION DETAILS:

• To register: Please fill out and submit our online registration form (space limited to 12 max participants) by March 15.
• Payment details: Non-refundable deposit of 50% due at time of registration or by Jan 20, 2012. Remainder due by May 1, 2012.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

Do you absolutely adore both opera and Italy? If so, we have concocted a dream trip for you!  Join opera-insider Mary Ann Archer (flutist for the Met for 22 years) and Italian instructor Patrizia Johnson – as they take opera lovers to the hills near Verona to listen, learn and live!  You’ll stay in the wine-rich hills of Valpolicella at the elegant, historic Serego Alighieri estate, attend focused workshops on each of the three operas that you’ll then experience – live! – at the historic Arena in Verona, be treated to VIP tours of La Scala in Milan and La Fenice in Venice, enjoy a cooking class and wine tastings and get plenty of time to relax, read and hopefully even practice some italiano!  Indulge your passion for Italian opera by experiencing opera in Italy, with a group of like-minded individuals. Just as our 2011 participants have done, you’ll surely beg for an encore!

Note: no previous study of Italian required – just a passion for Italian Opera!

 

Program Costs Include:

• 11 nights lodging at the impeccable Serego Alighieri Estate.
• Tickets and transportation to 3 operas at the historic Arena in Verona: Aida, Don Giovanni, Carmen
• Three pre-Opera workshops with Italian Opera experts Mary Ann Archer and Patrizia Johnson
• An excursion to Milan including a behind-the-scenes tour of the Teatro alla Scala Opera House and a visit to gourmet emporium, Peck.
• An excursion to Venice including a visit to the Museo della Musica and the jewel-like Fenice theater.
• An excursion to the enchanting Lago di Garda (Lake Garda)
• A literary walking tour of Verona
• A cooking class and lunch at Serego Alighieri with the resident chef.
• A wine tasting and tour
• Experienced and charming guide services throughout the program

Not included: airfare; transportation to/from airport to the Serego Alighieri Estate (we can facilitate, though!); meals except for the cooking class at Serego

WORKSHOP LEADERS:

MARY ANN ARCHER   is a flutist and spiritual director who learned to love the Italian language while playing for 26 years in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City. When she took early retirement in 2003 from the MET, she moved to the beautiful campus of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia with her family. There she met and befriended native Italian Patrizia Johnson, who began to teach Mary Ann how to make sentences with the enormous ‘bubble’ of Italian words she had learned by listening to Italian being sung over her head while in the orchestra pit. With Patrizia, Mary Ann has created Speak!’s Italian Language and Opera Appreciation program. When she is not teaching at Speak!, Mary Ann performs in many local opera and musical productions. She is a frequent traveler to Italy and is thrilled to return to the Veneto in 2012 with another passionate, curious group of Italian and Opera lovers.

 

 

PATRIZIA PREVOSTO JOHNSON       A native of Nuoro, on the beautiful Italian island of Sardegna, Patrizia Prevosto Johnson made her way to Virginia and Speak! via a quite interesting international itinerary. She has taught Italian in places as different and as distant as Winchester, England (at Linguarama and Bi-lingua schools, and in a local prison), as Bonn, Germany (at Inlingua) and as the Farmville area, Virginia. A life-long, passionate student of languages, Patrizia earned her certificate in English proficiency from the University of Cambridge, studied German and Spanish (languages) and Italian literature at the University of Bonn, earning a degree in Italian Studies at the University of London with focus on sociolinguistic, literature and women studies. As multi-lingual as she is multi-talented, Patrizia speaks Italian, English, German and Spanish fluently, some French and Sardinian and has studied Latin, ancient and modern Greek, Russian, Romanian, Portuguese and even Esperanto! Patrizia currently resides on the Hampden Sydney campus with her family but commutes willingly to her grande amore- Charlottesville – each week to share her passion for language and culture with fortunate students of Speak! Language Center. With Mary Ann Archer, Patrizia created and currently runs Speak!’s  popular Italian Language and Opera program. Patrizia is excited to return to the Veneto in 2012 to teach participants some Italian and enjoy the finer things in life at the Serego Alighieri estate – and beyond!

Meet Patrizia and Mary Ann – Opera’s “Odd Couple” – in this short video shot at Speak! -

Images of last year’s trip from an opera-loving participant (Grazie, Jill!)