Grace Notes: 2014

Excuse the cheesy title.

Right now, I'm sitting at a cafe in front of Castelvecchio (the ancient castle as mentioned in a previous post) sipping on a delicious glass of peach tea. Ah. Life is good! We had a wonderful, relaxing and fun weekend.

On Friday night, Nathan kicked off the weekend right with an amazing performance! He and his colleagues performed a variety of arias by Mozart, Handel and several others. The recital took place at the Chiesa San Fermo, a church that can be traced back to the 8th century. So far, in all of the cathedrals I have been in, I've seen many, many tombs. So, I asked Madelyn (the administrator of the program) if they still had human remains in them, to which she replied most likely! Eew! Furthermore, she told me that in Italy, since there is very limited space, they don't have enough land to bury everyone. As a solution, they place the deceased into kind of a "filing room" of large metal boxes for the bodies to decompose. Unfortunate, right? But it doesn't end there. After 5 or 6 years, the family members have to return to collect the bones and remains in order to clear up more space. Now, I have yet to confirm this with the all-knowing internet, but it was an interesting story and concept nonetheless!

I digress. It was a wonderful concert and Nathan sang Dalla Sua Pace from Don Giovanni by Mozart along with a sextet from the same opera. I think Nathan has been working on this piece for about at least a semester now (?), but this was one of the best performances so far! Should you choose to listen to the video, be sure to admire his musicality in phrasing, his excellent technique in vowel modifications- especially in his upper register! and his development of consistent breath-support. In addition visually his character, Don Ottavio, is well portrayed as a sweet, but passive gentleman.

Here is the link to the video: Nathan Straub, tenor: Dalla Sua Pace from Don Giovanni

Stay tuned for a future blog post featuring Nathan Straub, tenor, and his thoughts and perspectives on studying music in Italy!

While Nathan was preparing for the concert, I had a day full of exploring! Our Italian teacher, Michaela, was gracious enough to drive me to the edge of town so I could check out the Piazzale Castel San Pietro. I didn’t really know what I was going to see, but everyone had suggested I go, so I was quite excited when she dropped me off! She said to simply walk up the stairs and I’ll know it when I see it. Well, a couple stairs turned out to be closer to 1,035,284 stairs (not really, but it felt like it). I think I’m in decent shape, but I was so out of breath when I got to the top! Since I didn’t know what I was in for, I was unprepared and didn’t have any water either! Regardless, it was absolutely worth the hike. The view from the top was so gorgeous. Truly breathtaking. I’m so grateful that God takes pleasure in creating such beauty for us to enjoy. I spent a peaceful hour up there just taking in the view.

Afterwards, I made my way into town and just had a great day by myself! I stopped at this adorable cafe and had a really great time with the Lord. (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that yes, I toted my mini-bible, prayer journal and a book up that mountain, so gosh darn it, I made good use of them when I got down so it wouldn’t have been in vain! :P) Honestly, I was feeling rather anxious about spending the entire day by myself, but God just met me where I was at. I felt lonely and on-edge, but God spoke to me through his word. I opened my Bible and stumbled across Psalm 139.

“You hem me in behind and before; you have laid your hand on me... Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast.”

Psalm 139:5,7-10

God is so good. I was reminded that even though I am thousands of miles from home and family, God is always with me. What joy, peace and comfort in knowing that the Creator of the universe loves me and cares for me as his daughter. I am so blessed!

On Saturday, Nathan and I went to Venice with some of our new friends! It was so hard to get out of bed after a long concert the night before, but it was sooo worth it! One of the voice teachers from the program actually lives in Venice, so she showed us how to ride the train and showed us around the town for a bit. Now Joyce lives in Venice, but she actually is a very proper and strict and is your perfect British voice teacher- accent included! She is so great. We stopped at a cafe to look at a map and a couple of us wanted some breakfast. However, only 3 out of 7 of us wanted to order anything and apparently this was incredibly offensive to the waitress. She refused to serve us and Joyce had a very proper fit! She is fluent in Italian and gave the waitress an ear full of it! We left the cafe to Joyce saying in Italian something to the affect of “I’m telling all of my friends not to eat here! Shame on you!” It was quite comical. She also called the lady an absurd cow. Haha! I love her!

Shortly there after we visited the Chiesa San Fermo Maggiore- a Gothic church on top and a Romanesque chapel down below. It is filled with historic artifacts including the grave of Cladio Monteverdi. For those of you who don’t know him, in a nutshell he was one of the founders of Opera as we know it. I have essays on him if you want to know more ;) It was surreal to be standing just feet from his grave. What an honor!

As we meandered our way towards the St. Mark’s Basilica, we did TONS of shopping! Our friends at Oklahoma State take their purse shopping very seriously! :P We had such a good time bonding with them and getting to know them. The shops were super interesting too. There were all sorts of little stores carrying things from handmade glass art to Venetian masks and ball gowns! We also were able to appreciate the beauty and incredible architecture of the city built on the water. I felt like I was walking in a postcard!

Eventually we made it to the St. Marco’s Basillica. We’ve read about this historic church in textbooks and pictured what it might look like, but never before had I imagined that I would be so blessed to see it in person! This historic Cathedral was the venue and working space of many, many famous composers and musicians like Monteverdi. It is also significant as it is designed in a cross shape with four different “wings” for choirs. This was critical to the development of antiphonal choirs (multiple choirs singing in turns). Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, but if you have a chance, I would highly suggest researching this incredible Cathedral as much of our Western music and film can be traced back to this foundation.

We finished our time in Venice with a ferry ride back to the train station in order to make it back to Verona in time to watch Turandot! Holy smokes. It was so good. I am fiercely loyal to my favorite opera, Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti, but boy was Turandot a close second! The music. Oh the music was and is brilliant. You probably have a taste of what I’m talking about as the majority of the population has heard “Nessun Dorma” sung by Luciano Pavarotti at some point or another. The tenor in this production did a really great job considering he was an understudy and is only 30. The soprano on the other hand, blew my socks off! It was good to know though that even professional productions at L’Arena have technical difficulties sometimes too- in the last act part of the wall got stuck in center stage! That was a good chuckle.

Sunday we slept in and watched an excellent sermon on youtube. If you have 50 minutes- it’s packed with wisdom! Here’s the link: Christ Centered Relationships

Afterwards, we went on a gelato crawl with our friends. We went to 7 different gelateria’s to find the best gelato shop in Verona! The shops were graded on taste, price, customer service, selection and bathroom cleanliness. We had a great time, but we were sooo full by the end! In the end there was a tie for the best gelateria. If you’re ever in Verona I suggest the Zeno Gelateria and Gelateria Savoia dal 1939. Mmmm! ... Somehow amidst eating all of that gelato, I forgot to take pictures... sorry :(

We celebrated a great weekend at the twins’ apartment sharing a delicious meal and chatting. We’re so grateful for all of the wonderful people here!

Hope all is well for each of you! Thanks for stopping by!

Ciao!

Hana & Nathan

Photos

San Fermo

Tombs in San Fermo

This guy liked this tomb he built so much that he decided to keep it for himself!

Venezia!

Some random guy. It was just so gross I had to take a picture. Blaaaah!

On the ferry in Venice!

Kathryn, I made it to a flee market! :D

Days 7-10 flew by! I can't believe we've already been here for a week & a half and are already half way through our journey. What a great experience it's been!

This week, Nathan has been really buckling down on the music. Whenever he's not in class, he's practicing! He seriously sounds so good! It's amazing what consistent practicing and studying can do for your voice. Nathan has been clicking really well with all of the faculty, especially Dr. Robert White Jr. from Juilliard. The faculty here is amazing at diagnosing issues with the voice and giving clear & concise explanations to fix them. Here are a few pictures from our Stage Movement Class. We’ve learned about how to multi-task on stage, how to communicate ideas through body movement to both cast members & the audience, and some more abstract thoughts like how to hold energy in a still pose. We’ve also done some yoga for alignment! :)

Nathan gave a wonderful presentation in our 18th century movement class. In addition to his presentation, he did a charade of how his character, Don Ottavio from Don Giovanni by Mozart, would live and walk in his own private room. It was a moving performance! Bravo, Nathan!

He also had his first concert on Monday night at the Basillica Sant’Anastasia. It was incredible! The cathedral was absolutely magnificent and ornate and the acoustics were like that of a shower! The ceilings are remarkably tall and make you feel oh-so small! It was built between 1290 and 1481! Pretty amazing! Here is Nathan singing Schubert's Ave Maria. It was magical and breathtaking. I'm so proud of him and I'm sure you all would be too! His gorgeous voice just filled the Cathedral. In addition, God displayed his power through an awesome rain storm during the performance. The two combined gave me goosebumps! The pictures really don't do it justice.

Ave Maria, Nathan Straub (Click Here!)

(Click on the link above to see video, or search "Schubert, Ave Maria, Nathan Straub, Tenor" on youtube. )

I on the other hand, have been have much more down time! I still go to about 2 classes a day, but I've had a lot more time to explore than he has. As a music educator, I’ve had a wonderful opportunity observing and sometimes participating in these classes. I’ve also been inspired with many new ideas and lesson plans to take back to my fellow colleagues at WSU and for my future classroom. When I’m not in class, I go to town on the bus! It was a little scary at first, but it’s a piece of cake now! The artistic director of the program said its perfectly safe during the day time and so far she’s been right! Don’t worry, Dad, I have my pepper spray with me always- just in case!

Fierce with my fan! Although I have slight buyer's remorse...

I think it’s pretty apparent that I’m more of an extrovert, so this whole trip has been a new experience for me. Nathan is in class or practicing 8-10 hours a day, which leaves me with a lot of alone time! It’s been good though. It’s given me time to be more introspective and has forced me to come to peace with some quiet and solitude. I really enjoy going to the plaza, Piazza Erbe, ordering a cup of tea and people watching, writing in my prayer journal and reading. If I were home, my schedule would be packed with all sorts of coffee dates, work, babysitting and what not, but here is just... simple. I’m grateful for my faith and to know that I’m never alone. I feel the comfort of God’s spirit with me wherever I am whether it be in the busy streets or on a bench in front of a Cathedral. God is so faithful.

Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering why the title of this post including “Getting Lost.” Well, yesterday I was feeling a bit more adventurous than usual and Nathan was feeling more laid-back than usual (he had just had an Alexander Technique session, so he was nice and loose. Haha!).

We usually go home before 8 pm so we can catch the last bus that goes by our apartment, but last night we stayed out till 9:30 (ooh so late, I know!). At this point, I had been by myself just window shopping and walking around for the last 4 1/2 hours so I was pretty beat! Nathan had only been there for a couple of hours, but he was tired from class and rehearsal too.

Anyway, we get to the bus stop and realize that the next bus wouldn’t come for another 45 minutes, so we decided to walk to another bus stop... Bad idea. We walked and walked... and walked and walked... Ended up in some random streets outside of the pretty tourist Verona that we have come to know and love. It was getting dark so we decided to turn around.. but where?! Eventually we found our way back to Piazza Bra and checked the bus schedule once again. We missed the “45 minute away” bus by about 5 minutes. Ugh. So after waiting around some more, we hopped onto a bus that would take us near our apartment. Once we had been on the bus for about 5 minutes looking for our stop, a nice lady informed us that we should get off because we were on the wrong bus. Great.

So with sore feet and droopy eyelids, we found ourselves at the bus transfer stop where we waited yet another 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the bus we wanted was 7 minutes late, but we didn’t know that so we got onto another bus. This bus was the correct bus, Praise God! However, we did have a slightly intense moment on that bus when two security/police (?) men boarded fully packing! We had to show our bus tickets to prove we had paid- no problem, but some poor/stupid girl hadn’t paid so she was escorted off of the bus and most likely written a FAT ticket! It was all quite exhausting, but we made it home!

At the bus transfer station...

We're so lost!!

Here are the real kickers though: I got home and realized a few things 1) A had a map in my purse the whole time and had forgotten about it. 2) It wasn’t even worth staying out for! All of the shops were closed! and 3) The bus that was 7 minutes late, drove past us as we walked home from the other stop. Haha! We just laughed and Nathan shook the umbrella at the bus as it drove by. Oh well! That’s part of the fun in traveling, right?

Two more little anecdotes for you: 1) I did laundry by hand! It costs 4 euros to wash a load and then another 4 to dry it. PSH! The Scottish in me says No Grazie!! That’s like $10 to wash and dry your clothes!! So I did it by hand and I’m very proud of myself! :P

Ta-da!

As for my second money story, some guy tried to rip me off! I was about to buy 4 postcards and I asked him how much it was, to which he replied after a long pause “Six Euros.” The scumbag. I said “You’re kidding. For four postcards? No thanks.” and I stormed out! Some people... Again though, joys of traveling.

Thanks for reading! We miss you all and are keeping all of our loved ones back home in our prayers.

Fino alla prossima volta! (Until next time)

Love,

Hana & Nathan

Photos from Verona