Early Music & Italian Men

Two random topics I am going to rant about that are almost totally non related-well kind of!
#1 Italian Men!
I adore Italian men for the most part. I think they're gorgeous in so many ways, and the accents are just delicious. Obviously living in Astoria where there is a HUGE population of Italian people I have easily learned how to distinguish an Italian American from someone who was literally born in Italy. There are just dead give aways that one can tell. Typically the ones born in Italy that I've come in contact with have longer greasier hair, are a bit more meaty, and have an air about how they walk. The ones from the U.S. are more metrosexualified (if that's a word). They have shorter hair, it's obvious that they never forget to put some kind of lip balm on their lips, and there's the always present gold chain or watch. Regardless both sets are hot, irresistible, and just seethe some kind of Mediterranean air-its as if they were just plucked from and olive tree. So today I get my hair cut during my lunch break, it was time for a change and I'm happy I did it. Ira (the Russian lady who I adore that cuts my hair at this salon on 43rd) took extra long today because she does such a good job and is a perfectionist. So I left and literally had 5 minutes before I needed to be back at the desk-I'm only a block away. As I'm walking and listening to John Dowland (yes I'm a dork I know but early music is my new obsession--more later) I hear someone yell at me from a car. I pull out my ear phones and I look and see this very handsome Italian in this amazing car. I walk up to him and he asks me in Italian if I speak Italian. I responded that I do but that it has been a while since I've had conversation. He proceeds to tell me that I looked Italian so that's why he yelled at me. Are you serious?? Yes I am part Italian but I don't think I match ANY of the typical Italian physical characteristics besides my large nose. Of course I remember being in Italy and seeing a few lighter haired guys and was told by a native Italian that I looked like her son-but still never would have thought that. My great grandfather--yes he looked Italian and I can see it in my grandparents but no one else. So I kind of laughed and he looked at me and then asked if I knew how to get to JFK because he was flying back to Italy. I told him the way I THOUGHT he could get there but honestly I had no clue. He asked me if I was a business man and wanted to know what I did and I told him I was an opera singer and an actor and he asked if I would mind accompanying him to the airport and he would pay my cab fare back because he had no idea where he was going. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight! This is when I'm reminded that I'm in NYC. Oh how fun....I told him I'm sorry but I was running late to work--and of course another Italian trait was that he kept nagging me and telling me that it wouldn't take too long. Sadly my encounter with the hot Italian man didn't last much longer as I apologized and kept walking away. *Sigh* Entertaining story of the day--who knows where he really wanted me to go and of course I would have NEVER gotten in the car but it was fun anyways...
#2 Early Music:
A friend of mine who is singing right now with Minnesota Opera was talking to me on the phone the other night about singing-because that's all we talk about. He is a lyric baritone, as am I and we often talk about how we think this is a very tough voice category because it's a voice that one can so easily push out of wack really fast. You can either push your brains out and try to sing bigger rep than what you should (because the development takes so long), or you might be told often that you should be a tenor because your low range is not strong and your top is pretty good, or you sing off the voice always and are a little too cautious and start to hide behind a protective wall. He was saying how difficult it is to find this balance and I told him that I couldn't agree more and that I'm dealing with this right now more than anything else. I listened to my masters recital cd for the first time in months and could hardly stand it. I feel vocally like a completely different person than I was then. One thing too that I'm trying to figure out is the mic situation. It sounds to me like the recording mic was too close--so there were a lot of partials lost that I think sound so much better when the recording mic is not so close and you get the full accoustical affect. So of course I hear every flaw, every imperfection, and I get pissy with myself. Ok move on, deal with it, and just keep going. The intention was right, but the sound was just not the best. And in a lot of places I can hear a timbre to my voice that should be throughout--and it's interesting because I think with freedom this timbre is going to open some interesting new things up. I'm not convinced myself right now that I'm a baritone, that I will be a baritone-really I'm not. I really think I may transition into tenor land. I know it's crazy, but it's true. When I have been vocalizing it has just felt so different and the higher stuff has been working out fantastically because I feel free--my speaking voice as well naturally sits higher when I don't try to push it down to sound more manly. I shouldn't have to do that I've realized-and listening to my cd there were many times when I could sense a false darkening I was doing try to sound like something...well that I'm not. I have found that I can't think as much...I just can't think of placing something, opening a certain length, or whatever. So this is a work in progress and I will have a pair of ears hear me soon that I trust. But listening to it there felt like there was something missing, and perhaps this was a more internal thing I can feel when I can remember what I was thinking and remember exactly how something felt. But the times when it was good...it was good and there was nothing missing. We'll work on this and all will open up. I digress....early music...so the friend and I were talking about how recently we have both been listening to a lot of early vocal music. Particularly I adore John Dowland and I've been listening to a TON TON TON of madrigal and really baroque things that are way cool. Vivaldi has become a favorite as of late as well and of course Gluck and Handel. He asked the question as to why I think this is starting to become popular and yet some are not willing to embrace it and the major houses are just slowly sneaking it in. Somehow I came up with something that I'd been thinking about for a while and here are my thoughts: I think early music is coming back is because it is so honest, earthy, sensible, and accessible. Yet with the seeming "simplicity and accessibility" of it there are SO many layers underneath of it. I think that as a society we are moving towards a more earthy place in our needs, I think people are appreciating these things more and more. "Tis the gift to be simple..." right? I truly believe that. For me simplicity is the way to go with all things...and I don't mean this in a trite way, but a very logical and formal simplicity. We are changing as a people, and as artists. I would like to think that no long does everyone need to go to the theatre to sit back and forget about things nor do they need to go and see a spectacle of costumes, scenery, etc that will blow them away. Not that this isn't great, because I trust me I still adore the staple larger things that are done. But I think people are moving towards a place where they go to the theatre to see something honest and that will make them think. Early music has this strange power to do this. I never really liked it much in college--in fact I often wondered why we were moving to a place of early music...now I know why. My friend agreed with me and he also said that his coach has been giving him some early arias that are amazing for years and he has just now picked them up and plans on auditioning with them. We'll see where this goes but I truly believe that it's something great that's opening up. We have to appreciate all kinds of music as artists and singers. For many years I thought early music was for pussies-but now I think sometimes it takes more balls to be honest and simple on the stage. Especially vocally since so much of this is exposed and free-now that's tough and takes courage.
Tonight I go to the theatre to see Edward II--a play off-broadway. I can't wait....:)
-Justin