Day to Day
The real glory of these trips are the evening banquets and shows. The talent will include dedicated amateurs sharing a torch song, an aria or a reading, and classical players who are also accomplished jazz artists and pros from the SF Symphony and Opera. We will have top-notch accompanists.
The name of the game is participation, so if you have a story to share or a song to sing we want to include you. We usually put on either a cocktail show before dinner, or sometimes offer music between courses. Then, after dinner, we retire to the bar for a musical afterglow that goes on into the evening.
Because we have taken the whole Castello there will be no closing time and we can sing and play to our hearts delight. The strong espresso and cappuccino coffee that they serve in the morning is, at least for a time, a tasty substitute for sleep.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Teatro Signorelli, Cortona
This evening we will enjoy the best of our star performers in a stunningly beautiful hall. It will be a more relaxed performance than our previous opera production, as there are no sets, costumes or choreography. Because we have developed close musical and personal relationships in Tuscany over the years, we have been invited to put on our final show of the week at the historic Cortona Opera House. Locals will join us for our free public performance and we will be joined by luminaries from Erich Stratmann's Annual Cabaret Concert. The wonderful soprano, Rachelle Ward Perry, will be featured, along with our stalwart entertainers Joe Lerer, David Jackson, Dick Hardwick, The Elliott Sisters, Jeff Sanford, the Montgomerys and even a cameo appearance by the great Roy Folger.
We'll close the show with a Chorus and Chamber Orchestra made up from the ranks of our traveling group. Evan Craves will be concertmaster. And our conductor and musical director, Brett Strader will rehearse and conduct a chorus made up of both the pros & amateur singers in our group. And we'll make sure the music is accessible to all whether or not you read music. So, if you like to sing, join us on stage!.