Backstories and More: Stories from Behind the Camera: Home to Italia

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Stories from Behind the Camera: Home to Italia

Well, okay. The title of this post is not exactly accurate. I do not nor have I ever lived in Italy. I have been blessed, however, to visit this gorgeous country on three occasions, twice with my beloved New Jersey Choral Society

In 1987, I joined a small and fledgling organization that existed from concert to concert on donations and ticket sales. We were a tight family and, thankfully, we still are after 30 years. Back in 1989, our music director brought us a proposition, a concert tour of Italy. Another organization had put the trip together and then, it seems, abandoned it, but everything had been arranged and the tour company was searching for another group. We accepted the challenge.

Arragonia Castle, Ischia - 1989 (scanned film photo)

This trip took us to Sorrento and Pompeii, to Ischia and Orvieto and Orte, to Perugia, Assisi and, finally, too briefly, to Rome. It was a whirlwind trip over 14 days with six concerts. The tour arrangements were terrible - nasty hotels, tiny rooms and, of all things, terrible food. Our group of intrepid singers and a few spouses, though, had the best time ever. Even all these years later, we still talk about it. In fact, there are six of us from that trip who still sing with the same chorus.

But no other concert tours followed those amazing two weeks in Italy.

Until now.

Since 2006, the chorus has travelled to many other places - China, Australia, Austria, England, and France. Now it was time to return to Italy. Two of us who went on that first trip were, in a sense, coming full circle, coming home.

Our trip took us to very different places - Como, Milan, Venice, Verona and the amazing Sirmione. The participants were very different. In fact, many had not even been born yet when we went on that first trip. Others were just children in elementary school. The performance was also very different - just one, in an ancient theater in Como. Singing Verdi's Requiem in that place with a professional orchestra was thrilling despite the incredible heat. Europe was in the throes of a heat wave and it was very nearly unbearable.

And yet despite the differences, the feeling of camaraderie and affection and fun was exactly the same. The players may have changed, but the song was just the same.

Back in 1989, digital cameras were not even yet on the horizon. Home computers had yet to hit the stores. Photoshopping was not yet something anyone would have even dreamed of. By 2017, of course, everything had changed. Taking, editing and sharing photos is commonplace.

So, here goes. . . .