Firenze 2020

New for 2020 at the LMFL course in Firenze, we are offering group tuition for already constituted chamber music groups – duets, trios or quartets – with a either one or two hours of tuition per day with a choice of tutor(s) from our renowned faculty.

Basic course fees are £800 per person with tuition starting from £200 pr group member per hour.

 

Further details and the application form can be found here

 

 

LMFL has chosen Florence (Italy) for its summer course.

The course will be hosted under the auspices of the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubin at the Villa Favard di Rovezzano which is the oldest part of the Conservatorio site, in the middle of a substantial magical botanical park with roses and Cedar trees

Villa Favard di Rovezzano has a large number of piano studios (including grand pianos) lots of music studios and a concert hall

Florence Firenze is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and birthplace of the Renaissance. It is home to masterpieces of art and architecture and was at the heart of much of our entire Western musical tradition. It was here that the Florentine Camerata convened in the mid-16th century and experimented with setting tales of Greek mythology to music and staging the result—in other words, the first operas, setting the wheels in motion not just for the further development of the operatic form, but for later developments of separate “classical” forms such as the symphony.

This seems an ideal setting for our course where we can enjoy working in the midst of beauty, elegance and serenity

We welcome students from + 17 years old and upwards. We also welcome younger advanced students accompanied by at least one parent.

All students must be advanced level in at least one discipline, other choices can be at lower level.

LYRIC PROGRAMME

“ALL ABOUT ORPHEUS”

An operatic pastiche (form baroque to jazz) with arias, songs and scenes from the following operas:

PERI – Euridice (1600)

MONTEVERDI – L’Orfeo (1607)

ROSSI – Orfeo (1647)

GLUCK – Orfeo ed Euridice (1762)

HAYDN – L’anima del filosofo (1791)

SCHUBERT – Orpheus (Lied, 1821)

OFFENBACH – Orphée aux Enfers (1858)

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS – Orpheus with his lute (art song, 1912)

DE MORAES – Orfeu negro (1957)

and others

 

Voices required:

sopranos (both light and lyric), mezzos or contraltos, tenors, baritones, jazz singers (both males and female voices)

 

Studying classical singing in childhood and during puberty, before the final changes of the voice have taken place (which normally occurs between the ages of 13 and 15 for females and between 15 and 17 for males) is always considered extremely dangerous for the future health of the vocal organ. In fact the oldest and most prestigious of the Italian bel canto and music conservatoires were forbidden to enrol girls before they had reached the age of 16 and boys before they had reached the age of 18.

The experience of the great singing teachers of the golden era of Italian Opera between 1700 and 1900 revealed that the voices of children (even the most gifted and promising ones) go through a period of extreme delicacy during mutation into the adult voice.

The reason for this important observation was then researched carefully using twentieth century medical science (phoniatrics) to explain why the sensitive years of transformation of the muscles and cartilage of the larynx are particularly vulnerable to serious damage (sometimes irreparable) when subjected to unnatural effort.

The use of typical operatic singing techniques, in fact, enables the human voice to develop really extraordinary abilities. This can be compared with the use of sports training techniques which can lead to athletes breaking records.

However, just as in sports you can start to coach children and teenagers to develop into adult Olympic athletes, so it is with the education of young voices. BUT it can only be done by following a very precise and gradual process of transformation of the voice from that of a child to that of an adult WITHOUT any unnatural effort or forcing.

It should be made clear that a child of 9-12 singing an operatic aria and trying to imitate an adult’s voice is just like a child of the same age competing in a track, long jump or swimming event against adults, using rhythms and systems that do not fit in with the physical features of growth at that age. Even if a child or a young man in puberty can sing an operatic aria for a few minutes (for example O my dear Father, from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi) and appear to make sounds like a professional soprano, the efforts resulting from the pressure which the abdominal muscles need to exert, the many breaths that are taken even in the middle of words, the irregular fluctuations of vibrato, etc, are all signs of vocal fatigue. This will result later in the loss of the agility of the voice that you need to develop the professional tools of an opera singer.

The exploits of some children on television talent-shows mislead parents into thinking that children with no musical or operatic skills do in fact possess them, because children sing on television with amplification through a microphone! In the theatre, real professionals do not use a microphone when they sing opera! And singing in opera does not mean just singing a famous aria but it means singing in a complex and often 3-4 hour long performance where there are duets, trios, recitatives, arias, declamation, choruses, etc.

So the singing teacher who imposes operatic techniques on a 9-12 year old child – and even on 13-15 year old teenagers who have not yet completed the changes to their voices, however gifted – is committing a serious error. At 20, the boy or the girl will have lost the naturalness and vocal agility that serve to build the true voice of a professional. It will be frustrating and painful to have to correct major flaws after initially believing a child to be a prodigy. In fact, in cases like these, boys frequently give up singing opera because they have lost their self-assurance and self-esteem.

My advice after over 20 years’ experience in the conservatoire in Italy is this: when a child shows a lot of musical and vocal talent, encourage the study of an instrument (ideally the piano which also develops the sense of harmony), have the student sing in choirs with treble voices up to the age of 12, and take singing lessons from a teacher who begins with easy and suitable repertoire, like old chamber music arias or folk songs. Between the ages of 12 and 15 go easy on the singing until the voice has mutated, and continue studying piano and music theory.

14-15 year-old girls and 16-17 year-old boys should begin to develop their operatic vocal technique slowly while monitoring how the “new” voice reacts to the stress of a more intense workout.

Any singing teacher who does not respect this approach is incompetent and dangerous, only interested in making easy money out of the hopes and illusions of children and their families who pursue brief and fleeting celebrity. The young artist will be psychologically damaged.

Leonardo De Lisi

While the life during the course is mainly concerned with music making, we cannot let slip the opportunity for foreign students to explore the marvels offered by the magnificent town of Firenze

Hence we propose for our students on one of their days off, a guided tour conducted by Maestro de Lisi to include :

• Galleria Dell ‘Accademia, Michelangelo’s David and the Museum of Musical Instruments – a formidable collection of historic musical instruments (including Stradivari’s violins and viola Medicea, Guarnieri Del Gesù, Cristofori’s early pianos, etc.) with the possibility, under supervision, of trying some
• Dante’s Home , the “father” of Italian poetry
• Palazzo Pitti , the Sala Bianca, where the first opera was staged in 1600 for the marriage of Henry 4th, King of France, and Marie De’ Medici
• Accademia Bartolomeo Cristofori Museum , history of the pianoforte.

We will have 6 concerts during the course, some in Villa Favard itself, one in the park of the Villa Favard some in the new Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini,

Learning from previous courses we need to point out to our participants that there are two different buildings that host the Firenze Conservatorio

1 A Central Administrative building in the centre of the Old town Piazza delle Belle Arti 2 50122

2 And a second building – the Villa Favard – where teaching happens which is in Rovezzano, Nord East of area Firenze that is the one you need to go to

The address of the front entrance of this second building is via di Rocca Tedalda 451, the bus Number 14 stops just in front .

The train station Rovezzano is walking distance

The back entrance is via Aretina, Firenze Rovezzano.

When booking an accommodation, please keep this in mind

It is very hot in Augustin Florence and you don’t want long journey to Villa Favard

Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini : Villa Favard di Rovezzano

The Firenze Course is an adult course and we expect most of our participants to find and book their own lodging. Please note that it is advisable to book accommodation in Firenze as long as 11 months l in advance.

However, we know that our younger adults coming from far and wide may find it difficult to identify the right place and the right price and may wish to be in the same place.

For our younger, returning students.

For returning LMFL students who are under 18 and up to 25, 7  shared bedrooms in a  private supervised home (5 minutes walking distance to Villa Favard). This will be for approved returning students only, so you will need your LMFL registration details to make a booking .

The Air Conditioned rooms are shared ( 2 or 3 beds) with their own bathrooms. Breakfasts included

This does not include other meals.

The cost of accommodation will have to be settled at registration.

Another interesting place for students who are on budget that we have identified is New – very near Villa Favard de Rovezzano  (5 minutes  walk) a new camping site where you can come with your tent , a mobile home or rent a chalet or a bungalow with budget in mind.

This camp has a lively bar/ restaurant and a couple of fantastic, huge swimming pools.

While it is very new, it is already very popular and booking ought to be done months in advance.

Here is the link: Camping Village Firenze

https://humancompany.com/en/destinations/villages-camping-in-town/firenze-camping-in-town

Luncheons and dinners can also  be taken at David2 (very reasonably priced pizzas, pastas and salads), 2 minutes’ walk just outside Villa Favard and in the park of the conservatory

Please make sure you are eligible for a visa: in most circumstances your paid registration file is sufficient to get a visa.