Masterclass with Sara Mingardo
Rome, 21-26 October 2024
Application deadline: September 30th 2024
Discovering Händel: Sara Mingardo
ROME 21-26 October 2024
A journey towards the balance between word and music, body and character in the operas of Händel
With:
Cesare Scarton, stage director
Antonella Massimo, teacher of Alexander Technique
Toomas Kaldaru, pianist and vocal coach
Words and music in singing
Participants will have the opportunity to study the details of each role under the guidance of Sara Mingardo, one of the most famous contraltos of our time with an international career developing an in-depth understanding of the music and text of the operas.
Audition training and body awareness
In addition to the lessons with Sara Mingardo, the Masterclass will offer other important encounters, such as audition training lessons held by stage director and artistic director Cesare Scarton, who will help participants to face future auditions with greater confidence. Daily Alexander technique lessons, conducted by the famous teacher Antonella Massimo, will guide participants to develop their body awareness and to acquire flexibility and freedom of movement.
Studying the score
Pianist Toomas Kaldaru will accompany participants during the lessons and will also offer his personal insight into musical practice, complementing singing lessons with solid musical and linguistic experience.
Final concert
The final concert will be held on October 26, 2024 at the Paul VI Hall of the Salesian Pontifical University.
Agents and/or organizers will be invited to the final concert and professional audio/video footage will be taken.
Audience prize
During the final concert, the audience will be asked to vote and a prize of €250.00 offered by the Giacomo Lauri Volpi Association will be awarded to the participant with the most votes. In case of a tie, the prize will go to the younger singer.
Award concert offered by association
The teachers, at their sole discretion, will select the best students who have distinguished themselves during the Masterclass for particular artistic talents, who will be given the opportunity to perform in a recital in Rome organized by the Giacomo Lauri Volpi Association in the 2024/25 season at a time to be agreed upon with the selected singers.
Useful information
The masterclass takes place on the campus of the Pontifical Salesian University.
The Salesian University is located in the Nuovo Salario district (North Rome) and can be reached by:
- Metro B1, Jonio or Conca d’Oro stop + bus 80 or 93 to Piazza O. Vimercati
- Bus 90 Express from Termini Station (Piazza O. Vimercati stop)
- FL1 metropolitan train (Fiumicino Airport-Orte) to Nuovo Salario station + bus 349 (Cocco Ortu stop) or 350 (Suvereto/Podenzana stop)
Accommodation
The Salesian University has a guesthouse where rooms are available at the following rates for our students:
Single room with bathroom and breakfast 45 EUR/day
To book a room, please send a request to the email [email protected], specifying in the request that you are participating in the masterclass "Discovering Händel".
Please note that this is not a hotel but a community guesthouse. Availability is limited, so we advise booking as soon as possible.
Meals
Our students are allowed to use the university cafeteria.
Course Schedule
Monday to Friday, October 21-25
9:30 Alexander Technique classes
11:00-20:00 individual lessons
Saturday, October 26 4:30 PM final concert
Further information
Maurizio Pepe, Artistic Director
Mobile: (+39) 370 130 9976
Email: [email protected]
Regulations
Period and Instructors
The Giacomo Lauri Volpi Music Association organizes advanced masterclass in opera singing from October 21-26, 2024.
Course instructors:
- Sara Mingardo: Singing and Interpretation
- Cesare Scarton: Audition Training
- Antonella Massimo: Alexander Technique
- Toomas Kaldaru: Pianist and Score Study
Location
The lessons will take place in Rome at the Salesian Pontificial University, Piazza dell’Ateneo Salesiano, 1
Admissions
The Masterclass is open to singing students and professionals of all vocal ranges and any nationality with a minimum of three years of study. A maximum of 10 active students will be admitted. Each student is entitled to one daily lesson of at least 45 minutes and one daily lesson of Alexander Technique.
If applications exceed the maximum number, selection will be based on submitted audio/video materials.
Program
In-depth study of roles in Handel's operas
Final Concert
The final concert will be held on October 26, 2024, in Rome at the Paolo VI Hall of the Pontifical Salesian University. Students participating in the concert will not receive any compensation or reimbursement for their performance. Students must ensure their presence at the final concert. Agents and/or organizers will be invited to the concert, and professional audio/video recordings will be made.
Audience Award
During the final concert, the audience will vote, and a prize of €250 offered by the Giacomo Lauri Volpi Association will be awarded to the participant who receives the most votes. In the case of a tie, the prize will go to the younger singer.
Concert Offered by the Giacomo Lauri Volpi Association
The instructors, at their sole discretion, will select the best students who have distinguished themselves during the Masterclass for special artistic qualities. These students will be given the opportunity to perform in a recital in Rome organized by the Giacomo Lauri Volpi Association in the 2024/25 season at a time to be agreed upon with the selected singers.
Certificate
A certificate of participation will be awarded to all enrolled students who attend the course.
Registrations
Registrations are open, and the application must be received by no later than September 30, 2024.
To register, complete the online registration form on the website www.giacomolaurivolpi.org or send the following documentation to the email address: [email protected]
- The registration form downloadable from the website www.giacomolaurivolpi.org, duly completed and signed
- Curriculum vitae
- Copy of the identity document
- Recent audio or video recording of one or more arias performed by the candidate (preferably with a link to YouTube or similar)
- Receipt of payment of the registration fee.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
By September 30, 2024, the Giacomo Lauri Volpi Association will announce the list of admitted active students.
Within three days of the announcement, admitted active students must pay the tuition fee and send the payment receipt to: [email protected]
Costs
- Active participants: €60.00 registration fee, €490.00 tuition fee
- Auditors: €60.00 registration fee, €90.00 tuition fee
The registration fee must be paid at the time of registration. The tuition fee must be paid within three days of admission to the course. The fees paid (registration and/or tuition) will not be refunded, even partially, in case of withdrawal by the student.
In the case of non-admission to the course or if the conditions for starting the Masterclass are not met, the fee paid for registration and/or tuition will be refunded.
Payment Method
Bank transfer (indicating name, surname, and Masterclass 2024 as the reason for payment) to the account of:
Associazione Giacomo Lauri Volpi
IBAN IT53N0200805013000106795211
Bank Unicredit
BIC/Swift UNCRITM1006
Image, Audio, and Video Recordings
The Giacomo Lauri Volpi Association will make audio-video recordings of the final event, which will be the only authorized recording for public use. This recording, in whole or in part, may be requested by participants and may be published on the Association's website.
The Giacomo Lauri Volpi Association holds the rights to the distribution, dissemination, and use of audio, video recordings, publications, and/or other materials related to the Masterclass.
By registering, the participant gives consent for radio and television broadcasts, image recordings, as well as audio and video tapes made during lessons, rehearsals, and the concert, carried out by the organizer or by persons or institutions appointed by them. In particular, the participant transfers all rights of image, sound, and video recordings to the organization for any use related to the event. The organization reserves the right to use images, audio, and video recordings for promotion related to this or future events or to publish audio and video recordings for demonstration and promotional purposes.
Recordings (audio or video) of lessons are allowed only for personal use.
By registering, participants explicitly agree not to distribute such audio or video materials by any means or tools.
Instructors
Sara Mingardo
One of today’s rare true altos, Sara Mingardo is a highly sought-after and greatly appreciated interpreter of a vast repertory.
She is a regular guest of some of the most prestigious theatrical institutions, enjoying successful collaborations with such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Ivor Bolton, Riccardo Chailly, Myung Whun-Chung, Paul Daniel, Colin Davis, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Emmanuelle Häim, Marc Minkowski, Riccardo Muti, Roger Norrington, Trevor Pinnock, Maurizio Pollini, Christophe Rousset, Jordi Savall, Peter Schreier and Jeffrey Tate and prestigious international orchestras: Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Monteverdi Choir e Orchestra, Concerto Italiano, Les Talens Lyriques and Academia Montis Regalis.
Her operatic repertory includes works by Gluck, Monteverdi, Handel, Vivaldi, Rossini, Verdi, Cavalli, Mozart, Donizetti, Schumann and Berlioz. In concert, she also performs Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorák, Mahler, Pergolesi and Respighi. Sara Mingardo studied with Franco Ghitti at the “Benedetto Marcello” Conservatory in Venice, her native town, and completed her studies with a scholarship at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. Winner of several national and international vocal competitions, she made her debut in Il Matrimonio Segreto (Fidalma) and La Cenerentola (title role). In 2009, the Association of Italy’s Music Critics awarded her with the prestigious “Premio Abbiati”.
Sara Mingardo interpreted Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater in numerous prestigious theatres and festivals: on tour with Claudio Abbado and the Orchestra Mozart in Bologna, Modena, at the Morimondo Abbey (close to Milan) and in Jesi; under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner at the Festival Anima Mundi in Pisa; at Musikfesten in Bremen; with Rinaldo Alessandrini at the Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia in Rome; at the Barbican Hall in London; at the Salle Pleyel in Paris; with Harry Bicket at the “die Singel” in Antwerp; with Accademia Bizantina under Ottavio Dantone in Madrid.
She is a professor of Baroque singing at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome. In 2023, she joins the Accademia Chigiana as an instructor within the Chigiana-Mozarteum Baroque Program
Cesare Scarton
Cesare Scarton graduated in Opera and Theatre Direction at the Conservatory of Music 'Santa Cecilia' in Rome and graduated in Disciplines of Art, Music and Performing Arts at the University of Bologna. He has been part of the artistic direction of important international music, dance, and theatre events, including the Sagra Musicale Umbra, the Panatenee (Pompeii, Agrigento, Capri), and the Verdi Festival in Parma. Since 2012, he has been the artistic director of the Reate Festival. He has directed, among others, Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto, Rota's Lo scoiattolo in gamba, Mozart's Così fan tutte, Janáček's La piccola volpe astuta, Ravel's L'heure espagnole, Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Cimarosa's L'impresario in angustie (Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, recorded on DVD by Infocamere), Mozart's Il re pastore and Nina ossia La pazza per amore by Paisiello (Festival Le notti di Villa Mondragone), Caldo Disio by various authors (Lisbon, first performance), Il campanello by Donizetti, Adina by Rossini, Un giorno di regno by Verdi (Reate Festival), La serva padrona by Pergolesi (Rome, Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, Kiev, Budapest) and many others.
For the RossiniLab project of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana, in collaboration with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and under the patronage of the Rossini Foundation, he staged Rossini's La cambiale di matrimonio at the Villa Torlonia Theatre in Rome. Recently Giancarlo Menotti's La medium presented in Rome and in
Rieti, broadcast in streaming for the Ente Luglio Musicale Trapanese, and in Savona for the Teatro dell'Opera Giocosa, and the world premiere of Marcello Filotei's L'ultima estate (Special Project Ministry of Culture Performing Arts Directorate 2021) performed in Rieti, Teatro Flavio Vespasiano; Foligno, Auditorium San Domenico; Fermo, Teatro dell'Aquila; L'Aquila, Auditorium del Parco. Last July, his staging of Wolfgang Rihm's opera Jakob Lenz directed by Marco Angius for the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago and the revival of Domenico Cimarosa's opera Le astuzie femminili directed by Alessandro De Marchi earned excellent reviews.
Antonella Massimo
Antonella Massimo lived in London from 1981 to 1992 where she began her journey with the theory and practice of Yoga, graduating as a teacher in 1987 with Velta Snikere Wilson, British wheel of Yoga (BWOY). In 1992 she qualified as an Alexander Technique teacher in London at the Victoria School of Alexander Technique with Shoshana Kaminitz.
In addition to private practice, she has taught the Alexander Technique in numerous public institutions such as the Accademia Nazionale di Danza, the Conservatorio S. Cecilia, the Università la Sapienza, the Accademia d'Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico and the Conservatorio Musikene in San Sebastian (Spain).
He has found the Alexander Technique to be a valuable aid both for recurring back pain and tension headaches and for improving awareness in any activity in daily life and finally as a supplement to the practice of Yoga itself.
Toomas Kaldaru
Toomas Kaldaru, pianist, accompanist and vocal coach, graduated from the S. Cecilia Conservatory in Rome in the disciplines of 'Maestro sostituto and Korrepetitor' with top marks, distinction and honourable mention.
Originally from Estonia, he began studying piano at a very young age. Passionate about opera, after language studies he graduated in opera singing at the Tallinn Academy of Music and Theatre. In 2000, he moved permanently to Rome, where he studied Italian linguistics at the 'Roma Tre' University.
He has collaborations with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Estonin National Opera, NarniOpera, Kammeroper Köln (Germany), Shymkent Opera (Kazakhistan), Vanemuine Theatre in Tartu (Estonia), Opernwerkstatt Rhein (Germany), Opera Veto (Estonia), Reate Festival, Opera Laboratorio of the University Tor Vergata in Rome, Conservatory of Music "Ottorino Respighi" in Latina
Since 2018/19 he is a guest lecturer at The Academy of Music and Theatre of Estonia and Andvision International Music School in Tokyo (Japan). He is currently chief repetiteur at the Vanemuine Theatre in Tartu (Estonia).
He regularly supervises the role preparation of numerous singers both in Italy and abroad.
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