STUDY WORKSHOPS AND WORK-EXPERIENCE:
TECHNIQUE, STYLE, AND PERFORMANCE OF ITALIAN BELCANTO
Artistic Director: Alberto Triola
Music Director: Fabio Luisi
STRUCTURE and LEARNING OUTCOMES OF THE COURSE
The Accademia del Belcanto “Rodolfo Celletti” of Martina Franca is promoted and organised by the
Fondazione Paolo Grassi in collaboration with the Festival della Valle d'Itria. It was established in 2010 with
the aim of providing young opera singers with a highly specialised training in the various aspects of the
technique, style, and interpretation of Italian Belcanto (from Monteverdi to proto-Romanticism), as well
as analysis and study praxis in the different fields of Western music theatre, including the various
expressions of contemporary music.
Supported by MIBAC through the FUS, the Accademia “Celletti” is one of the nine institutes in Italy to have
obtained the recognition as a “School of national prestige in the field of the highest music training”
(M.D. n. 433 of the 15/10/2018, in implementation of art. 1 of Law 2015 of 2017).
The course is articulated in several laboratories for performance practice, applied to Belcanto’s specific
techniques and aesthetics: from seventeenth-century “recitar cantando” to expressions of the
Apulian/Neapolitan Schol; from the technique of coloratura, to the art of variation in the Italian belcanto
tradition of the 1800s. Specific practical experiences organised during the Festival della Valle d’Itria will
enrich the students’ training, and made all the more precious as they will be taught by top-class coaches,
performers, and directors.
The training plan also boasts a specific section specialising on Baroque Belcanto, on the seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century Neapolitan School, and on the Lieder repertoire, with prestigious master-classes and
one-to-one lessons for those young performers who are particularly interested in and inclined towards this
kind of repertoire. The specialised and personalised study is all the richer for the work experiences lined up
during the programme of the Festival della Valle d’Itria.
Maestros Alberto Triola and Fabio Luisi, respectively Artistic Director and Music Director of the Accademia
del Belcanto and the Festival della Valle d’Itria, coordinate the activities of internationally-renown coaches
and artists.
CALENDAR
Year 2019 comprises of three study sessions:
• SESSION 1: from the 18 to the 25 March 2019;
• SESSION 2: from the 29 April to the 6 May 2019;
• SESSION 3: from the 7 to the 30 June 2019, followed by a phase dedicated to a pool of students identified
as suitable for a work-experience within the 44
th Festival della Valle d’Itria:
www.festivaldellavalleditria.it
SUBJECTS AND COACHES
The study plan for 2018 is articulated as follows:
- Art and technique of recitative
- Art and technique of seventeenth-century vocality
- Art and technique of belcanto coloratura
- Art and technique of Baroque coloratura
- Art and technique of variation
- Phonetics and diction
- Study of the score and sheet music
- Awareness of breathing dynamics
- Culture and profession of the opera singer
- Character analysis
- Physiology and hygiene of the instrument
- From Baroque to vocality in twentieth-century music
- History and culture of Belcanto
- Workshop: singing, performance practice, study of the score, and acting
- Master-class in style and interpretation
- Master-class on the style of belcanto
Coaches:Marco Beghelli, Stefania Bonfadelli, Arturo Cirillo, Nicolai Cok, Domenico Colaianni, Sara Gamarro, Luca Gorla, Antonio Greco, Renata Lamanda, Cristina Liuzzi, Sherman Lowe, Fabio Luisi, Ettore Papadia, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Chris Merritt, Sara Mingardo, Carmen Santoro, Roberto Servile, Vittorio Terranova, Alberto Triola and others tbc.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
The courses have limited enrolment numbers, and entry is based on selection of candidates no older
than 35 years of age.
There are fifteen places available.
Any candidate passing the selection, who are not from a non-EU country, must demonstrate their conformity
with present regulations. Failing to do so will incur in exclusion from the course.
Candidates who have:
• a diploma from a Conservatoire or an equivalent Music Institution;
• professional experience in the field of opera theatre, through participation to artistically noteworthy operas
or concerts (their merit will be assessed and established by the examining board and their decision is final)
will be at an advantage in the selection process
AUDITIONS
The candidates will be selected on the basis of their qualifications, and following an AUDITION to be
held in one of the following venues:
• Monday 25 February 2019, from 10am to 6pm, in PARMA at the Centro di Produzione Musicale - Fondazione Arturo Toscanini (Viale Barilla 27/a);
• Saturday 2 March 2019, from 10am to 2pm, in BARI at the Teatro Petruzzelli.
Each candidate may sit the audition for the academic year 2018 only once, on only one of the two
available dates.
Those who wish to sit the audition must complete and send the
online application (together with a full-shot
photo and a CV) to the Fondazione Paolo Grassi, by means of the dedicated form at the following address:
https://www.fondazionepaolograssi.it/registrazione-accademiabelcanto.aspx
The office must receive the application form at least seven days in advance of the selected date and
therefore:
• no later than the 18 February for the auditions in Parma;
• no later than the 23 February for the auditions in Bari.
Applications received after those dates will be rejected, and an audition will not be granted.
The details regarding the convocation to the audition will be communicated to the enrolled students directly.
The candidates should bring three opera arias complete with recitative and cabaletta (where
available) in the original key from Italian, French, German, or English repertoire, dating between 1600
and 1840.
At least one aria should come from early nineteenth-century Italian repertoire.
A seventeenth-century aria is optional.
The examining Board has the right to listen to the whole or part of the programme indicated on the
application form. Medium-difficulty first-sight music reading may also be requested.
The students will have an accompanist at the piano provided by the organisation.
Students wishing to bring their own accompanist should see to the extra expenses themselves.
Upon request of the organising admin office, the candidate must provide a copy of the scores for the
selected pieces via e-mail, at
accademia@fondazionepaolograssi.it
In order to participate to the auditions, the candidates are required to pay an enrolment fee of € 50,00 by
banker’s order to the account of the Fondazione Paolo Grassi, at BANCA PROSSIMA, with the following
credentials:
• IBAN: IT95 M033 5901 6001 0000 0002 715
• BIC code: BCITITMX
• Reason: “Quota iscrizione alla selezione Accademia del Belcanto - A.A. 2019”
Each candidate must show the invoice for the banker’s order on the day of the audition.
Only candidates who have paid the enrolment fee may sit the audition.
In case of no-show at the audition, the fee will not be reimbursed.
ATTENDANCE
Participation to the courses for the selected students is free, as long as they can guarantee
attendance to the courses.
No more than 5 days’ absence are permitted during the whole course. Any absence for serious health
reasons must be communicated and documented to the Management.
Students who do not comply with this regulation will be automatically excluded from the course.
VENUE
The lessons will take place at the headquarters of the Fondazione Paolo Grassi in Martina Franca.
The work experience will take place in the venues of the Festival della Valle d’Itria, as well as in the offices
mentioned above.
The staff of the Fondazione Paolo Grassi and the Management of the Accademia may, upon necessity,
provide advice and indications for accommodation at corporate rates.
COLLABORATION CONTRACT
The students selected to participate in the productions of the 45th Festival della Valle d’Itria will be engaged
directly by the Management of the Festival, and they will sign a collaboration contract, with a fee
commensurate to the required obligations and tasks.
CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE
At the end of the courses, the Accademia del Belcanto will issue a certificate of attendance to all participants
who have completed the programme.
How to reach Martina Franca
