Autumn Arts Festival – Italian Opera Appreciation
Patricia Pease
October 19 - October 27
FreeThis evening lecture series on Italian Opera Appreciation is open to all participants of the Autumn Arts Festival.
If you are interested in participating in this program, please register for one of the following programs:
1. Autumn Arts Festival – Free Yourself: A Sketching and Painting Retreat Karen Hewitt Hagan
2. Autumn Arts Festival – Photography with a Local Photographer Alfredo Falvo
3. Autumn Arts Festival – From Landscape to Figure: A Renaissance Journey Lynn Travis Stender
4. Autumn Arts Festival – Tuscan Cuisine with Michael Vignapiano
This is an incomparable introduction to Italian Opera in the setting of its birth: Tuscany! It is a priceless opportunity to see what all the fuss is about in a relaxed, informal setting. Patricia Pease will present her lecture, with excerpts and stories from the great Italian works, each evening an hour before dinner. Together, we will view DVD excerpts of great Italian operas from top-quality live performances, as Patti relates stories from her international career as a performer and voice professor. The works of Rossini, Verdi, and Puccini will be featured as we learn about vocal styles and understand cultural and historical influences that make opera one of the most passionate art forms. (DVD excerpts from great operas are played on a large screen TV.)
Notes from the instructor: Hello to all participants of the Autumn Arts Festival! I’m Patricia Pease, sometimes known as Opera Lady, and I welcome you all to join me in exploring the marvels of Italian opera in one-hour sessions each evening before dinner. For over twenty-five years, I’ve been with Il Chiostro, sharing my passion for this particular genre of lyric theater with folks who have a range of acquaintance with the art form. Are you an opera aficionado? Great – we should talk shop over dinner! Never seen an opera in your life? This is your chance! And whatever you’ve imagined opera might be, opera in the twenty-first century is not your grandad’s opera! I’ll introduce you to some of the leading international opera singers, singing actors to the core, in compelling DVD excerpts of live performances from opera houses in New York, London, Vienna, and Milan – the best of the best!
By being a part of the Autumn Arts Festival, you are immersing yourself in La Vita Italiana (Italian Life); and boy, is Italian opera a generous helping of that! So come and grab a glass of wine, a cocktail, or an aperitivo, and let’s kick back together.
Ci vediamo lì! (See you there!) ~ Patti
(To learn more about the 19th century. Italian music here are two books I highly recommend: The Golden Century of Italian Opera by William Weaver, published is Thames and Hudson, and Opera for Everyone by Jean Grundy Fanelli, published is The Scarecrow Press.
Contact us for more information: info@ilchiostro.com or speak to us live at 800-990-3506.
Dievole Chianti Classico Winery, Tuscany
Participants in the Autumn Arts Festival will stay in Dievole's 16th-century inn and guest houses floating in the magnificent Tuscan hills. We take over the whole winery, so it will begin to feel like home after a few days. The entire facility recently underwent a major facelift, transforming all rooms into spacious, luxury lodgings. Rooms are doubles or suites with modern bathrooms and heating.
A limited number of single rooms and suites are available for a supplement.
Dievole will seem more like a family inn rather than an impersonal chain hotel. Dievole is located in the town of Vagliagli, about 12km northeast of Siena and 40km south of Florence. If you wish to explore the area independently during your stay, we recommend renting a car. The link below will give you a glimpse of the winery:
Click here to visit Dievole's website...
Visit them on Facebook: facebook.com/dievole
We will pick you up in Siena anytime between 1 and 5 pm on the first day of the program. The recommended arrival airports are Florence or Rome, from where you can take a bus or train to Siena. Florence is closer, but there are no direct flights from the US. You would have to change in another European city. Rome provides more flight options.
The bus/train from Rome to Siena is about 3 hours.
We can also arrange for a car to pick you up from Florence or Rome. You pay the driver directly. Just let us know a few days in advance so we can make the arrangements for you.
If you are departing from Rome on the last day, remember it is 3 hours by car or bus from Siena, so try to book an afternoon flight.
If you have time, you might consider lingering in Italy for a few extra days on either end of the festival. Allow the Italian rhythms to seduce you. A few days in Rome or Florence upon arrival is a wonderful way to get over jet lag. For other travel help, check our Travel to Italy web page.
Specific Travel information to get to Dievole:
By Train: There are regularly scheduled trains from all major towns and cities in Italy. Head towards Siena. From Rome, there are several trains daily from the main station (Termini). You don`t need a reservation. Although you purchase a through ticket, it is necessary to change trains at Chiusi. The ride takes about 3.5 hours (approximately 240 km) and the cost is around $20.
NOTE: In Italy, it is the law to stamp your train ticket in the little yellow meter near each train platform. Failure to do so can result in heavy fines, even if you plead ignorance.
By Bus: There are also buses from almost anywhere in Italy to Siena. These are modern and comfortable coaches.
From Florence: buses leave the SITA terminal (next door to the train station) nearly every hour. If you take Siena Rapida, the ride is direct on the highway and should take 1 hour.
From Rome: the ride takes 3 hours (non-stop). If you plan to arrive at the Rome airport and plan to come directly to Siena, this is the quickest method. From the airport, take the train on the left-hand track to the Tiburtina station (NOT Termini). From there, go outside into the parking lot. If you are already in Rome, you can take the Metro to the Tiburtina station. Take the B (blue) line towards Rebibbia. Follow signs to Pzle. Stazione Tiburtina.
With the long side of the station at your back, cross under the overpass into the parking lot. Buy your ticket from the building marked Biglietteria C (17.50 Euros, approx. $20); the bus usually leaves from Gate 8. These buses leave every day at regular intervals. To get current fares and schedules for the Flix bus, you can check their website: www.sena.it.
Once in Siena, get off at the Siena train station (Ferrovia). Don’t get off in the center of Siena.
Travel Agents & Insurance: Over the last few years, the way we travel has undergone significant changes. For that reason, we now encourage everyone to use a professional travel agent when arranging their trips. Travel agents save you time and stress by handling all the details and tailoring your itinerary to your needs. One of the most important services they offer today is helping you choose and enroll in the right travel insurance program. With the continued possibility of schedule changes or postponements, travel insurance has become essential, and selecting the right plan on your own can be overwhelming.
If you encounter any issues during your travels, your agent can provide quick support and solutions, taking the pressure off your shoulders. While booking through online sites like Expedia or Hotels.com may seem more convenient or less expensive, they offer little help if you need to modify your plans. A travel professional, on the other hand, is there to assist you every step of the way, ensuring a smooth and worry-free travel experience.
If you choose to Go It Alone, we highly recommend taking out travel insurance for the trip in the event of any unforeseen obstacles to your travel. We recommend Travelex (800) 504-7883 or Travel Guard International (877) 901-7599.
Tuscany in autumn is a landscape reborn. The hills turn russet and gold, the air grows clear and bright, and the light, that unmistakable Tuscan light, softens into something painters chase and poets never quite capture. Olive trees shimmer in silver-green rows, and the woods deepen with mushrooms and chestnuts. Across the valleys, the scent of the grape harvest lingers, a quiet reminder of the season’s purpose.
This is the time when the land belongs again to the locals. The hilltowns, free from summer’s bustle, settle into a slower rhythm. In workshops and kitchens, hands turn the harvest into tradition, olive oil pressed fresh, prosciutto cured, and Chianti aged to perfection. Every festival, from the vendemmia to the celebration of the wild boar, becomes a study in community and craft.
For artists, autumn here is a masterclass in color and light. The skies are clear, the shadows long, and every turn of the road offers a composition waiting to be sketched, painted, or written. Inspiration feels almost tangible, carried on the crisp wind, reflected in every terracotta wall and cypress-lined ridge.
And at the heart of it all lies Siena, proud, medieval, and timeless. Her museums and churches breathe quietly now, her piazzas echo with the sound of footsteps instead of crowds. Every stone seems to hold a story, every view a palette. In autumn, Siena invites artists not just to look, but to see.
Patricia Pease began her professional career in Boston after earning a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from New England Conservatory. She has appeared in concert throughout various national regions, and in Italy, with symphony orchestras from New Hampshire to the Philippines. She has been praised for her interpretive powers applied to a wide repertory ranging from the Baroque to the Modern periods. Pease has been critically acclaimed for "a splendid (and never overdone) sense of drama," with the ability to "...put across a song as few singers can." (Seattle Times), and she has been characterized as "an elegant singer, one of poise and style." (Seattle Post-Intelligencer).
In opera, Ms. Pease has sung roles for the Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Pacific Chamber Opera, Metropolitan Manila Theatre, and the Florida State Opera at FSU. As a guest professor, she has given masterclasses and performances at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in Leipzig (the oldest conservatory in Europe), and for conservatories in Buenos Aires and Mendoza, Argentina.
She was director of the Ohio University Fine Arts Study Program on-site in London in spring quarters 2007, 2008, and 2010. Chair of the Voice Division in the School of Music at Ohio University from 2001 to 2011.
Pease is now Associate Professor Emerita and lives in Edmonds, WA.
