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Singing Your Story in Tuscany!
Lennie Watts
June 8, 2024 - June 15, 2024
$3275(Performance photos from past Singnasium workshops in New York and Chicago.)
Back by popular demand – a 1-week cabaret workshop in Tuscany!!
Join Singnasium Artistic Director and Master Teacher, Lennie Watts for this special cabaret workshop!! A week of making music and new friends while sharing marvelous food and wine – all in the fascinating, rolling Tuscan hills!
During our time together, participants will work on a mini 2-song set with patter. Arrangements will be created by Watts and our accompanist, Award Winning Musical Director, Tracy Stark. This workshop will focus on:
- song selection,
- storytelling, and
- personalization of your material.
The week will culminate on the last evening with an informal presentation of our work in the studio. We’ll perform for ourselves and a few friends from the area.
During this week of music in Italy, the singer (and the person) become revitalized. Italy does that to you. Discover a new freedom in your singing and a new awareness of what really matters – in your music and in your life.
Meals and our “Home” Dinners are prepared by our personal chef using local and seasonal ingredients to make every meal a feast! We’ll eat together in the dining room each evening. Breakfast is served buffet-style. You are free to eat indoors, out on the terrace or in the garden – or go to town to enjoy a cappuccino with the locals! There is a lovely private pool at the end of the garden which makes for the perfect end to a long day of rehearsing. The villa is across the street from a historic castle and within easy walking distance of the town where there is a grocery store, cafe, restaurant and even a weekly outdoor green market. You can easily be independent to meet and interact with the locals.
So, imagine yourself waking up every day being serenaded by the birds, beside a garden, just south of the medieval city of Siena. And all you have to do is sing!
The extra bonus of spending time in Italy with Il Chiostro is that Linda Mironti and Michael Mele share their knowledge of, experience in and love of Italy with us. To be given that personal view is priceless.
Price: $3,275 p/p
Supplements: $485 for single room-limited availability
$500 deposit upon registration.
Balance due by April 15 (we’ll send you an invoice).
Includes:
- Shared double room in palazzo (single room available for a supplement)
- Daily buffet breakfast and dinner, (including wine) prepared by our personal chef
- Daily cabaret classes with Lennie and pianist Tracy Stark
- Excursions to Tuscan towns of Pienza & Montalcino
- Transportation for all excursions to area hilltowns
- All excursions fully escorted
- Pick up from Florence train station at 3:30pm on arrival Saturday
- Transfer to train station in Buonconvento on final day for connections to Rome or Florence
Does Not Include:
- Airfare
- Music supplies
- Independent meals and sight-seeing
To Register: just click on the Sign Up Now button. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to secure your spot in the workshop. Payment can be made on line with a credit card, or you can follow the instructions to send in your registration and payment by mail. Once we receive your deposit we will send you a formal Registration Confirmation with further information about the program. You will receive 2-3 other correspondences by email prior to the workshop with information about Italy, a supplies list and an electronic invoice for the balance. Final Balance is due by April 15th. Any time prior to your arrival, if you have questions about anything regarding the trip or the program, you can contact us by email or phone and we’ll be happy to assist you.
San Giovanni d'Asso
Where We'll Stay: This is part of our new Il Chiostro Nobile series. We will be hosted for a week in an authentic, elegantly appointed villa that was at one time home to a noble Italian family. The palazzo includes a formal garden and, private swimming pool with inspiring vistas. Inside, there are 8 twin, double, or single bedrooms in the villa, each with a private bathroom. The rooms are decorated in authentic, elegant family antiques.
Common spaces include 2 elegant living rooms, a terrace overlooking the garden, a large fireplace, a kitchen, and a formal dining room.
The villa is across the street from a castle and within easy walking distance of the small town. You can easily be independent to meet and interact with the locals.
The Villa: a 13th-century manor house situated on a hillside in a small town with views of the Val d'Orcia. Owned by the current family for 102 years, it was gracefully restored in the 19th century with comfortable period furnishings. The rooms are bright and airy with high ceilings and beautiful views out to the gardens and the valley beyond. Bedrooms are elegantly appointed, each with a private, modern bathroom. Because we will be the exclusive residents at the villa during the program, the experience will be intimate, like living in our own Italian mansion. Our meals will be shared in the formal dining room, on the terrace, or in the garden. All living quarters of the villa are on the second floor, accessible only via a staircase.
The Grounds: the setting is extraordinary, overlooking the valley towards the Brunello wine country. There is a formal garden with a pool, lounge chairs, a shade arbor, and plenty of seating for outdoor meals. The Villa is an easy walk through the facing castle (now the museum of truffles) to the quiet village of San Giovanni d’Asso.
The villa and grounds consist of:
- 8 twin or double bedrooms, each with a bathroom, either ensuite or next door.
- A dining room and breakfast area
- Large terrace with tables
- 2 sitting rooms
- Wi-fi internet access
- Heat or air conditioning as necessary
- A large private formal garden area with fountains and, seating area
- A private pool at the garden edge with a valley view
- There is a changing room near the pool with a WC
- Air conditioning or ceiling fans in bedrooms
- Very quiet setting in a small village
Additional Photos of San Giovanni d'Asso:
Double bedroom and bathroom
Twin bedroom
Dining Room and Living Room in the Villa
The Town: San Giovanni d’Asso is in the Siena section of Tuscany. It is famous throughout Italy for its production of truffles. Small and quiet with fewer than 1,000 residents, the town has a café, grocery store, 2 restaurants, several historic churches, and a weekly outdoor market. A very special addition is the beautiful botanical gardens “Il Bosco della Ragnaia” (laragnaia.com/EN/) created by an artist who chose to turn his talents from painting and sculpture to designing and maintaining this beautiful space that is open free to the public.
The Area: San Giovanni d’Asso is 30 km southeast of Siena in the area known as the Crete Senese (see photo below). Pienza and Montalcino, and the famous Brunello wine country, are easy day trips.
Florence will be our meeting point on the first day of the workshop. A van will pick up the group at the train station at about 3:30 pm on the first day of the program.
We recommend that you fly into either Florence, Pisa, or Rome (Milan is a bit too far away). Florence is closer, but it doesn`t have an intercontinental airport, so there are no direct flights from the US. You would have to change planes in a larger European city. From the Florence airport, you can take either the shuttle bus (Volainbus) to the center (20 minutes) or the new tram, right outside the airport entrance (€1.50).
There are more scheduled flights from the US to Rome, many of them direct. From Rome, you will need to take a train to Florence (about 2 1/2 hours).
Important! In making your return flight arrangements, if you are flying home on the last day of the workshop, try not to book a flight too early. From our location, allow 1½ hours to get to the Florence airport or 3 ½ hours to get to the Rome airport.
For suggestions about getting to Rome or Florence, accommodations, or other logistics, please consult our Traveling to Italy link in the main menu bar above. Renting a car from all the major rental agencies is possible if you prefer to be more independent during the week.
If you have time, it is a nice treat to stay in Florence before the workshop starts. It gives you a chance to get over jet lag while at the same time allowing you to see this incredible Renaissance City. It is filled with incomparable artwork, architecture, and history - not to mention great shopping. Why not stop in for a few days? (Look at our Travel to Italy tab above for accommodations suggestions.)
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 COVID and 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.
The Food: For us at Il Chiostro, helping our guests experience the food in one of the earth`s richest, most sensual areas is our pleasure. This area is part of Italy's famous wine and olive oil-producing region, but is specifically famous for truffles. Here we want to expose you to the wonders of simple Italian cooking. Each program at our villa in San Giovanni will have a personal chef. They use seasonal, organic products, locally produced by small farms and family shops. Tuscan cuisine is a simple art that has been refined over the centuries to surprise our palates while the wine comforts our souls. Come explore what food can really be all about.
An excerpt from a recent article in the NY Times (February 2013):
The diet that seems so valuable is our old friend the “Mediterranean” diet. It’s as straightforward as it is un-American: low in red meat, low in sugar and hyperprocessed carbs, low in junk. High in just about everything else — healthful fat (especially olive oil), vegetables, fruits, legumes, and what the people who designed the diet determined to be beneficial, or at least less-harmful, animal products; in this case, eggs and low-fat dairy. This is real food, delicious food, mostly easy-to-make food. You can eat this way without guilt and be happy and healthy.
In addition to your workshop, optional activities offered with this program will focus on the cultural, gastronomic, historical, and artistic heritage of Tuscany. This area has been an inspiration to countless people for centuries. What Tuscany offers its visitors is truly astounding:
Art - San Giovanni d`Asso is located near the cities of Medieval Siena and Renaissance Florence, packed with some of the most famous masterpieces in the world.
Wine -You are in the heart of the wine-growing region, synonymous with the most famous wine that Italy produces - Chianti. But the innovative Tuscan vintners are also producing Super Tuscans, red varietals that are quickly ascending the ranks of world-class wine.
History - this area was settled by the Etruscans centuries before the Romans were a civilized society. Their necropoli dot the fields throughout the area. Nearby towns like Radda, Vagliagli, and Castellina date from the early Middle Ages. Florence was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. San Fedele witnessed most of this from its panoramic perch atop the hillside.
Food - cucina povera is the typical Tuscan cuisine that has become popular around the world. The recipes are simple, emphasizing local and seasonal products: porcini mushrooms, salumi, legumes, vegetables, pasta, bread, and game meats. Visiting an outdoor food market, you will understand the wisdom of this very healthy cuisine.
Crafts - perhaps the harmony of the landscape has been the inspiration for many local craftsmen. Exquisite hand-painted ceramics are the prime example, closely followed by mosaics, leather, woodworking, and textiles.
Lennie Watts is a 22-time MAC, 5-time Backstage Bistro, 3-time Nightlife, and a 2014 Broadway World Award Winner. He has been active in the New York cabaret scene for over 30 years. He has taught cabaret and performance workshops all over the country and in Italy. He has performed at Town Hall in several concerts, including "Broadway Unplugged" and "Broadway By The Year, 1949," and can be heard on the cast recordings of both shows. He has toured nationally and internationally with productions of "The Music Man" (Marcellus) and "The Wizard of Oz" (Lion). His regional credits include productions of "The Santaland Diaries" (Crumpet), "The Drowsy Chaperone (Man In Chair), "Jesus Christ Superstar" (Herod), and "Guys and Dolls (Nicely). Lennie was recently named one of the 50 Most Influential People in Cabaret. "The Village Voice" calls him "A one-man cabaret army!" He served as the President of MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets) for 15 years and now sits on the advisory board. He is the creator and Artistic Director of Singnasium, a nonprofit singing school in NYC. Singnasium.org
Tracy Stark, Pianist/ Arranger/ Conductor/Singer-Songwriter, is a 13-time MAC Award winner, in the categories of Music Director, Piano Bar Entertainer, and Song of the Year. She is also a Bistro Award winner for Musical Direction, the winner of the Dottie Burman Songwriter of the Year Award, and the winner of the Broadway World Award for Musical Direction. She has conducted, played, and sung at all the finest and sleaziest venues all over the world, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.
SINGNASIUM MISSION STATEMENT
Keeping the arts ALIVE by helping vocal artists THRIVE in New York City. The mission of non-profit Singnasium is to provide a safe, non-judgmental place for artists and singers, of all levels, to fully explore their creative selves. It is designed to provide support, embrace diversity, and offer eye-opening new ways for those who love to sing to become a more well-rounded musician. With classes and workshops spanning all aspects of vocal performance, Singnasium will utilize the best possible teaching artists and support personnel that the New York arts community has to offer, as well as provide outreach to the next generation of music and voice artists.
Website: singnasium.org
