November, 2009 Vol. XXVII, No. 3 ppoocchhee ppaarroollee The Italian Cultural Society of Washington D.C. Preserving and Promoting Italian Culture for All www.italianculturalsociety.org ICS EVENTS Social meetings start at 3:00 PM on the third Sunday of the month, September thru May, at the Friendship Heights Village Center, 4433 South Park Ave., Chevy Chase, MD (map on last page) Sunday, Nov. 15: Songs from the Italian Romanze Tradition. Miriam Costa Jackson, soprano. Accompanied by Dr. Steven Brown on the piano, with guest appearances by:Marina Costa Jackson, soprano and Ginger Costa Jackson, mezzo soprano. This is a most unusual opportunity to enjoy the music of the remarkable Costa Jackson family at this juncture of their young careers. Romanze, otherwise known as "arie da camera", are the art songs typical of the Bel Canto technique that developed in the XIX century, became very popular, and spread from Italy to neighboring European countries. Scholarship fundraiser $20 per person Movie of the Month: at 1:00 L'Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio 2006 See details on page 2. ITALIAN LESSONS ON NOVEMBER 15 AT 2:00 Sunday, Dec. 13 (NOT Dec 20th!): FESTA DI NATALE Babbo Natale, La Befana, Italian Potluck, etc. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE It was a stimulating experience on a beautiful fall We have no official count, but probably about 160 afternoon, and we are indebted to Professor Giacconi for a most informative, eloquent, witty presentation. persons attended our October social meeting that featured a grand tour of the universe…as we currently Our November meeting on Sunday, the 15th also understand it…and the point is that now we know that promises to be a beautiful experience, but of a we really don’t understand about 97 % of it! This starry different variety. As explained during the October message came to us from one of the great meeting, the ICS offers several scholarships each astronomer-observers of our time, Nobel laureate x- year. These need to be financed, and the next ray astronomer Riccardo Giacconi, in a masterful meeting will help to serve that purpose. We are illustrated lecture that began with Copernican circles, pleased to bring you singers from the remarkable featured an actual movie of the pulsating Crab Costa Jackson family. Accompanied on the piano, Nebula, and ended with a universe running away young soprano Miriam Costa Jackson will delight our under the inexorable push of dark energy! This audience with songs from the romanze tradition, with unsettling vision made it necessary to return our a guest appearance by her soprano sister, Marina, cosmos-struck audience to more earthly comforts, and and a guest appearance by the third sister, mezzo- for this purpose, naturally, major equipment of Italian soprano Ginger Costa Jackson, who debuted as design had to be deployed … wonderful freshly-baked Myrtale in Thais at the Met in 2008. Two of these sfogliatelle, and cantucci, and frollini all’albicocca, talented young singers have benefitted from ICS served with a champagne peach-nectar punch. scholarships in the past. Please bring your music- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ loving friends for a concert that will bring a warm, Italian glow to your Sunday afternoon. $20/person CONTENTS 2. Miriam Costa Jackson and Family 2. Film of the Month 3. Lorenzo DaPonte 4. Trulli (student essay) 6. Frederick II and Castel del Monte 8. Bridge over the Strait of Messina 10. New Members Riccardo Giacconi (more on p. 11) 11. Local Events MIRIAM COSTA JACKSON Miriam discovered opera in the family record collection. At twelve she began voice lessons and graduated to being taught by one of the most prominent voice teachers of Utah. Meanwhile, the more academically inclined Ginger, who at first thought she wanted to pursue a career as a professor, began to try voice lessons too. The family went to Palermo to visit grandparents, and Ginger and Miriam studied there with a voice teacher that brought out the best of both of them. Meanwhile, Marina, who also had vocal talent was studying dance. On return to Utah, all three girls were hired by the Utah Festival Opera Company and Miriam and Ginger sang in 26 performances. After more voice training in Italy, Ginger began to enter competitions in Europe and won prizes in all of them. She was selected for the 2007 class in the Young Artists Program at the Met. Meanwhile Miriam has been singing in leading roles in productions of the Utah State University opera Miriam Costa-Jackson joined the Utah State program and, at 20, is competing with much older University (USU) opera program in 2007. She has singers. since appeared as Magda in Puccini’s La Rondine, as Rosita (Luisa Fernanda) and the Witch (Hansel Marina finally admitted that she too wants to pursue and Gretel) with USU. She was the youngest opera opera and, rather than starting a medical career, won a music scholarship to Utah State University. singer General Director Michael Ballam hired to sing with the Utah Festival Opera (2004). A student As an added bonus, both of Miriam’s sisters, as well of Dr. Cindy Dewey, Miriam has studied with as their mother, are expected to make an Renata Scotto in her Opera Studio at the appearance at our meeting on November 15. Accademia Nazionale di Santa Ceclia, Rome, and FILM OF THE MONTH participated in Sherrill Milnes’ VOICExperience at Disney. In Italy Miriam studied with Alessia L'Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio 2006. Esquilino Sparacio and Maria Argento Rancatore. Miriam’s is an immigrant section of Rome where musicians awards include the USU Department of Music from various cultures play unique instruments Vocalist Merit Award, Young Artist Awards from the creating different sounds daily resonating from their Italian Cultural Society of Washington, D.C. (2003, central Piazza Vittorio. In 2000, a dozen of these 2004, 2005), and the Italian Cultural Center of Utah international performers formed a band, produced 3 (2003), and First Place for singing, Utah State Fair. albums and toured the world. In 2006, director Agostino Ferrente filmed a 95 minute documentary THE COSTA-JACKSON FAMILY of this extraordinary underground musical Miriam is from a very musical family going back at movement. L'Orchestra Di Piazza Vittorio 2006 least three generations. Her older sister Ginger is a won the Mastro D'Argento and the Globo D'Oro for mezzo-soprano in the three year Lindeman Young best documentary. Read more on the official Artist Development Program of the Metropolitan website:www.l'orchestradipiazzavittorio.it Opera and her sister Marina is a developing singer In Italian with English Subtitles at Utah State University. Their mother Emilia plays piano and has studied Bel Canto singing. Their father Walt plays musical instruments and sang in ICS ITALIAN LANGUAGE PROGRAM HAS RELOCATED university choirs, high school musicals, and the Brigham Young University Barbershop Quartet. On November 1 The Italian Language Program of Walt’s dad was trained in theater and wrote plays. The Italian Cultural Society relocated to The girls were raised by Walter and Emilia with 4827 Rugby Ave, Suite 301 Italian as their native language. Ginger was born in Bethesda, MD 20814 Italy. The family moved to Utah and the girls grew up there. As kids they learned Italian lullabies and The new site is just a block away from the old folk tunes from their Nonna Lucia. At age ten,►► address on Battery Lane. 2 Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749-1838), Mozart’s Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749-1838), Librettista di Librettist and First Professor of Italian at Mozart e Primo Professore di Italiano alla Columbia University Columbia University Lorenzo da Ponte’s fame rests primarily on his authorship of the librettos of Mozart’s “Italian” operas: La fama di Lorenzo Da Ponte e’ basata principalmente Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Cosí Fan Tutte sulla sua paternita’ dei libretti delle opere “italiane” di which he wrote for the famous Austrian composer Mozart: Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, e Cosí Fan during his sojourn at the intrigue-filled imperial court of Tutte, che scrisse per il famoso compositore austriaco Vienna. Yet very few know that from 1805 on he durante il suo soggiorno nella corte imperiale, piena spent the rest of his adventurous life in America where d’intrighi e macchinazioni, di Vienna. Eppure he became an ambassador and fervent promoter of pochissimi sanno che a partire dal 1805 trascorse il Italian culture and letters and where, in 1825, was the resto della sua avventurosa vita in America, dove first to be appointed professor of Italian at Columbia divento’ un ambasciatore e fervente promotore della University. cultura e lettere italiane, e dove, nel 1825, fu il primo ad essere nominato professore d’italiano alla The many fascinating Columbia University. episodes of his long life can be found in his I numerosi e affascinanti episodi della sua lunga vita si Memorie… or “Story of possono leggere nel suo libro di Memorie che Da His Life” which he Ponte pubblico’ a New York tra il 1823 e il 1827, e che published in New York e’ oggi disponibile anche in versione inglese. Fra i between 1823 and 1827, parecchi giudizi rivelatori sui suoi contemporanei e su and which is available in se stesso c’e’ l’essersi energicamente vantato col suo an English translation. amico e mentore Clement C. Moore, il famoso autore Among the many di ‘Twas the Night before Christmas, dell’importante revealing glimpses of ruolo da lui avuto nella diffusione della cultura italiana other people and of in America: “se la lingua d’Italia, se i suoi piu’ nobili himself, there is the autori sono conosciuti ed amati in New York non solo, proud claim made to his ma anche nelle piu’ colte citta’ d’ America, se posso friend and mentor alfin darmi il vanto glorioso d’averli io solo introdotti, Clement C.