Well Operafestival di Roma is officially over and tomorrow morning officially begins Orvieto Musica!! 
I am extremely grateful and thankful that I had to opportunity to experience and be a part of Operafestival di Roma. I met some fantastic new friends, learned a lot about myself as a performer and a person, had some wonderful experiences, and made some great connections and for all of those things, I will be eternally grateful!!! 

However, at the same time I am beyond excited to start a new program which is completely different from the last one, with a whole new set of wonderful people, and great experiences!! I do have to say that I loved showing the new kids around the town today and sharing in their excitement as they see the Duomo for the first time and see the rest of the city. 

In other news, I've got my gelato order memorized and the guy at my favorite gelato shop recognizes me when I walk in and I'm not sure how I feel about that but I don't know that it matters because I LOVE GELATO!!!!! 

We made it to Orvieto- my new favorite town in the world! It's a sweet little town on a hill in the Italian countryside with darling little shops, beautiful scenery and views, and wonderful food. As wonderful as Rome was, it was still a big city, but Orvieto in much more my speed!!! I've already started to recognize some of the same people and they have started to recognize me too. Anyone who has ever visited Orvieto can attest to its charm and beauty and I highly encourage anyone who ever plans to travel to Italy to include Orvieto in your travel plans!! But by far my favorite part of Orvieto is that they observe riposo which is similar to the Mexican siesta- from 1-4 pm every day most of the shops and restraints close and it is a time to relax, take a nap, etc- GENIUS! America, please catch on soon!! 

We are staying in apartments and I'm staying in a very beautiful one with 6 other people and We have a full kitchen, a beautiful porch/balcony, and our own piano! However, we don't have a washer/dryer so my roommate and I had to do all of our laundry in the bath tub and hang things on the clothes line to dry...that was quite the experience for me!

As far as the program goes, we ran Le Nozze di Figaro for the first time today (twice- once with each cast) and things actually went very well! We perform Friday June 19th and Saturday June 20th at the cutest little theatre here in town and I can't wait to get in there and see the space and perform!!! 

On a completely unrelated note, I've found that quite a few bathrooms here see, to be missing toilet seats...on purpose. I'm not sure why yet but it is very strange! Does anyone have the slightest clue as to why? 

Today I've also started my 30-day countdown until I come home. I'm having the time of my life, meeting and working with amazing people, making wonderful connections, enjoying fantastic food and wine every day, but I have to admit, there really is no place like home and I miss it a little bit. Anyways, that's it for now folks, and as always, stay tuned for updates!

So we are now officially one day away from performing Suor Angelica! When I look back I am amazed, not only at the fact that I will be performing an opera tomorrow IN ROME, but by the incredible new friends I've made, the new relationships I've formed, and how much work we have all put into this show in the last week and a half. I am extremely proud of it and can't wait to performs it here in Rome!  

However, singing isn't the only thin give been up to! On Friday June 5th a large group from the opera festival I'm in and myself took a private tour of the Vatican Museum at night- BEAUTIFUL!!! We saw countless rooms filled with ancient artifacts, sculptures, paintings, tapestries, and beautiful works of art everywhere. My personal favorite was the Sistine Chapel. There is absolutely nothing in this world like standing in the Sistine Chapel sweating profusely (it was about 85 degrees with about 200 other people in the room and no air conditioning) and getting to stare up at the ceiling- Michelangelo's beautiful paintings, in person. I'm not Catholic but visiting the Vatican was one of my favorite things we've done so far because the history behind it is incredible. One more thing checked off my bucket list!!! 

As for future plans, we are taking a bus to Orvieto (a small town about 1.5 hours outside of Rome where this program will finish and my second program will be) on Tuesday June 9th. It sounds like there are lots of locals so plenty of places to practice my Italian as well as wonderful white wine, kind people, great food, and gorgeous scenery. I can hardly wait!!! Stay tuned for my I next update- thanks everyone!! 

Well, I've done it! I've FINALLY made it to Italy! After a 9 hour delay/layover in Charlotte, I was relived to finally land in Rome! I've spent the last week in Rome, Italy with Operafestival di Roma working on my roles (La Badessa and Cercatricci 2) in Puccini's Suor Angelica and as a Chorus member in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. So far my days have consisted of many reharsals, staging of both operas, practicing, daily Italian lessons, daily voice lessons and coachings with faculty members, AMAZING food, as well as seeing the beautiful sights of Rome!!! Almost all of my meals have included pizza and/or pasta, gelato, and wine- does it get any better?? 

Last Sunday, May 31st, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend the entire day in Rome sightseeing and enjoying pizza, pasta, gelato, cappuccino, wine, and limoncello with my new friends. We saw the Colosseum, the Pantheon, as well as many ruins, piazzas, and other historical sights. We also have planned for this Friday, June 5th, a private tour of the Vatican as well as St. Peter's Basilica which I can't wait for!

We perform Suor Angelica next Monday, June 8th so any happy thoughts and/or prayers would be greatly appreciated as we have had to completely put this opera up in a little over a week and a half!!!

This is has been the absolute experience of a lifetime!!! And to those of you who still have the chance, STUDY ABROAD! It's not easy. It's a lot of work, and a little scary, but after only a week, it's been MORE than worth it!!!