Flying in My Sleep: Spring in Italy

Not long after Easter I left on a lovely holiday for Italy.  I have been before.  Having spent most of the time in Rome I can certainly say what others might as well:  there are so many layers here.  We might think of the religious history, the art, the food and the highly social milieu.  

The flight from Toronto to Rome is somewhat over 8 hours.  It provides enough time to get some sleep and have the illusion of a night.  It wasn't long after the flight landed that I was taking a train into town.  

Musically the highlight of the trip was going to the opera.  The performance was La Sonambula of Vincenzo Bellini.  Bellini only lived to be a little short of 34.  Especially in the last years of his life he was extremely productive. His operas are melodious but also contain a lot of psychological nuance and appreciation for the aspirations we humans are so fond of.  The opera is about a woman whose marriage is challenged by her habit of sleepwalking, hence the title, "The Sleepwalker". 

The soprano, Lisette Oropesa was especially good!  Singing and acting were more than believable.  The singing was both tender and soared in an airy way when needed.  The other big "star" of the show was a film which was projected onto a translucent screen either at the front or the back of the stage.  It provided both narrative and the punch of inner emotions that helped the opera to be very engaging.  The opera house itself is not that large helping to make the performance seem very close.  

This blog is about music, but art is not so far off.  It can move us and cause us to hear music in our memory.  The most moving piece of art this trip has been the Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila by Bernini at Santa Maria della Vittoria.  The vitality of being given over to Christ that St. Teresa writes about is there for all of us to "see".  

Most touching in my faith on this trip has been the journey through the excavations under St. Peter's Basilica.  At the end of it is the tomb of St. Peter and the bones also believed to be his.  Praying there was a moving experience.  Time seemed to collapse and space too.  I felt joined so deeply to the people I serve and to the wider body of the Church and our shared mission to embody and share Christ with the world.  

I will be home soon and carrying these experiences and many more.