tonight

I am just home from a concert in the long piazza. It was the local musicians warming the audience for the night of international stars tomorrow night. Tomorrow evening is the highlight of the Severino Gazelloni concerts which finish 1 September. Internationally famous Gazelloni (see previous portraits) was born here.

Tomorrow night a wonderful Italian soprano, Maria Dragoni, often compared with Maria Callas, will be singing here. Tomorrow night is the only night this parched village wants the rain to stay away. Over a thousand people will be seated outdoors, it will be magnificent. I have been lucky enough to go to two of these spectacular events already. A stage is built at the bottom of the street, chairs fill the roadway, and magic fills the air. The music is fantastic, and I sit there pinching myself to make sure I am not dreaming.