«COur house was always full of music – Dad directed a church choir – and I could not have imagined a life without notes. The word “vocation” for us – Catholics – was important and I’ve always thought mine was the one for teaching: the stage seemed too selfish to me – and too fun! (smiles) – to represent the right choice. At university I was full of doubts and, at one point, I asked my father for advice. “There is more than one way to educate people” he replied: this awareness was the guiding star that guided me in my career».
Joyce DiDonato, the mezzo-soprano protagonist of Eden
Joyce DiDonato thus explains why she is here today, in Milan, in two roles: the well-known mezzo-soprano, protagonist of the concert-show Eden at the Teatro alla Scala (with the proceeds donated to the Francesca Rava-NPH Italia ETS Foundation), and that of tutor in a workshop atPenal Institute for Juveniles Cesare Beccaria. An experience that is not new, having already collaborated with Sing Sing, in New York State, and with Chicago’s Illinois Youth Center. «Music is a dialogue without words: it has the power to open people’s hearts, to transform them, allowing them to express what is sacred – although sometimes repressed – in them» he says, as he handles the access formalities.
“Guys, a crazy star”
«But music is a means to reach these young people and “ignite” hope, not an end. We don’t expect them to become famous rappers like Tedua! Everyone has to discover their own talent. We work on empowerment in the suspended time they spend here, which means contributing to the “restart” with the desire to be active citizens, responsible for their lives, not passive victims” he specifies Mariavittoria Rava, founder and president of the Francesca Rava Foundation.
Joyce DiDonato with young people from the Juvenile Penal Institute of Milan, together with the Francesca Rava Foundation
After the security checks, Joyce DiDonato’s first destination is the garden for a gesture that is not purely symbolic: the gift of a maple tree and flowering shrub seeds. The other sector in which the mezzo-soprano tries – by combining art & activism – to make a difference is in fact the defense of the environment: «Nature, just like music, shows us the way. A road characterized by harmony and balance». Five young people, representing the 40 prisoners, await her for the small ceremony «Guys, this is a crazy star!» Delfina Boni, project manager of the “Palla al Centro” project presents it.
«But not like Beyoncé, eh: I sing opera» Di Donato hastens to point out. “Not everyone likes them, but I do quite a lot… They seem to deal with love and passion, in reality they hide even deeper themes: they are a cry for humanity”. And he concludes with a wish: «I hope you don’t see these plants growing…». If images from Mare fuori come to mind, the cult series on Nisida’s IPM, you risk going astray, and not just because Beccaria is entirely male: «Here there is more sadness – and more boredom – than in the fiction» confirms an operator.
Low gaze & self esteem
Second act: transfer to the colorful gym, renovated – like the garden – on the initiative of the Rava Foundation. Some musicians from the Pomo d’Oro orchestra and Mike Roberts, the teacher of the legendary orchestra, are already waiting there Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London who held preparatory workshops in the previous days. The boys introduce themselves one by one, with a handshake or with the “fist against fist”. «They hardly look into the eyes: they keep the gaze down of someone who has never had someone who believed in him and, consequently, does not believe in himself. They are even amazed that we remember their names!” Mariavittoria points out to us.
«90 percent are held for crimes against property, that is thefts and robberies: in our Italy, in our Lombardy there is also real poverty, the one for which you don’t eat. They have not had the same opportunities as our children. Encouragement is essential for rebuilding self-esteem and the technical skills learned in the various courses are essential for laying the foundations for the future».
Handel’s magnetism
Joyce DiDonato now asks for absolute silence, but it wouldn’t have been necessary: as soon as she intones Handel’s aria Ombra mai fu, everyone suddenly freezes, magnetised. But then it’s up to them to become protagonists, and it’s not easy to gather courage after hearing such an amazing voice. The former gets up only after repeated encouragement from his companions, both verbal and the “tun tun” on the cardboard boxes they are sitting on, designed to be used as percussion instruments.
He “raps” on one of his texts, which is an autobiographical synthesis: he tells of a father who died when he was small, of a crime committed carelessly by a child who did not realize and he pleads for his mother’s forgiveness… Joyce listens to him moved. «But now you sing, your voice puts peace inside us» invites a young man, and there could be no better confirmation of the theories on the therapeutic value of music.
«There is no need to have a cultural background: tears flow and we don’t know why. The vibrations go straight to the heart, not to the Ego» observes DiDonato. (How he keeps his, Ego’s, at bay, he will explain to us later, laughing: «I tell him: Shut Up! Enough. Remember your mission, remember you’re on duty!»). The workshop continues in an alternation of vocalizations, exercises, in a continuous ping pong between classical and FreeStyle. Out of the program, DiDonato proposes an improvisation on the famous Over the Rainbow, launched by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz.
«Somewhere, /over the Rainbow…». Joyce invites one after the other to sing the refrain, but a bold-looking big boy doesn’t feel like it: before it’s her turn, she gets up and goes away. But then from the corridor you hear his song at the top of your voice: «Somewhere, / over the rainbow…». Despite appearances, he has not remained insensitive to the power of the notes. On the contrary. “Good boy!” Joyce exclaims.
Joyce DiDonato: «Music is a safe space»
«What struck you the most today?», we finally ask Di Donato. «The ability of music to offer them a space in which to feel safe and in which they can express themselves, especially when the volume is raised and covers those words that they are afraid to pronounce. It grants a kind of freedom that they don’t currently have. It was deeply touching – and very powerful – to hear someone apologize to his mother: it takes courage, it takes strength to apologize! Singing is a medicine, the most effective and without side effects. Put a child in a choir and you don’t have to give him Ritalin (the drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ed )!». DiDonato tells us about a Sing Sing inmate who had never heard an opera by him in his life and now he has written an opera, and it has already been performed at Carnegie Hall. «I hope that something will change also for the young people of Beccaria thanks to the various activities. We are not sure how it will end, but we certainly know how it will end if we don’t give them these chances.”
iO Woman © REPRODUCTION RESERVED