Today I’m sharing my experience of choosing the right conservatory in Italy.
It is a career goal, just like making it to a theater or debuting a role, so this decision has to be taken considering your needs: if you are seeking a teacher or an experience, how much can you spend on the education, are you looking for connections or knowledge, etc. So, these are the steps to plan:
Productions or technique? Decide whether you want to study to access conservatory's facilities (e.g. participate in productions and gain basic professional experience) or you have to improve your technique. Don’t say “both”. You have to prioritize, otherwise, you’re narrowing your opportunities and have a very limited choice. In the first case, you have to sing well (proofs, please ) or study with a private teacher.
Rock or Baroque Well, not exactly rock… but the next step is to choose the program: are you willing to pursue studies in Ancient Music or you’re up to studying Opera? If you’re going with “Canto Barocco”, your choice depends on the city: in some regions, they offer really good opportunities for students and alumni. To know better, check their concert programs, productions, and partners. Tip: Florence and Vicenza have nice baroque options. If you’re graduating in Baroque, you can still do Opera and participate in all productions of the institution. So if you know a good technique teacher at Baroque Faculty and your goal is to improve, don’t hesitate.
Tell me who your students are, and I will tell you if I study with you Whether your goal is to participate in productions and get connections or to learn new vocal tips, the professor figure is very important in both cases, so… stalk him. Well, google his name and check what his students have achieved: how do they sing, where do they work? Write down the names of your favorite singers’ teachers, find students and alumnus of conservatories, and ask the successful ones about their teachers.
Money or honey In Italy, living costs differ from city to city and from region to region. The education price is approximately the same everywhere, but there’s a huge gap between rent, food, public transport, and entertainment expenses in Milan and Palermo, for example. So check on Kijiji or casa.it how high rent rates are, go to the city’s website to know more about travel cards and tickets and then make a decision.
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