AMHS TO BE FEATURED IN ABRUZZO “IL MESSAGGERO”

On Sunday, June 11, a group of AMHS members, all with roots in the region of Abruzzo, met with Dom Serafini, a contributing writer to the Abruzzo “Il Messaggero” newspaper. The meeting took place at 10:00 a.m. in Casa Italiana. Dom is responsible for writing about Abruzzesi who reside outside the region of Abruzzo.

He is going to write a small piece on the Society for the front page of this newspaper! Present at the meeting were two founding members of the Society, Omero Sabatini and Sergio Fresco, in addition to Nancy DeSanti, Joe Novello, and myself. We were very proud to share with Dom the history of the Society from its founding in June 2000, and the numerous events and activities that the Society sponsors each year, e.g., 6 general Society meetings, a Ferragosto picnic, the awarding of two scholarships, and the bi-monthly publication of the AMHS 4 Notiziario.

Dom was also very interested in the history of Casa Italiana – he met Father Ezio Marchetto, Pastor of Holy Rosary Church, who gave Dom a copy of the history of the Church. All in all it was a wonderful “meet and greet”. Thank you to AMHS member Francesco Isgro for putting Dom in touch with us! (submitted by Maria D’Andrea-Yothers)

POTENTIAL NEW MEMBER

Rosemary “Rosie” Day DeBonis was born on April 21 to our members Mike DeBonis and Dena Iverson DeBonis. Mother and daughter are doing great and Mike's excitement by now has calmed down to the level of mere fatherly pride.

Rosemary's middle name, Day, is actually the family name of her maternal great grandmother who traced her ancestry all the way to those who arrived on the Mayflower. See the kind of people we rub elbows with? Rosie, however, promises to be equally proud of her Italian heritage, not only because of her father, but also because she chose to come into the world four days ahead of the anticipated date of delivery so that her birthday could fall on the same day on which Rome is said to have been founded in 754 BC. Our best wishes to all three DeBonises, and God's blessings upon them. (submitted by OmeroSabatini)

AMHS MEMBER MADDALENA BOREA CONGRATULATED AT OPERA PARTY

After a season that ended on a high note with rave reviews for its opera “Madama Butterfly,” the Washington National Opera had a party on May 22, 2017, honoring singers in its Domingo Cafritz Young Artists program and those who helped in their success. So it was a chance for the young artists to thank their teacher AMHS member Maddalena Borea, and to give her flowers and lots of kisses.

Everyone congratulated her on the beautiful job she did teaching her students how to correctly pronounce the Italian words, but more than that, how to give meaning and expression to those words. She also inspires them with a love of opera and gives them a deep understanding of each of these beautiful musical works.

During the nearly 20 years she has been with the Opera, Maddalena said she gives a lot of love to her students, along with some of her Italian cooking “because they might be hungry.” The WNO is taking their summer break now, but in the fall they will stage Verdi’s famous opera “Aida.” Performing in Aida will be one of Maddalena’s former students, Soloman Howard, who has been making a name for himself in the opera world.

Maddalena recalls that Soloman grew up in southeast Washington, began singing in church at a very young age and overcame many obstacles to achieve success. (By the way, the video of Maddalena giving Soloman an Italian lesson is posted on the Kennedy Center website). After getting noticed by famed tenor Placido Domingo, Soloman joined the Young Artists Group, and eventually had an opportunity to audition for the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Maddalena helped prepare him for his audition. She reminded him that playing the role of the king in Aida meant being really angry at just the right time. When Soloman came back from his successful audition for Aida at the Met, he told Maddalena he really appreciated her help, and he told her that he remembered what she told him, and he said, “Boy, did I get mad!!” Another one of the promising young artists Maddalena has been working with is Raquel Gonzalez, who performed with Soloman, Renee Fleming and Denyce Graves, among others, at the recent Opera Gala at the Kennedy Center.

(submitted by Nancy DeSanti