GONDOLA SERENDADE with Canadian Tenor, NILS BROWN - Venice

(VENICE, ITALY) The Canadian tenor, Nils Brown, arrived at my house early one morning last week, together with documentary filmmaker, Anny Carraro, to shoot some footage . He was returning to Canada the next day, so this was the only opportunity we had to film what Anny needed for her section of the Nils Brown documentary -- it is a co-production with a Canadian company. Anny wanted to take advantage of the view from my balcony, the Grand Canal overlooking the Rialto Bridge. Because I was blogging the event, I said to Nils, "I've asked a rock photographer to take some photos this evening on the gondola ride. I think it would be an interesting combination -- classical music meets rock & roll. More cool. More hip."

Without a word, Nils Brown picked up his instrument (at that point I didn't know what type it was) and walked out the door.

Anny had been setting up the shot, and wasn't paying attention. We mulled over Nil's behavior. I said, "It's because I said, 'I think.' Not: 'What do you think?'" Now, that may seem a very small difference, but, after having relationships with some major egos -- a necessary requirement, I believe, to survive as an artist -- I was familiar with the scene. You'd think I'd learn my lesson, but no. I said, "I will apologize, and everything will be all right."

Anny left to do some crucial business. Not more than fifteen minutes later, Nils arrived back at my home. I met him downstairs in the calle. He was peeved, as anticipated, about the "cool, hip" remark. We got into an... energetic discussion about who had less rules on the planet: a wandering tenor, or a writer with a blog. Now, remember, we both have other jobs -- Nils performs on stage with prestigious orchestras all over the world, and I write novels published by Knopf -- in those venues, we both fall under rules of enormous weight. So, this was a little discussion on who had more freedom if we truly choose to take advantage of all the opportunities available to our respective talents. He said, "All I need is my voice and my guitar. You need me or you would have nothing to write about." I said, "Really? I only need my imagination and my computer. I can write about a statue." (God immediately punished me because my computer crashed soon after, and I am writing this blog on a friend's computer!)

In any event, after I apologized five times, he put out his hand, and said, "Apology accepted." I asked, "What astrological sign are you?" He made a face, as many people do when I ask them that question, but it saves me a lot of time. He said, "Gemini." I laughed. "I'm a Leo. It often starts like this between Gemini and Leo. We're going to get along just fine."

Later in the evening, Alex Ruffini from http://www.2starsphoto.com/ arrived at the gondola; he and Nils immediately hit it off. By that time, Nils and I, too, had bonded; we spoke about how satisfying it is to perform in front of young people and why he chose to sing on the streets of Italy. He said, "What I sing is like poor man's opera. The arias without the entire storyline." Unfortunately, there was no room for Alex in the gondola with everyone's assorted equipment, so we'll have to make do with pre-ride shots.

The gondola ride itself was spectacular. Nils sang like an angel. People lined the fondamente and the bridges to hear him sing Venetian folk tunes, accompanied only by his guitar. There was much applause. I had tears in my eyes. Anny said the lighting was perfect.

So, once again, out of the chaos comes order; out of the mingling of the different creative energies comes a result. It is something fascinating and profound, the creative process, and never ceases to amaze me.

Ciao from Venice,
Cat
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