Back in the Studio Once Again

So, after the fact, everything went well, almost anyway. The show came off without a hitch system wide, electronically everything worked well. All my trepidation vanished as the show began, and as usual I was relaxed and calm starting as I wanted with a talk about the trip we just had taken to Florence and Venice, a summary of some of the upcoming shows in the next several months, and a relaxing meander through some of the most beautiful and famous streets in Italy. Beginning with some famous streets around the world, then moving into Ancient Rome with some history (which I read in that I had created this show months ago and forgot most of the details), and then a quick tour of my favorites in all the country I have visited. I topped off the show with a great video of a gondola riding down a side canal with singing gondoliers and happy tourists riding happily through the side canals of Venice. Ending on that note, the closing sequence finished off my first live show in a month, my longest layover. The only mess up was in my haste to leave the studio, I left my cables there ! Ellen just called to tell me she has them safely tucked away for next week, so all I have to do now is to relax until then. Fat chance.

I now will perform the show I also created months ago, Palazzi of Florence, mostly an historical perspective on some of the most famous in the city of wealthy bankers during the 15th and 16 centuries. In the meantime I will be composing six shows, two on the Jewish Experience of Italy focussing on interviews I did in Florence and Venice. The next four will center on video interviews with the artists who appeared in the Venice Biennale at the Collateral Event at the Palazzo Bembo. My gaze in general now turns to organizing all the photos and videos I have accumulated over the past 2 weeks trip to Italy and will keep me very busy. These perhaps two dozen shows with be spread out over the next 6 - 8 months interspersed with several I had already planned from the past year, including some analysis of the great art of Italy with my friend and compatriot, Ric Hirst. I even promised Franc Palaia a visits to his hometown of Poughkeepsie for a tour of Little Italy in that city in the Hudson Valley. So the next year promises to be a wonderful tour of still greater things related to Italy.

Stayed tuned and buona notte.