The canvas comes down and you feel a pang in your heart. Because you know, before anyone else, that this is going to be the last curtain call for a long time. You know why you chose it, planned it. After almost 32 years of uninterrupted work. “Stopping may seem like a mistake. Instead, it’s a healthy choice.” Gloria Campaner, 36 years old, pianist, decided to stay away from the stage for the first time. How long? She is not known. What is certain is that she begins a new phase of life dedicated to supporting those who, by profession, are artists on stage. She will be called performing coach . «I knew anxieties and dizziness before entering the scene, I didn’t know who to ask for help. We have to deal with the management of emotions also in classical music».
In Procida she landed together with Alexander Baricco (his partner since 2019) with a backpack on December 31st. It’s already been 3 days since the last concert and she still hasn’t gotten her hands on the piano. «I almost feel guilty, it’s difficult to find new habits after 34 years of doing this job. In reality, I would even be entitled to a pension!». She arrives from Sicily after the last concert in Taormina, pure party with a beautiful trio program dedicated to Astor Piazzolla. And now he toasts to the new year reassured: he takes a break from the concert routine.
Let’s talk about suspension. And only those who have tried it know what it means to be programmed to give concerts from the age of 4 can understand.
«The competitive artist represents a typology of human quite limited in numbers. His life is totally dedicated to one thing, there is no room for anything else. In this sense I say that whoever does not live this life cannot understand it. Or rather, he sees the final part of it, that of the stage and the applause. The truth is that this job requires hours of constant study, always and everywhere».
What does this actually imply?
«That after three days of vacation you look everywhere for a piano. My life has always been like this, even when ten years ago during a concert I had internal bleeding and had to stay in the hospital I had a keyboard to study. It’s been like this for 32 years: playing is a huge honor but also a mandatory commitment».
You have always had the support of your family and then of a qualified staff: the truth is, however, you are alone on stage. Can it happen to falter?
“I had a lot of fixed points and I was really lucky. But in the end it’s you alone who travels, on stage, backstage, it’s you alone with your sound and this is an honor but a deep burden».
It often seems that fragility is the enemy of performance, and that for a long time there has been no place for the fragile on stage. Is that why you created @seesharplab?
“It’s something that is rarely talked about. I am extremely empathic and emotional and over time I have had many small big problems related to this job. I realized that this is a theme that is struggling to make headway in the world of performing arts. This is why I started holding this seminar entirely dedicated to emotions on stage».
Where does the idea of a new path start?
«I think a figure like there can be in sport is needed for those who do this job in the performing arts, classical music musicians have to put in a lot of effort but there isn’t a market like in pop music. We are fragile and alone.”
What is the task of the performing coach?
«It is a path that I am building, which needs to be meditated on and deepened, which I will do with courses, sessions and a lot of study in the coming months. However, I feel that I have a small responsibility because over the years I have opened this breach, let this light enter a room full of shadows. The truth is that people are ashamed, they never talk about what goes on behind the scenes. The tension and emotion before the performance can be disabling: you tremble, vomit, but you don’t talk about it because you think it happens only to you. Let’s be clear: I adore music, I think it’s made of joy, but I would like to highlight that there is also much more in our life»
Do the new generations need support?
«Many young musicians have problems and write to me. Many would like to do a one-to-one journey. That’s why I’m defining a figure who helps young musicians to keep a series of things together: it’s not so much the technical aspect but the emotional management of the performance. I feel a lot of responsibility for this journey: it’s not a joke, you can’t do it unprepared, it’s about human lives».
2023 begins with a leap. Does it take courage to get out of the loop?
«It is a free choice, which I felt I had to make. I’ve been thinking about it for more than two years: we have honored our commitments to the end, a new CD will be released on February 14th which is a bit of an act of love towards those who have followed me up to now. But now I’m concentrating on a new path: my dream is to have a school, a physical location, which perhaps has the energy of a theatre. I choose to dedicate myself to those who tomorrow must be serene on that stage on which I have spent so many years”
What happens in the next few weeks?
«I’m going to go to Veneto for a few days to see my grandmother. He lives in the Venetian lagoon valleys, we’ll be together. Then a new life begins in Rome. Sandro and I have decided to change the air, energy, light and colours. A year full of news and study awaits us. With all due respect for this marvelous work to which I have given my soul, the thought that even if I put my hands in my pockets nothing happens, is liberating».
– Alessandro Baricco, his partner: «Moved by the enormous affection around us»
– In Verona the Festival of Beauty, but only men speak
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
