Back in the United States, at Seattle University, Naho Umitani studies public affairs and economics. In Florence, though, her rich vibrato fills the halls of Corso dei Tintori 21 as she rehearses opera songs with Piccardi. Umitani, whose passion for singing in musical theatre productions began in third grade, knew she wanted to study abroad in Italy to learn more about opera.

For the academic conference, she’ll be performing Puccini’s “Terra e Mare,” alongside “My Lord and Master” from The King and I. These two songs showcase two distinct vocal styles, Umitani explains. While the notes in Puccini’s piece are sung with a smooth legato throughout, the consonant-heavy “My Lord and Master” has a quintessential musical theatre flair.

“The way you pronounce the words, or go about how you sing, it is very different,” she says. Umitani says she has plenty to look forward to as the conference nears. “I think I’m just very excited to be able to perform, work with a pianist, and… to see other people excited about Puccini and classical music,” she says. “That’s not something I see very much in the States, so it’s exciting to be in that energy.”

When Umitani leaves Florence, she says she’ll continue to sing, take lessons back in Seattle, and potentially get involved at institutions like the Seattle Opera House. Singing is a skill that needs to be nurtured and maintained — it’s like a muscle. And after a semester expanding her vocal talents, Umitani certainly has something unique to flex: an opera education in the city where it all began.

Raquel Fisher, hailing from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, has been taking voice lessons for eight years, but this year's annual academic conference will be her first time performing at an event of this scale.

Fisher will be performing a piece entitled “Hello, Young Lovers” from the musical The King and I. The Broadway production was written by the legendary duo of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and is inspired by the works of Giacomo Puccini, specifically Madama Butterfly. 

An art history major who came to Florence to study Italy’s greatest museums and cultural sites, Fisher has welcomed the chance to enrich her knowledge of Italian opera during her lessons with vocal coach Susanna Piccardi.

The conference will serve as the culmination of a semester’s worth of preparation and the ultimate capper on her study abroad journey.

“[Piccardi] has really been challenging me to go lower and work on my chest voice, which I’ve never done before… that is where I’m working on the most, my whole vocal range and not just a limited section,” said Fisher. “I’m hoping this will be, for me, an opportunity to see if I have what it takes to stand up there and bring music to people.”

Alexa Rubenstein has been singing since she was eight years old, but vocal lessons with Susanna Piccardi leading up to the conference have presented a unique challenge for the veteran performer.

She will be performing a song from the musical Miss Saigon, “I’d Give My Life for You,” an emotionally resonant piece about a mother willing to risk anything for her child. Written by Les Misérables scribes Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, Miss Saigon is based heavily on Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

Rubenstein is a psychology major from the University of South Florida, and she has used her semester abroad in Florence as an opportunity to study other subjects of interest like architecture and gardening.

When she first signed up for the private voice lessons with Piccardi, she did not know that performing at the conference would be the climactic finale to the course, but she is thankful that the concert has given her something to pursue and look forward to.

“I’ve been kind of singing wrong my whole life just because I wasn’t really trained, so [the class] has just been about unlearning a bunch of habits. We learn a lot about not forcing the sound and having better breath control… I’m used to straining my voice a little bit, so just learning to let go and not needing to control it so hard has been challenging,” said Rubenstein.

Before venturing to Italy, Mae Sistrunk’s vocal expertise didn’t include operatic singing. But in Florence, the motherland of opera, there’s no better place for this stellar vocalist to learn.

A commercial music major hailing from University of Memphis, Sistrunk is expanding her repertoire to include pieces like those of opera legend Puccini.  At the upcoming academic conference celebrating the composer’s life and legacy, Sistrunk will perform two songs that showcase her expanding vocal skills.

In Italian, she’ll be singing Puccini’s “Sogno d’Or,” and in English, “Something Wonderful,” which is from the Madama Butterfly-inspired musical, The King and I. Through her private voice lessons with Piccardi, Sistrunk says she and her professor have “grown really close,” sharing a passion for music.

“She’s going to be the main thing I miss when I go back home,” Sistrunk says. “It’s important to have hands-on experience with performing opera, which she has, which I’ve really enjoyed. And for her to be able to teach in a way that’s just like, 'sing it like this,' and then she sings, it’s kind of easy to mirror what she does.”

Sistrunk says Piccardi has also pushed her to flourish, not just as a choral vocalist, but as a solo singer with the chops for opera. “I think that’s been really beneficial to unlock more aspects of my voice and learn how to use it in different genres, in different ways,” she notes. “So she’s really pushed with that and helped me find the placement for opera.”