Where there is a will, there is a way.
An opera singer in Seymour has not only taken her concerts online but also to her cul-de-sac since the outbreak of the coronavirus shut down venues.
Donata Cucinotta was set to sing the role of Donna Elvira in the Indianapolis Opera performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in March at The Toby Theater at Newfields at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
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“All of my in-person singing jobs, including Don Giovanni, have been canceled until 2021, so I’m having to adjust,” Cucinotta said. “I’m still so heartbroken that the performance was canceled.”
Due to COVID-19, the cast had to stop right before its first read-through with the orchestra, which was very disappointing, Cucinotta said.
“We had worked very hard, and the cast sounded amazing,” she said. “So as a cast, we decided we were going to record our final room run to stream later on.”
Cucinotta recently spoke with the general director, and the hope is that it has been postponed until the fall of 2021.
“It was just such an intense experience, and we were all just like working through our own stress and tension at the moment through music,” Cucinotta said. “It was really healing, and I’m glad we got it on tape.”
She said when everyone can all get together and start making music again, it’s going to feel so great. That’s one of the reasons she started doing cul-de-sac concerts.
“I was texting with my friend and neighbor, Monica Hartung, whose family is just so lovely,” Cucinotta said. “It was getting close to Easter, and Monica was feeling sad because she loves church music at Easter and churches were closed.”
Cucinotta was depressed, too, because she hadn’t sung for anyone except herself for a while.
“I always practice when my son is asleep, and my husband has been busy working at Schneck,” she said. “His work has been a blessing, though, because everything I had scheduled was canceled.”
Cucinotta’s husband is Dr. Justin Rasner, an obstetrician and gynecologist. He is a native of Kentucky.
“I was wanting to sing music for humans, so we were like, ‘Let’s just do a cul-de-sac concert’ because Monica has three kids and all of their spring recitals had been canceled,” Cucinotta said.
Being a music teacher herself, Cucinotta felt bad for her students and also other students who worked so hard for their spring recital piece or choir concert, then to not do it had to be very disappointing.
“So I told Monica, ‘Let’s just get out in the driveway and we’ll be socially distant and I want to hear all your kids’ recital pieces,” Cucinotta said. “Monica wanted to hear ‘Jesus Christ Is Risen Today’ for Easter, and I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
On Easter Sunday, everyone in their cul-de-sac came by to listen.
“One of the neighbors was out walking his dog, and it was beautiful weather,” Cucinotta said. “Everybody stopped and I wanted to sing something that would speak to people and speak to the moment, and the right song just came to me.”
She said in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, there’s a song called “Hear Me Israel,” and the second part of the aria says “Be not afraid.”
“I thought, ‘This is what I’m going to sing,’ so I did my opera thing there, and then we just started doing it every week,” Cucinotta said. “We’d go out in the cul-de-sac, and there would be no theme except for randomness and joy.”
She has been making music on the cul-de-sac for other people, rain or shine, for about 10 weeks.
Monica’s husband, Dr. David Hartung, participates in the cul-de-sac concerts, too. He performed his quarantine song, and it was amazing, Cucinotta said.
“The Hartungs are so talented and musical. David is an excellent musician, and his guitar playing is really on a professional level,” Cucinotta said. “Their children are musical, too. Elise is very talented on the saxophone, Colin plays trumpet and Julia plays piano and recorder.”
Cucinotta said Monica is their de facto stage manager and chimes in on the glockenspiel.
“Now that things are opening up, the concerts are mostly on Facebook, and concert announcements are made on the neighborhood watch group page,” Cucinotta said. “At first, I was afraid to open it up to everyone because of the stay-at-home order.”
Cucinotta is starting to broadcast it a little more now that restrictions are slowly being lifted. Her next cul-de-sac concerts are planned for July 5 and 12 around 1:30 or 2 p.m. She will announce updates on social media.
“These concerts are supposed to be relaxed and fun, and it’s nice to sing for other people,” Cucinotta said. “Singing with orchestra is amazing and it’s the best, but when we take everything else away, I just want to sing for humans.”
Cucinotta’s most recent performance, “Music Makes Me Happy,” was a live stream concert that was on the Indianapolis Opera’s Facebook page June 18.
“One of the things I’ve had to learn is how to present my concerts online,” Cucinotta said.
She had reached out to the Indianapolis Opera because she knows opera companies are struggling with content and how to move forward.
“I told them I could adjust the show I did for Emmie and Harry’s cabaret club and make it a little more opera-focused,” Cucinotta said. “The concert was part of the Indianapolis Opera At Home education program.”
During that live Facebook performance, Cucinotta played a ukulele, a piano and a toy piano, changed hats about seven times and Elise Hartung played saxophone through the window.
“I had a banjo in the background that did not get played because I was saving that for if the goal of raising $1,500 for the education fund was reached,” she said. “We didn’t make it, but if we make the goal this week, I’ll make another video with the banjo, which is just for special occasions.”
When Cucinotta did that show, she said her neighbors came by and were outside her window listening.
“That’s the human instinct connection that made all that work worthwhile,” she said. “It’s really hard to play and sing at the same time, especially when you’re trying to do something ridiculous like an opera aria.”
The solo concert now has more than 3,000 views, and it’s really cool and nice to see, she said. Also, some of the music from her concert is starting to be released on Spotify and iTunes.
“I’ve actually seen my voice and piano studio expand because a lot of teachers didn’t want to teach via Skype,” Cucinotta said. “Then for some of my younger piano students, I’ve made some YouTube practice videos.”
On another positive note, time spent at home during the quarantine has led to more baking and making fresh handmade pasta, Cucinotta said.
“I like baking and it connects me to my roots, and there was one night after one of my jobs had been canceled and my husband came home to find me listening to this opera,” she said. “It was one of our favorites called Pagliacci, and it looked like one of those scenes from out of a movie, where there has been a murder and the classical music is blaring.”
While hand making the Garganelli pasta, Cucinotta did the whole thing. She made the well, folding in little pieces of flour on a big wooden board, using a giant rolling pin.
“I looked like a crazy lady, and my husband’s like, ‘Did something get canceled?’ and I said, ‘Yes,’” Cucinotta said. “I can laugh about it now, but at the time, I was taking out the stress with my rolling pin.”
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“When everyone can all get together and start making music again, it’s going to feel so great.”
Donata Cucinotta
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Donata Cucinotta website: donatacucinotta.com
Follow Cucinotta on Spotify, Instagram and Facebook page @SopranoDonata
YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/Donata824
Cucinotta’s show “Music Makes Me Happy” is still available on the Indianapolis Opera Facebook page at facebook.com/IndyOpera/videos/635222417068257.
Watch for an encore Facebook watch party on Cucinotta’s page.
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