Juan Luis Velez : ITALIAN CULTURE.

ITALIAN CULTURE.

ITALIAN OPERA

Which one is the metaphor for Italia and why is it important?

The metaphor for Italia is the Italian Opera. Italia is one of the youngest countries under the concept of Nation, only Germany is younger, however Italy is full of history and future.

We all know about the romantic view about Italy, however Italy also has serious problems in many aspects such as in the economy, internal divisions and high levels of corruption.

This has led the Italian society to “divide” in “two countries”, the North Italy and the South Italy. Therefore Separatist movements have argued that the North Italy should be an apart country from the South due to their economical autonomy, as they are the Industrial part of Italy and consequently the most important taxes contributors. On the other hand we have the Romantic south of Italy, where the corruption make serious problems in the institutions and culture, nevertheless, both parties (North and South) complement each other, as the labor hand of the North comes from the workers of the South. Thus, generating a good balance that benefits both of them.

Which characteristics are important for us to understand the Italian Metaphor?

OVERTURE:

The overture in the opera refers to the initial part when the principal characters indicates the idea of what to expect. This is very important for the Italian culture, as they see the overture as a very important aspect in their life. For instance, the overture at the time to establish a negotiation is very representative for them, as they need to understand and know a little bit more of the other part before they close any deal. We could say that they could be in the middle point between the Americans and the Asian culture, as the Americans go directly to the main point of the conversation or negotiation and the Asian because they really need to know the counter part as a human before they take any decision. However it also depends on the region, as the north is more likely to the American culture while the south likes a bigger overture.

PAGEANTRY AND SPECTACLE:

Once the curtains go up, the show starts with a stunning set, the idea is that everybody be fascinated with the show and could perceive how wonderful the Opera is. By large same happens with the concepts of life and territory for the Italians. Italians tend to be very emotive and expressive, and the idea to incorporate the Pageantry and spectacle to the daily life is because they want to make life easier in a more acceptable and emotive way.

There are two concepts we need to understand first, the Garbo and the Bella Figura:

The Garbo: “Deal with situations delicately and without offense”. Due to the Italian humor, this is a very important characteristic in their conversation style, as they use to express their feelings and thoughts very openly, they also need the ability to say things without offending the other person and thus avoiding damaging relations.

La Bella Figura: “The art of public performance”. For this society, the image and the first impression is really important, that is why this concept appear in their culture and remains as one of the most important. For instance, an Italian would be willing to rent a very luxury car for only one afternoon in order to impress some people of a social club, even if he has to pay it during a whole year.

VOICE:

The voice in the Opera refers to the language in the Italian culture, thus they perceive it as the most beautiful in the world. The language here is very emotive, just as Italians are, therefore it is full of passion, rhythm and tonality.

They also use a lot the hands movements and the gestures, just to make more accuracy the message at the same time they are used to use flattery and polite lies.

EXTERNALIZATION:

Here we are talking about the externalization of the feelings and thoughts, this is the opposite behavior to the British, as the British tend to be more controllers of their emotions.

Consequently, the drama comes as an important part of their daily life, this is why they use to meet everyday at the piazza which is located in the center of the city. There, they express all their feelings and what happened during the labor day, this is a very good space for them to meet old friends or to make new ones, as they don’t even have to organize the meeting because they already know that the others will be there just after work.

The drama is also present in every situation, for example in funerals, which is very particular as it is a situation commonly perceive as respectful and quiet. Moreover the family is also a very important part of the decision taking process for any Italian. They share everything with their family, and they need them to get their opinion, however the one that takes the final decision is the individual. This has become into a really difficulty for the Italian companies due to the confidential clauses, because as they need to share everything with their families, it is very hard to keep the secrets safe.

CHORUS AND SOLOISTS:

In the beginning only existed the chorus, however the director of the opera and the public saw the need of a main character in order to give more drama and emotions to the show, this is how the Soloist was born. Nowadays it is almost impossible to conceive an opera with out chorus and soloists. Same happens with the Italian society and its internal divisions, as they need each other to survive even though if they are quite different and in some aspects autonomous.