Italian All-in-One For Dummies (67 page)

Agent: see. mee
dee
-kah.

Yes. Can I help you?
(Literally:
Tell me.
)

Eugenio:
Vorrei prenotare dei posti.

vohr-
rey
preh-noh-
tah
-reh dey
pohs
-tee.

I'd like to reserve some seats.

Ticket
Per quale spettacolo?

Agent: pehr
kwah
-leh speht-
tah
-koh-loh?

For which performance?

Eugenio:
Aspettando Godot
, domani sera.

ahs-peht-
tahn
-doh goh-
doh,
doh-
mah
-nee
seh
-rah.

Waiting for Godot,
tomorrow evening.

Ticket
Mi dispiace; è tutto esaurito.

Agent: mee dee-
spyah
-cheh; eh
tooht
-toh eh-zou-
ree
-toh.

I'm sorry; it's sold out.

Eugenio:
Ci sono repliche?

chee
soh
-noh
reh
-plee-keh?

Are there other performances?

Ticket
L'ultima è dopodomani
.

Agent:
loohl
-tee-mah
eh
doh
-poh-doh-
mah
-nee.

The last one is the day after tomorrow.

 

Did you notice that the title of the play,
Waiting for Godot,
has no preposition in Italian? In English, you wait for someone, but Italian speakers say
waiting somebody
—
aspettare qualcuno
(ahs-peht-
tah
-reh kwahl-
kooh
-noh). You may also hear
ti aspetto
(tee ahs-
peht
-toh) (
I'm waiting for you
).

Some theaters don't accept telephone reservations; you can only
reserve at the box office
—
prenotazione al botteghino
(preh-noh-tah-
tsyoh
-neh ahl boht-teh-
gee
-noh). You can pay for the tickets and pick them up immediately or before the performance begins.

Exploring a museum

A recent report shows that all the tickets sold in 2012 by the Italian State for access to national museums, monuments, and art galleries produced 25 percent less revenue than the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, alone. Some critics point out that no museum in the world can stand on the sale of tickets alone and that statues and paintings, villas and fountains can't be used with the objective of making money. Unfortunately, the protection and maintenance of the Italian cultural heritage requires considerable funds, for which such revenue would be an important source. Here are some of the most frequented museums with the richest collections: the
Uffizi
(oohf-
fee
-tsee) Gallery in Florence;
La Galleria Borghese
(lah gahl-leh-
ree
-ah bohr-
geh
-seh) and the
Musei Vaticani
(mooh-
zeh
-ee vah-tee-
kah
-nee) in Rome; the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice; and
Il Museo della Scienza e della Tecnica
(eel mooh-
zeh
-oh dehl-lah
shehn-
zah eh
dehl
-lah
tehk
-nee-kah) in Milan. Every two years, there's also the
Biennale di Venezia
(byehn-
nah
-leh dee veh-
neh
-tsyah) where you can view the work of many well-known contemporary international artists.

Experiencing a local festival

This chapter's introduction refers to the many local
sagre
(
sah
-greh) (
fairs; festivals
) and festivals you can find in Italy, especially during the spring, summer, and fall. The themes of these fairs vary, ranging from the ones that are political in origin, such as
La festa dell'Unità
(lah
fehs
-tah dehl-looh-nee-
tah
) (
a left-­leaning newspaper
), to the ones that are nature-related —
La sagra del cinghiale
(lah
sah
-grah dehl cheen-
gyah
-leh) (
the wild-boar festival
) and
La sagra del pesce azzurro
(lah
sah
-grah dehl
peh
-sheh adz-
zooh
-roh) (
the Blue Fish Fair
) are two that come to mind. Do drop in if you find one because they're often the perfect venues for experiencing local culture and homemade food.

Talkin' the Talk

Paola tries to convince Martino to go to a festival.

Paola:
Lo sai che oggi c'è la Sagra dell'uva a Bertinoro?

loh sahy keh
oj-
jee cheh lah
sah-
grah dehl-
looh
-vah ah behr-teen-
oh
-roh?

Did you know that today there is the grape festival in Bertinoro?

Martino:
Divertente! Oh, facciamoci un salto!

dee-vehr-
tehn
-teh! oh fahch-
chah
-moh-chee oohn
sahl
-toh!

What fun! Oh, let's stop by!

Paola:
Partiamo subito?

pahr-
tyah
-moh
sooh
-bee-toh?

Shall we leave right away?

Martino:
Sì, perché no?

see, pehr-
keh
noh?

Yes, why not?

Paola:
In quel paese fanno anche degli ottimi cappelletti!

een kwehl pah-
eh-
zeh
fahn-
noh
ahn
-keh
deh
-lyee
oht
-tee-mee kahp-pehl-
leht
-tee!

They also make great cappelletti in that town!

Martino:
Ottimo, così ci fermiamo a cena.

oht
-tee-moh, koh-
zee
chee fehr-
myah
-moh ah
cheh
-nah.

Great! This way we can stay for supper.

 

Taking in the Italian Music Scene

Italy has a rich musical history, from classic operas by Verdi and Puccini to the popular song “Volare” by Domenico Modugno, which became an international hit in the 1950s. Although popular Italian songs use standard language, some contemporary artists incorporate dialect in their lyrics, especially the Neapolitan (heavily used by Pino Daniele), and the Genoese (in Fabrizio De Andre's songs). These musical experiments (increasingly numerous) are in line with the revitalization of dialects by the younger generations and have been encouraged, especially over the last decade, by the growing success of such musical genres as hip-hop, rap, and reggae.

Catching a concert

If you're interested in music, you'll certainly please your ear in Italy, from the
Umbria
(
oohm
-bryah)
Jazz Festival
to the theater
Festival dei due mondi
(
fehs
-tee-vahl dey
dooh
-eh
mohn
-dee) in Spoleto to your favorite Italian
cantautore
(kahn-tou-
toh
-reh) (
singer-songwriter
).

Italy is full of old and beautiful churches and cathedrals where
musicisti
(mooh-zee-
chees
-tee) (
musicians
) often present classical music concerts. You can also hear concerts in other places — sometimes in the center of a city in a piazza.

Talkin' the Talk

La signora and il signor Tiberi are reading the morning paper. Suddenly, la signora Tiberi cries out:

Sig.ra Tiberi:
Guarda qui!

gwahr
-dah kwee!

Look here!

Sig. Tiberi:
Che c'è?

keh cheh?

What's up?

Sig.ra Tiberi:
Martedì c'è Pollini a Roma!

mahr-teh-
dee
cheh pohl-
lee
-nee ah
roh
-mah!

Pollini is in Rome on Tuesday!

Sig. Tiberi:
Tiene un concerto?

tyeh
-neh oohn kohn-
chehr
-toh?

Is he going to give a concert?

Sig.ra Tiberi:
Sì, al Conservatorio.

see, ahl kohn-sehr-vah-
toh
-ryoh.

Yes, at the Conservatory.

Sig. Tiberi:
Sarà tutto esaurito?

sah-
rah
tooht
-toh eh-zou-
ree
-toh?

Will it already be sold out?

Sig.ra Tiberi:
Forse no!

fohr
-seh noh!

Maybe not!

Sig. Tiberi:
Vai al botteghino?

vahy ahl boht-teh-
gee
-noh?

Are you going to the box office?

Sig.ra Tiberi:
Prima telefono.

pree
-mah teh-
leh
-foh-noh.

I'm going to call first.

Maurizio Pollini is an internationally famous Italian pianist. We do hope that signor and signora Tiberi find two tickets for this event.
Buona fortuna!
(
bwoh
-nah fohr-
tooh
-nah!) (
Good luck!
)

 

Maybe you know a musician or someone who plays an instrument in his or her leisure time. You're probably curious about some things, such as the following:

Che strumento suoni?
(keh strooh-
mehn
-toh
swoh
-nee?) (
Which instrument do you play?
)