Having moved to a castle just outside Florence pre-pandemic, the successful Canada-born performer and producer with a European soul has switched from daily matinee and evening shows in front of packed audiences to independently producing musical films focusing on the lives of world-renowned composers, such as Verdi, Tchaikovsky and Puccini.
On Florence as home: When I was 17, it was clear that I was going to devote my life to art and music. I came to Florence because I knew that the piano had been invented here and that the first opera was performed here. What I love about Florence is that it’s when you turn a corner that you find something. It doesn’t have the big presentation of a big city; it’s all the little reveals. I absolutely fell in love with that. Then something happened over the years. I started to find that things I was collecting from my travels, that the way I was painting my house in America, the décor I was doing was all Florentine. I bought something in upstate New York and at one point everything was painted like Palazzo Pitti. I asked myself, Why don’t I just go there? It’s about finding your artistic soul. For me, your artistic approach is about how you can make the world more beautiful. The truth is, Florence felt like home from first setting foot in town. It’s not only the art; it’s the people. They’re not easy until they see that you genuinely love Florence and genuinely love them, and then the Florentines will give you everything they have. My friends and I call it a soft city. There’s a gentility to it.
On not performing during the pandemic: The pandemic was the longest that I’d not been on stage in my adult life. I’ve had an opportunity to practise something other than what I’m performing that night, so it’s Chopin by day and Beethoven at night, or Rachmaninoff in the afternoon and Chopin at night. To be able to focus without giving my all at night is a gift that I’ve not experienced in my grown-up life. But I do miss being with the audience.
On the Live in Florence production company: I always knew that eventually the art would be produced here in Florence. The plan was that, in 10 or 15 years, I’d relax into life and art here. The pandemic has pushed everything forward. Against my better instinct and out of a responsibility to the company staff who have been with me for years, I created the Live From Florence brand, and it took off! What we’re doing is producing high-quality musical films that are ticketed online and theatres before being viewed online on our website.
On filming in Florence: Florence has provided our films with original historic locations particular to the city, from Tchaikovsky’s actual Florentine residence to real places of Dante’s Florentine life, to Czarist Russia, Puccini’s operatic settings and more. For instance, when we filmed Mozart, Maria Maestrelli de Hagenauer, who owns Palazzo Gianfigliazzi on lungarno Corsini opened her home to us to serve as the Kaiser’s palace. The entirely restored decor is from the late 18th century, Mozart’s period, and even more relevantly, the de Hagenauers of Vienna, Maria’s family by marriage, were Mozart’s landlords for much of their Viennese residency. The wonders of Florence never cease! Point a camera anywhere in Florence, and whatever will be on your screen will be beautiful. The greatest treat, however, are the living, breathing artists now working in Florence. The Maggio Musicale Fiorentina orchestra, the members of which I have had the honor to play with in our films, are a world-class ensemble. As individuals, the musicians are willing to take anything on, including being getting dressed up in period garb! The film crew—directors, cinematographers, lighting designers, editors, costume designers, electricians, gaffers, runners—are almost all Florence-born. Besides being immensely gifted, they are a group of kind individuals who will work endless hours to make everything the best that it can be. There is a deep commitment to the best art possible. The goal is to find and illuminate the world-class talents within Florence and our environs, and create stories that we can share that show just how beautiful our city and its people are.
Find out more about Hershey Felder’s musical films!
