Monday-Friday:

• For the first four weeks, you'll have Italian classes in the mornings from 9:00 am-12:30 pm (with a half-hour break so that you can grab a cappuccino and cornetto).

• Afternoons/evenings are reserved for individual coachings and voice lessons, as well as opera rehearsals

• Rehearsals wrap up by 10:00 pm. Everyone will have breaks and meal times at various points throughout the day, and you won't be called to every rehearsal.

Weekends:

• Schedules are a bit lighter since you won't have Italian classes.

• The focus will be primarily on rehearsals, with a few lessons and coachings going on as well.

Coachings:

Our coaches are brilliant and are native Italian speakers! Each participant will have a total of eight 30-minute coachings. You may work with multiple coaches throughout FIO.

Voice lessons:

You'll be assigned to one voice teacher for the duration of your time at FIO. You'll have eight 45-minute lessons throughout the program.

Our suggestion:

We recommend that you go through your music for FIO with your instructors and coaches first. Once you're feeling comfortable with that, you can work on any other repertoire that you'd like!

Yes! Beginning in 2025, your media package is included in the cost of your tuition. This package will include both professional photos and videos of your performance(s). Each cast will be photographed/recorded for one show.

Additionally, our staff do their best to take photos and videos throughout the festival and will share them with participants afterwards!

Yes! Depending on your university's policies, it is possible to get credit for the language portion. Centro Studi Italiani will issue a final exam to students seeking college credit and will send documentation to your university. However, students seeking course credit must contact their universities for approval before taking the classes. Your university will inform you of their requirements (i.e., number of contact hours in the class, the minimum score on the final test, etc.) In some cases, depending on your Division, you may need to take an additional week of classes to meet the criteria set by your institution.

Many of the locals in Urbania speak at least some English, but you'll definitely interact with others who only speak Italian.

Urbania is a small and closely-knit town, and locals are used to non-Italian speakers coming through the town to take classes at Centro Studi Italiani (CSI). This makes FIO ITALIA the perfect opportunity for language immersion! You'll have 3 hours of Italian every weekday, so you pick up the basics quickly and can practice with your Urbanian neighbors. Locals are kind and supportive, and they're happy to help. As you get to know them, you'll practice with them more and more! They'll wait patiently while you remember a word, correct your grammar, and teach you about local culture and customs!

FIO will organize a couple of travel opportunities (potentially with a small transportation fee) throughout the festival. Trips for 2025 are TBA.

You won't have many full days off (we still rehearse on weekends!), but free days pop up here and there. You're welcome to take a day (or half day) trip if you have an opening in your schedule. Note that rehearsals, coachings, and lessons all take priority, and FIO cannot be responsible for anything that occurs on solo trips.

At FIO, you'll stay in a fully-furnished apartment with roommates. Centro Studi Italiani (CSI) organizes housing, communicates with landlords, and assists with any problems that arise.

You may request roommate(s) ahead of FIO, but you'll get your final housing assignment when you arrive in Urbania.