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Anna Chierichetti
I teach Vocal Chamber Music at the Giuseppe Nicolini Conservatory in Piacenza, both at bachelor’s and master’s level. It is a discipline distinct from voice training in the narrower sense: the work here centres on the Lied, mélodie, and art song repertoire, in its interpretive dimension more than its purely technical one — though the two are always intertwined.
My approach starts from listening: understanding each student’s vocal and personal character, to tailor a garment of poetry and music that fits as closely as possible. Few arrive with clear ideas already in mind; more often, the work is one of accompanying them toward the discovery of their own voice, their own self-portrait. Or perhaps it is precisely the making of a portrait that isn’t our own — the discovery of the other, of what we hadn’t thought possible or hadn’t known existed — that makes us grow as musicians. But above all as human beings. I care about forming people who sing, more than “singers,” and about revealing to pianists the magic of the voice, and above all of the poetry that founds our work, our passion.
Chamber vocal music has taught me to be vulnerable: not to endure wounds — I already knew how to do that — but to expose myself willingly. Disarmed, without a mask, without distance between me and the people I’m singing to. Just a voice, whoever is traveling with me at the piano, the poetry, the souls that filter it all.
In my lessons I try to bring in the things that truly matter, on stage and off it: listening, the ability to dwell inside a detail — a breath, an accent, a glance — the discipline of being present, humble, joyful, full of wonder. These are skills that stay with you, whatever a career later decides to make of you.
Riccardo Botta
I teach singing in St. Gallen and online, in the classical, operatic and musical theatre repertoire. I work with students aged 16 and over, from beginners to advanced and professional levels, in German, Italian and English.
I have a career of more than thirty years behind me, with over a hundred opera roles in theatres around the world and seventeen years in the soloist ensemble of the Theater St. Gallen. I completed my singing studies at the Conservatorio of Alessandria with distinction, studied with the baritone Giuseppe Taddei and worked with the coach Enza Ferrari. My first teacher was my father, a professional tenor. I also studied classical guitar at an advanced level.
My work starts from listening: understanding where each student’s obstacles and resources lie, and correcting faults constructively, building on what they can already do. I want the goal to remain making music and enjoying it, and confidence to grow lesson after lesson. With those aiming at a professional career, I also work on motivation and on managing nerves in front of an audience.
Thirty years on stage have taught me that the voice is not only a matter of technique: it is breath, body and presence, and it is always at the service of a story to tell. I try to pass this on to those who study with me, whether they dream of the theatre or simply sing for the joy of it. What I have learned on stage, between an empty hall and a full one, between fear and the joy of singing, I bring to every lesson.
For information and bookings: profile on Instrumentor.
Lemilleunavoce around the world
Lemilleunavoce would like to travel the world, and for now it travels between Italy, Switzerland and China.
In St. Gallen there is Riccardo Botta’s studio: a space for lessons in person and online, equipped to guarantee excellent audio and video quality for lessons given over the internet.
In China, whenever possible, we give lessons and masterclasses together, working in tandem and in complementary ways on both technique and interpretation, and sharing our vision of singing as something always rich in grace, art and poetry.
