Host, Chip LoCoco, interviews Bob Neufeld, an Audiobook Narrator.

Bob has been the voice narrator on all of Chip LoCoco's novels, including the just released, Sicilian Melody.

Listen in as Bob discusses how he got into the business, his process, his setup and which recordings that he has done are his favorites.

We think you will find this conversation fascinating, and we included a sample of a recording from Sicilian Melody during the Podcast so you could hear Bob's work for yourself.

Enjoy.

Host, Chip LoCoco, interviews New Orleans Mardi Gras Historian, Arthur Hardy. Arthur is the publisher of the annual definitive guide on the season, The Mardi Gras Guide.

Listen in as he explains the history  and traditions of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Host, Chip LoCoco, interviews New Orleans Author, Elisa Speranza, as she discusses her fascinating novel, The Italian Prisoner.

This is a true love story. The story of Italian/Sicilian POWs who are sent to live in camps in Louisiana, such as Jackson Barracks, and the local women they meet and fall in love with during their stay. But the story is so much more. Mrs. Speranza brilliantly  brings to the reader a glimpse into what life was like in New Orleans during WWII, with an emphasis on  the women who were recruited from the home into the workplace to replace the men off fighting in the war. 

And to top it off, for all aspiring writers out there, our host and guest provide some insights into the writing process.

Here is a little more information on the novel,  The Italian Prisoner.

1943. New Orleans. Rose Marino lives with her Sicilian immigrant parents and helps in the family grocery store. Her older brother and sister both joined the Army, and Rose prays for their safety as World War II rages overseas. Her parents expect Rose to marry a local boy and start a family. But she secretly dreams of being more like her fiercely independent widowed godmother. Behind her parents’ backs, Rose lands a job at the Higgins shipyard, where she feels free and important for the first time in her life.

When the parish priest organizes a goodwill mission to visit Italian prisoners of war at a nearby military base, Rose and her vivacious best friend, Marie, join the group. There, Rose falls for Sal, a handsome and intelligent POW. Italy has switched sides in the war, so the POWs are allowed out to socialize, giving Rose and Sal a chance to grow closer. When Rose gets a promotion at work, she must make an agonizing choice: follow a traditional path like Marie or keep working after the war and live on her own terms.

Opera Tenor, Kirk Redmann and Host, Chip LoCoco, discuss and analyze the recording of Giuseppe di Stefano singing Lamento di Federico from Cilea's opera, L'Arlesiana. 

One of the most famous opera arias ever written, and sung by most of the greatest tenors who lived, we are given the opportunity to hear di Stefano's own interpretation with his beautiful voice. 

Vincent LoCoco interviews Maddy Montz, a young singer who will be performing the role of Maureen in Jonathan Larsen's musical, Rent, at the Tulane Summer Lyric Theater this August.

Maddy describes her musical education and her career path to date. And then, a lively discussion takes place in which Rent is compared to the opera it is based on - La Bohème.

Listen in as we hear the insights of a young singer on the cusp of a musical career.

Host Vincent LoCoco, author of the novel, Saving the Music, which was just named as a Finalist for Historical Fiction in the International Book Awards, interviews historian and scholar Ronald J. Rychlak on Pope Pius XII and his role during the War.

A very hot topic with the opening of the Vatican Secret Archives in March of 2020 and seemingly new articles and books being published monthly critical of the late Pope with catchy headlines such as "bombshell" or "new evidence." 

With his legal mind, Ron lays out the case in support of Pope Pius XII with facts and through the words of Jewish leaders who were contemporaries with the Pope, newspaper articles  from that time, and the words of the leaders of the Third  Reich who responded to the pronouncements and  actions of  Pope Pius.

The interview is a fascinating look back on a very important topic.

Bryan Hymel is an internationally acclaimed opera tenor. His voice has taken him from his hometown of New Orleans to some of the greatest opera houses around the world, such as  La Scala in Milan, Covent Garden in London, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico, and the Vienna State Opera, to  name just a few.

Host Vincent LoCoco, an Italian Historical Fiction writer from New Orleans as well, discusses with Mr. Hymel his career, including his rapid rise in the business when he replaced an ailing tenor in the difficult role of Les Troyens at Covent Garden, which ultimately led to a last minute request by the Metropolitan Opera for Mr. Hymel to replace a tenor in their performance of the same opera, thus making the way for his spectacular Met debut.

Mr. Hymel also provides insights on a career in opera, and discusses the composers and singers who have influenced him throughout his career.

And as a special treat, Mr. Hymel provides a wonderful example how an opera is developed. He takes one small part of the story from Mr. LoCoco’s novel, Tempesta’s Dream,  and, with words written by Mr. LoCoco, turns a  brief scene into an aria. In the story, Isabella tells the young singer, Giovanni Tempesta, her dream to teach children one day. Bryan takes that simple scene, and makes it into a full blown aria. “It is like painting on a canvas of silence,” is how Mr. Hymel describes the process. We are then given the chance to hear his wife, Irini Kyriakidou, sing for us, “Isabella’s aria,” with Bryan playing the music on a piano. The listener will come away with a better understanding of how music can enhance the story and bring the story to life. And that is what opera does.

Here are the words to “Isabella’s Aria”:

Well, there’s not so much to tell.  I am an only child. I live with my  father and stepmother. He’s so protective of me.  I hope to teach children one day. I want to support a child’s dreams. If  they don’t have love at home, I want to show them love. Someone who cares about them.  I never saw a true love between a man and a woman. Not even between father and daughter. I want to see the carefree happiness of childhood in their eyes, the security of being  loved. These are the things I longed for as a child. I came to believe that real, true, deep expressions of love happen only in a fairytale. But you and your music, have brought to life my fairytale. You have done what I hope to do for children. I really have nothing else to say.

 

In Part 2 of his Writing Series, host Vincent LoCoco discusses the three key elements of Story Development for authors to consider: Inspiration, Setting and Plot. 

Story Development is how an author not only finds the story to tell, but how does the author take that idea and make it into a story.

Vincent LoCoco, an Historical Fiction writer, provides insights from his own writing journey as to how  an  author can best develop that story to tell.