Belloni Heightens Impact of Italian Song, Dance

Mention the words “music” and “Italy” in the same sentence and the next word that comes to mind for most people is “opera,” followed by the names Monteverdi, Rossini, Verdi and Puccini. But Italy has its traditional music as well, a rich subliminal flow that has been, and continues to be, ever present in city streets and village squares, at weddings and in taverns.

Alessandra Belloni, a singer, dancer and tambourine virtuoso, spent last week at a variety of venues around the Southland making a convincing case for the remarkable diversity of this music. Appearing at percussion clinics, leading workshops and seminars at UCLA, discussing the ethnomusicology of Italy’s traditional culture, and performing the music from her stunning new album, “Tarantata: Dance of the Ancient Spider,” she offered an intellectual rationale for the music as well as an engaging opportunity to experience its emotional impact.

On Saturday night at Luna Park--not, unfortunately, the ideal arena for her music--she made the best of a small cluttered stage and distracting noise from the club’s other areas. A small woman with a wild mane of black hair and an enormously powerful presence, Belloni sang and danced with a concentrated intensity that quickly transformed her surroundings. Her material included songs from Calabria, Sardinia, and Brazil--the last linking Bahia’s Yemanja goddess with Italy’s Madonna. She demonstrated her articulate skill with various tambourines, and in a climactic closer, she sang, danced and played the whirling, ecstatic, trance-like music of the traditional tarantella.

It was a remarkable performance, enhanced by a group of superb accompanying musicians--flutist/saxophonist Steve Gorn, violinist Joe Deninzon (who joined Belloni in dancing the tarantella) and guitarist-lutist John La Barbera. Belloni deserves a repeat Southland performance at a venue--perhaps Royce Hall--that would allow a full exposition of her compellingly entertaining and informative view of Italian/Mediterranean music.