Che Meraviglia!

by Joan

I have never watched the show “The Voice” in America, let alone in Italy. But when I first saw a link on Twitter that Cristina Scuccia, a 25-year-old Italian nun, won this year, I had to click through. After watching several clips of her singing various songs, I found the first time she performed for the judges, when they had their backs turned to her. She’s singing the Alicia Keys song, “No One.” (Interesting, another song by Alicia Keys inspired me to write a post several years ago).

I have watched the clip of Cristina Scuccia no less than 5 times, and have watched her sing other songs as well. It was truly uplifting to see the smiles and nods from the judges when they first hear her lovely voice and then their shock and joy when they turn to see she is a nun. Also lovely to see her smiling sister nuns waiting in the wings. One of the judges, Italian rapper J-Ax, tears up (and so do I – every time). Brava! they shout.

After all the judges critique her singing (each proclaims her phenomenal, I surmise), she picks one judge (no surprise, J-Ax) to work with her for the rest of the contest. To me, what makes watching so special (aside from the performance, of course) is that the dialogue is in Italian. Although I know a few phrases here and there, I don’t speak the language. On one hand, I’d like to translate the clip, but on the other, it is so special in her native language, I’m inclined to leave the words to my imagination. You don't need to speak Italian to see J-Ax is beyond thrilled when he runs up on stage and picks her up in a victory twirl.

When writing The Lost Legacy of Gabriel Tucci, I worried that my twenty-something nun, Gianna Tucci, would be too modern or too young to be believable. But what a lovely treat to see this Cristina Scuccia, a close approximation to how I picture my Gianna.

I don’t sing (better for all of you, trust me!), but as someone who puts her writing out there in hopes of getting noticed, I marvel at the courage it must have taken her to get that far. First to seek permission (if necessary) from her order, then go to the audition and finally sing in front of the world. She LOVES to sing, that much is clear. She has rhythm, spirit, joy, and, yes, an angelic voice.

So I say to you, whatever your artistic inclination, have the courage to share it with the world!

If you want to read more about Cristina, here’s an article The New York Times ran after her first time on the show.