Profiles

Picture this: You grow up dreaming of becoming an opera singer, but your Italian parents have other ideas — drastic ones — that start with a one-way trip to a convent. “My father said, ‘No daughter of mine is going out and singing in a heavily male atmosphere,'” recalls M. Stella Weber. My parents were threatening to send me to Italy to become a nun. I was so scared since my mother had a cousin who was a nun. I thought my goose was cooked.” Instead, Weber took the music in her voice and channeled it into the Italian language, …

Many teachers will tell you that positive feedback is a waiting game: You may never know whether you’re having any impact until a student submits a major paper or delivers an important presentation. But for Laura Longano Cimmarrusti, each and every day provides her with inspiration. She loves how she gets to hear her students speak Italian in every class, and thus track their progress over the days and weeks. That, she adds, keeps her focused on doing her very best for the pupils of Notre Dame College Prep in north suburban Niles. “This is my second year at this …

Having just turned 50 in June, Phil Angotti’s at an age where most rockers call it a day. But look at Angotti’s calendar and you’ll see this Southeast Side native is busier than ever. He’s fronting the reunited pop band Material Issue (now dubbed “Material Reissue”), filling in for the late Jim Ellison. His new disc, “People and Places,” showcases his affection for the catchy, melodic rock he loves. And he still plays for enthusiastic audiences when he’s not working at his Wicker Park music store, Avenue N Guitars. “As you get older you get more sentimental, and you’re happy …

Native Italian Chiara Mangiameli has established herself a leader in Chicago’s dance scene, which might not seem surprising given how Italians throw themselves wholeheartedly at anything artistic. But her choice of genre is anything but typical, at least for someone born and raised in Milan: She’s dedicating her life and career to mastering flamenco dance. “Every time I’ve visited Seville, Spain to study, I’ve felt very comfortable and at home,” says Mangiameli, who today runs her own dance studio in the Logan Square neighborhood. “Italians and Spaniards seem to share cultural similarities that make them compatible. I felt an affinity …

While many parents chalk up an afternoon in front of the television as adequate entertainment for their kids, Kenny Haas is a throwback to the days of 1960s variety shows. And when he calls himself “a one- man Ed Sullivan Show,” take heed. Known to his legions of young fans as the Mayor of Storyville, he sings, writes songs and stories, draws, and does voice impersonations and ventriloquism. That might make him the most multi-faceted children’s performer in the Chicago area. Not bad for a guy who, in his day job as an advertising copywriter, won 80 awards in the …

As a Chicago native with a lifelong interest in the arts, Elysabeth Alfano has seemingly done it all: She’s run a glass art gallery and an accessories design company; she’s taught “Marketing on a Shoestring” at Columbia College; and she turned her TV show idea into the reality that is “Fear No ART Chicago,” which airs on WTTW Ch. 11. To say Alfano conjured the show from the ether wouldn’t be an exaggeration. The journey involved lots of cold calling to television networks; even when WTTW gave a green light, they couldn’t offer any funding. So Alfano aggressively courted her …

While most dads in the late 1950s ranted and raved against rock ‘n’ roll, Jim Tullio had the unique situation of living under the roof of an accomplished jazz drummer. So when Tullio and his older brother came home with records by Elvis, Bill Haley and Buddy Holly, their old man Nicholas responded like a card sharp upping the ante. “My dad bought a record, put it down on the table and said, ‘This is what all these guys are trying to do,'” Tullio recalls. “It was by Little Willie John, the guy who wrote ‘Fever.’ Back then it was …

Some kids get picked to decorate the hallways of their school with murals. Then there’s Esther Roby, who designed an intricate tile mosaic for her school in Rome during her formative years. No juvenile trifle this: Roby’s “Venere of Botticelli” still stands stands to this day as a testament to this native ItalianÍs artistic passion. “It was amazing growing up in Rome,” says Roby, 55, who now calls Geneva, Ill., home. “Rome is a magical town with so much energy, history and delicious food. And loving the arts, I was able to go see the most incredible masterpieces from renowned …

You might expect that after graduating the University of Chicago this past spring, Michael Guido would put his high-powered B.A. in Biology to work on the job front. And while that’s still a distinct possibility, Guido distinguished himself at the U. of C. as a top comic talent in the Off-Off Campus improv group, a forerunner of the famed Second City. Given his academic track, no one could’ve imagined the younger Michael turning into a comedy talent, as he discovered improv as an incoming freshman. “I first tried out my second day in college,” the younger Guido recalls. “I’ve always …

When you head a vocal ensemble that bears your name, the responsibility to keep the musical selection and performances fresh and engaging takes on added significance. But for Michael Teolis, leading the 30-member Michael Teolis Singers is a labor of joy — one with clear connections to his Italian upbringing. Teolis, 60, traces his Neapolitan roots on his father’s side to a small village near San Clemente called Campo Galluccio in the province of Caserta. (His mother is of Polish, Scotch, English and Irish heritage.) And he recalls growing up with his paternal grandmother, who’d sing in Italian around the …