Have you ever wondered about the offstage world of a professional musician? Every month in this column, bluegrass now will provide a glimpse into the lives of some of your favorite bluegrass stars. To see captions, just move your cursor over the photos!

Sophia Loren.

When Kathy Chiavola is asked what words her friends might use to describe her, this is the answer she produces. It is immediately followed by peals of laughter. She's 51, but looks at least a decade younger; she has the dark eyes and hair, the full lips, the curves of the legendary Roman actress. Musical cascades of pure joy punctuate her conversation. They are spontaneous and utterly unselfconscious.

Joy like this is often the product of great adversity, and this is true in Kathy's case. In a span of just a few short years, she endured the loss of a dear friend, bassist Roy Huskey, Jr., and her beloved partner in life and music, fiddler Randy Howard.

“Randy and Roy were such an intimate part of my heart,” she says. “I took a year off and lived on borrowed money. I was not able to sing. I needed that year of recovery to begin to think about singing again.” She managed to get though the process, she adds, with a terrific therapist, who helped her navigate the peaks and valleys of her grief.

When she found her voice again, Kathy resumed work on From Where I Stand, a project she'd started with Randy and Roy. Released in 2002, the collection includes contributions from folks like Carlos Aonzo, John Cowan, David Grier, and Larry Perkins. It is a rich and stunningly personal musical tribute. “I went back and finished it with the songs we would have done. That was rough,” she says quietly. “That was tough.”

It's now been four years since Randy passed away, and Kathy says she finally feels whole again. Her days are filled with activities that revolve around music and her various pastimes. “I love cooking, and I love gardening, and I love people!” she enthuses. She often gives dinner parties for a half-dozen friends at a time, elaborate meals made with fresh herbs from her garden. “I have basil, dill, mint and stuff like that. And I have many friends with gardens. Bill VornDick [Nashville engineering legend who has recorded Alison Krauss, Bela Fleck and many more] gives me sage and rosemary!”

Though Kathy enjoys the occasional feast, most of the time her diet is fairly simple. “Your voice is not separate from your body; it's part of it, and your overall health is crucial to the health of your voice. I wanna sing at least as long as Bill Monroe did!” She hikes regularly at nearby Radnor Lake, which she calls one of the most beautiful places in the world; her walking partner is a native Italian. “We're referred to as the Radnor Mafia!” she giggles.

A respected voice instructor, Kathy teaches at Belmont University and in her own private studio at her Nashville home. “I used to sing opera. I sang a lot of Mozart and Rossini roles. One of my very favorites was the role of Charlotte in Werther [an opera by 19th century French composer Jules Massenet]. Challenging, but stupendously gorgeous!”

Kathy considers herself an activist, and has organized, and participated in, many benefit concerts. She regularly visits Websites promoting awareness of causes like breast cancer, pet advocacy, and rainforest preservation. “I'm curious about so many things in the world! I'm on a million different sites. I answer about 30 e-mails a day-business stuff from all over the world, and fans, and friends.”

And other flamenco lovers. That's right: Kathy Chiavola loves flamenco music. “No, I am berserk over flamenco music!” she says reverently. “It's just extraordinary, a revelation.” A year ago, she brought legendary Spanish Gypsy guitarist Chuscales to Nashville's Station Inn, where he performed with fiddler Stuart Duncan and bassist Gene Libbea. Shortly, Kathy hopes to begin work on an album of original material, including a couple of flamenco-influenced tunes.

In spite of her losses, Kathy never feels alone. “Randy communicated to me, I believe, through all these owl appearances in my life after he died,” she says. (An account of those experiences appears in the liner notes of From Where I Stand.) “Sometimes these things can be so subtle, you miss them. The most important lesson I've learned is that death cannot sever love. Love goes on.”

Visit Kathy online at www.KathyChiavola.com.

From the Kitchen of Kathy Chiavola:
Cassata alla Siciliana

Ingredients:

A fresh pound cake about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide
1 pound ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons orange flavored liqueur
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped mixed candied fruit
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

With a sharp, serrated knife, slice the end crusts off the pound cake and level the top if it is rounded. Cut the cake horizontally into 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick slabs. Rub the ricotta through a coarse sieve into a bowl with a wooden spoon and beat it with a rotary or electric beater until it is smooth.

Beating constantly, add the cream, sugar and liqueur. With a rubber spatula, fold in the chopped candied fruit and chocolate. Center the bottom slab of the cake on a flat plate and spread it generously with the ricotta mixture. Carefully place another slab of cake on top, keeping sides and ends even, and spread with more ricotta. Repeat until all the cake slabs are reassembled and the filling has been used up--ending with a plain slice of cake on top. Gently press the loaf together to make it as compact as possible. Do not worry if it feels wobbly; chilling firms the loaf. Refrigerate the cassata for about 2 hours, or until the ricotta is firm.

Frosting:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut in small pieces
3/4 cup strong black coffee or espresso
1/2 pound unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and thoroughly chilled

Melt 12 ounces of chocolate with the coffee in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until the chocolate has completely dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and beat in the chilled butter, 1 piece at a time. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth. Then chill this frosting until it thickens to spreading consistency. With a small metal spatula, spread the frosting evenly over the top, sides and ends of the cassata swirling it as decoratively as you can. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, wax paper or aluminum foil and let the cassata “ripen” in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before serving it.