{"id":682,"date":"2011-06-06T08:00:30","date_gmt":"2011-06-06T07:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/walks.friday.ie\/?p=682"},"modified":"2023-04-13T16:38:17","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T15:38:17","slug":"attending-opera-in-the-arena-of-verona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/attending-opera-in-the-arena-of-verona","title":{"rendered":"Attending an Opera in the Arena of Verona"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the 89th year in a row, opera returns to Verona’s ancient arena. And if you can, go. Even if you’re more “top 40” than “Verdi.”<\/p>\n

The setting of the arena is what makes the opera festival so special. Built in 30 A.D., Verona’s arena originally served as a kind of Colosseum. Here was where gladiators fought to the death before the eyes of 30,000 spectators. After the Empire fell, the arena became the scene of jousts, tournaments, and trials. And, like Rome’s Colosseum, Verona’s arena became a quarry. Between the pesky habit of locals to remove materials, and Italy’s predisposition to earthquakes, the arena today isn’t exactly what it would have been in ancient times. But it’s not too far off — and while it’s seen better days, it’s definitely not a ruin.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Verona’s ancient arena, site of its world-famous opera<\/p><\/div>\n

Ever since 1913, the arena has served a new purpose: as the stage for opera performances.<\/p>\n

Today, the arena’s lauded as one of the best places to see outdoor opera in the world. That’s not just because it’s atmospheric. It’s also because of the acoustics. One of the toughest things with outdoor performances is the lack of a theater’s usual sound system, but because the arena’s acoustics are so excellent, it works. (That said, of course, the better your seat, the better the sound. And some who have seen the opera from the “cheap seats” have complained they could hear hardly anything).<\/p>\n

This year, the opera season kicks off on June 17 with La Traviata. <\/em>Along with La Traviata, Aida, The Barber of Sevilla, Nabucco, <\/em>and La Boheme <\/em>will be performed throughout the summer (the last performance is September 2). The cheapest tickets are just \u20ac21 for the unnumbered stone seats at the very top (bring your binoculars… and come early!); for the best seats in the house, expect to pay up to \u20ac198. To book tickets, go to www.arena.it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One more thing: You’re not supposed to take flash photos in the arena, but, of course, everyone does. This can make the show seem like it’s lit by strobe lights… something that, at best, can take a few minutes to get used to. So do your companions a favor: If you have to take a picture, turn off the flash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the 89th year in a row, opera returns to Verona’s ancient arena. And if you can, go. Even if you’re more “top 40” than “Verdi.” The setting of the arena is what makes the opera festival so special. Built in 30 A.D., Verona’s arena originally served as a kind of Colosseum. Here was where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[90],"ppma_author":[155],"class_list":["post-682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-culture","tag-verona"],"authors":[{"term_id":155,"user_id":3,"is_guest":0,"slug":"walksofitaly","display_name":"Walks of Italy","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9f4cd4dd0c5ab4b4bae57f3500298e23?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog","last_name":"of Italy","first_name":"Walks","job_title":"","description":"Walks began life as the passion project of two guys with one simple mission: To share their love for, and knowledge of, the city of Rome. Since then, Walks has grown into a team of over 100 ground staff and at any time up to 600 guides, operating across 13 of the world\u2019s most exciting cities (and counting!)\r\n\r\nToday we provide some of the most exclusive and beautifully designed small group tours in the industry through Italy-based Walks of Italy and around the world at Walks, where we offer special access to some of the world\u2019s most iconic landmarks and attractions as well as unique cultural experiences."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17904,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682\/revisions\/17904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}