The Verona Opera Festival is one of the most prestigious opera events in the world. Each summer it attracts hundreds of thousands of people. With Covid still ruling, this year it’s mostly Europeans. The festival is traditionally held in the almost 2000 years old Roman amphitheatre known as ‘Arena di Verona’, which is located in the heart of this Northern Italian city. The festival started in August 1913 with a performance of Aida in commemoration of the centenary of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth. To this date, Aida is the most performed opera at the Verona Opera Festival. The very first festival performances immediately stood apart with their new stenographic style. Instead of using the typical for the era flat-painted decors, three-dimensional stage sets were developed to really transport the spectator into the heart of the action. For some of the earliest performances live elephants and camels were brought on stage and once a small lake was created to conjure water reflections of the Nile in Aida.
Some of the world’s most famous opera singers have graced the stage of the Verona Opera Festival. For example, Maria Callas was a regular between 1947 and 1954.
This year the participation of great couples on stage as well as in life has been confirmed, from Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov, who, following the extraordinary experience in 2019, now return for three performances of Turandot, to Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak, together for a very rare performance in both roles of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci. Also to be remembered is the debut of Jonas Kaufman’s and the welcome return of stars Placido Domingo and Roberto Bolle.
As much as we would like to see them all, we are here to tick off my mom’s bucket list, so we are here to see Anne Netrebko in Turandot. I’m so excited….it is about to begin.
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