We all know that Italy and opera is a match made in heaven and the Verona opera festival is the pinnacle of this beautiful marriage. Before Corona, hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world flock to Verona in Northern Italy each summer in order to enjoy an outstanding opera performance under the stars in the city’s Roman Arena. This year, my mom and I were one of them.
Yesterday, we saw the opera Turandot and I’m still buzzing with excitement. Attending the Verona Opera Festival exceeded all our expectations. So, if you ever wonder if you should give it a try, I can only emphatically tell you: Do it! And do it now! No matter if you are a fine ‘conaisseur’ of opera or a complete novice to the scene, seeing an opera at Arena di Verona may become one of your most cherished memories of Italy. Just like it happened to us.
There was definitively something magical in listening to Puccini’s Nessus Dorma soar up the sky from the stage with a spectacularly lavish stage set. A large orange moon had made its dramatic appearance in the night sky just moments before. As the iconic aria declaring triumph and love reached its victorious point, the conductor energetically extracted the very best crescendo from the orchestra and then the audience dissolved in a loud applause and shouts of ‘Bravo, Maestro’
I felt the goosebumps flowing down my spine and just as Yusuf Eyvazov (Anna’s husband for real), the conductor and the orchestra launched into an encore of the iconic piece, I had that unique feeling of being part of something special. Something exceptional and outstanding that made me forget about the small problems of my daily life and lifted my spirit sparkling a ‘corona’ forgotten desire to savour the moment to turn this mortal, often baffling existence into an inspiring achievement.
If Calaf was avoiding his imminent victory on stage, alongside I was savouring the potential of triumph and had my dreams returned to me. The music, the singing, the energy on stage made it possible for me to dream again. And this is the beauty of art which the Verona Opera Festival is one of the best expressions of. And I believe that all 3000 spectators felt it, even with the obligatory FFP2 masks and the respectable distances.
Franco Zeffirelli’s sumptuous production of Puccini’s late masterpiece was replaced by smart technology, Because of Covid, it was not allowed to change the sets all the time. But smart technology and opera superstar Anna Netrebko filled the Arena with the atmosphere of ancient Peking. Hundreds of choir artists and dancers filled up the Arena (instead of the stage – again because of the Covid rules) creating in mere seconds the illusion that we were at a traditional market square in china some hundreds of years ago. It was all so splendid, so well thought-out and so effortless. Nothing was left to chance and yet it all looked so natural and so unrehearsed like it was happening there and then for the very first time. The large screens showing the lyrics in both Italian and English certainly helped a lot to follow the action. Soon, I could feel the pain of the ice-cold princess Turandot struggling to find her place in a male-dominated world by refusing to be treated as a marriage commodity, thus imposing impossible to solve riddles to any potential suitor.
Unrequited love, gender power battles, beheadings, emotions running high, dramatic singing, lavish costumes, splendid decors – the stage kept my full attention for hours on end. Ping, Pang and Pong – Turandot’s ministers – providing a welcome comic relief among all the suffering and bloodthirsty threats. It was passionate, inspiring, tragic and soul-uplifting all at the same time.
Despite the corona rules (FFP2 obligatory masks, Corona pass, 1 chair in between, temperature check), everything was so serene and people were all very respectful and just so happy to be there. The loud applause at the end was the appreciation of all of us being able to witness opera ‘live’ again.
It has been a beautiful evening. Another memory to cherish for a lifetime.
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