# Arena di Verona as a venue



## iloveChopin (Nov 24, 2013)

I'm interested in opinions--pro or con--from any of you who have attended a live performance at the Arena di Verona. I just browsed their summer 2014 program and read a little info on the arena itself. I realize it's outdoors. I read that it seats 22,000! What does that all do for things like acoustics, sight lines, etc.? Is it sensible to expect a really great acoustic and dramatic and musical experience in a setting like that? Or would I be going more for the "spectacle" of attending an opera in a setting like that than for the musical and dramatic aspects?

Thx.

Tom


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

I didn't attend it live, but every recorded performance from this venue leaves you with little doubt that it's acoustics are pretty bad and the stagings tend to be quite a mixture of lavishness and foolishness.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I went ten years ago, and saw three operas in three nights. You don't go so much for the performance but for the atmosphere. I saw La Traviata, Il Trovatore with a horse that galloped across the stage, and Aida with a to scale pyramid. Verdi overload. I was on the stone steps miles from the stage. As darkness falls, thousands of candles are lit, the orchestra begins and then it all begins. 

The third night, Aida, we had a rain delay. During the rain we sang the triumphal march over and over, we did the wave all around the stadium. A fantastic evening. Something I'll never forget.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

iloveChopin said:


> What does that all do for things like acoustics, sight lines, etc.?


any outdoor venue has **** acoustics (think of the wind etc.).


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## iloveChopin (Nov 24, 2013)

Yep, that's pretty much what I figured. Thanks, everyone.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

It's unique and magical at times. All those candles during the Aida prelude is a wondrous and unforgettable site. 

It's important not to take the performance too seriously. Just enjoy the experience. It's more akin to being at a baseball game really. A cushion and a plastic rain mac are recommended although can be bought on site. I tend to go for side prima gradinata for best combination of price and position.


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

I have been there 3 times (Carmen, Turandot, Aida).
The venue is fantastic, the quality of the performances so and so, the acoustics is terrible if compared with that of a good opera house. It's anyway an experience I would recommend.
Looking at the 2014 season, in order to fully appreciate this experience I'd suggest to go to see an opera like Aida or Turandot, where the staging is usually monumental and imposing (instead of Madama Butterfly or un Ballo in Maschera for instance), and take with you a good pair of binoculars...


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## MattExcell (Jun 15, 2011)

Only been once, but I thought it was fantastic!

There are, however some major caveats:
- Acoustics: not as bad as some have made out (we went on a hot dry night) and all singers could be heard with clear diction, but it's equally not the sound you would get in a smaller indoor opera house.
- Audience noise: the guide books will tell you this. It's very much opera for the masses and there was a buzz of quiet, but still audible audience noise throughout.
- No surtitles: this didn't bother me so much (I knew the opera plot and some key dialogue anyway), but my wife hated it. It's stupid as well - a massive percentage of the audience won't be native language speakers and it would be easy to position some sub-titling across the front of the VAST stage in a few different languages.
- Pick the production you see carefully: even though I had a great time, an intimate thing like Barber of Seville didn't really lend itself to such a vast stage. Go for one of the epics like Aida or Nabucco instead, IMO


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## Bardamu (Dec 12, 2011)

It's more about the spectacle than the quality of the acoustic (that's lacking).
Imagine it as Opera for a mass of tourists.

Near the Arena there is the Teatro Filarmonico where it's hold the autumn/winter Opera season, last week I went there to see L'italiana in Algeri.


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