An opera in an Amphitheatre? Don’t mind if we do!
It was way too hot for climbing around Lake Garda. Looking for other things to do, I found we weren’t that far from the city of Verona. Not only being the city of Romeo and Juliet, it also has one of the best-preserved amphitheatres around. After a quick search it also turned out that they perform Operas there, we booked tickets for Nabucco and headed off.
The drive through Arco to Verona showed how much of a tourist trap this area is, not our cup of tea at all. We managed to find a quiet spot to have a final dip in Lake Garda with a spectacular backdrop of the mountains. I can imagine that this would be a great holiday spot when the kids are back at school, September maybe.
We parked up right in the middle of Verona. The opera was due to finish at midnight and we didn’t want to be traipsing for miles at that time of night. A short walk and we were outside the amphitheatre. More details on the venue here.
It’s an impressive building, although slightly crumbling in places. We heading in to one of the modern booths nestled in the arches to collect our tickets before heading for a celebratory meal out (I’d just accepted a new job!).
Full of pizza and beer it was time for the main event. We’d bought the cheap seats so no dress code for us. The two thousand year old limestone steps to get up to the arena are amazingly smooth.
We chose our perch for the three and a half hour show. It was interesting to see the band set up and watch the tech guys make the final touches to the elaborate sets.
It was an interesting evening watching the Opera. Neither of us have watched a show before and it was mesmerising to see the power of their voices carried around the Amphitheatre without digital amplification. Although we had no real idea what was going on it was a great evening.
Sorry for the images, no camera’s allowed so some sneaky phone shots will have to suffice. You can read the synopsys and learn more about the show here and see the official photos here.
