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The Verona Arena, 99 years from the first edition [ Author Michael Daniel Watson ] [ From category THE Articles ] [ Subcategory OperaRail 2012 ] [ Subcategory II Arena din Verona ] [ Translator Catalina Popescu ] [ Article date: 2012-07-27 ] [ From city Verona ] [ Country Italia ]   Tradition, force, majesty. These are only three from the tens of words that can describe the annual Festival held by the Verona Arena which has come, behold, at its 99’th year. And, just like a photo can say more than 1000 words, a show seen at the Verona Arena “says" more than 1000 articles that can only depict a single idea: an arrow indicating “towards the Arena"! Built in the first century A.D., the Arena was uses for the gladiators’ fights, tourneys, tours, but also as a market place. The Verona Arena is one of the best preserved amphitheatres in the world (the third after the Rome Amphitheatre and El Jem Tunisia). Starting with the XVIIIth century, the Roman Arena was used to stage plays, but from 1913 it is an inimitable and steady centre for various cultural activities, such as opera, ballet and theatrical plays with big Italian and international artists. Greater in size and importance than the Verona Arena is only "Colosseo", in Rome. It has a 138, 77 m on 109, 52 m elliptical plane at the exterior, with a 73, 68 m on 44, 43 m interior platform. As one of the biggest constructions in the world, the Roman Arena can host, at present, over 15.000 people in the same time. In antiquity, the amphitheatre could host over 30.000 spectators, but today, it is only a part from the original structure because of an earthquake from 1117 that partially destroyed the building (including the original façade, made of white and pink Valpolicella chalk). For this year, the organisers of the summer annual opera Festival at the Verona Arena prepared 6 shows, in different distributions: "Aida" by Giuseppe Verdi - present in almost each season, "Turandot" and "Tosca" by Giacomo Puccini, "Don Giovanni" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "Carmen" by Georges Bizet and, of course, "Romeo and Juliet" by Charles Gounot, Verona is the city of the eternal famous lovers, isn’t it? Before the show, the spectators light candles in the tribunes, creating the feeling of a feast (which each show actually is), but also of the spectator taking part, somehow, in the performance on the scene. There are shows where small actions happen among the spectators, but the huge scene of the Arena offers the organisers the possibility to “create" two smaller, secondary scenes, to the right and to the left of the main one, scenes that are closer to the spectators and on which less significant events take place. The props are the strength of the shows at the Verona Arena. Always imposing, the vast space of the Roman amphitheatre is fully exploited by the organisers, as sometimes, besides the main scene and the two smaller lateral scenes the backstage tribunes are an integral part of the props, as in "Aida", when they are populated with two rows of soldiers holding lit torches, or in "Tosca", where the big cannon announces Angelotti’s escape. The voices, too, are good or very good. Even if not always very good, I have never heard a voice that I could call bad. A big problem is, of course, the large space, that requires a good volume and an intense training in advance, but almost all the singers have passed the challenge successfully. After all, an opera show at the Verona Arena is unforgettable and it is recommendable even for the less fanatic lovers of this music genre, not to mention the incorrigible music lovers. The experience is memorable and, if the financial means are not very big, the Verona Arena should still be for them, but not only, what Mecca is for the Arab world, namely an experience had at least once in a lifetime!

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30-09-2024: Aida storica 1913
"Aida" in Verona 100 + 1. A hundred emotions plus one, yours!

Arena di Verona, the most Italian place on Earth!

These are the slogans through which Arena di Verona has chosen this year, 2024, to promote the Opera Festiva
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[ Author Michael Daniel Watson ]
From category THE Articles

21-09-2024: Aida shines brightly at the Arena di Verona
The Arena di Verona is also presenting a modern version of Aida, in addition to the old but wonderful version from 1913. And it looks something like this!

The stage is tilted, and the floor is made of glass. In the center, a giant hand
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[ Author Michael Daniel Watson ]
From category THE Articles

11-09-2024: Tosca a Verona 2024
Mario`s painting is huge, but... it`s on the floor, lying on its side. Mario doesn`t actually paint it, but "works" on some sketches. In the center of the stage you can see some huge shapes/objects, covered with black cloths. There are also two canno
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[ Author Michael Daniel Watson ]
From category THE Articles

01-09-2024: “La boheme� at Arena di Verona
Arena di Verona. We arrive. We park. We get off. We take a few pictures with the Arena in the background, then ... a heavy rain starts! We take shelter under a tree. :-) I don`t think the show is happening anymore, but we can`t leave either, so we ju
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[ Author Michael Daniel Watson ]
From category THE Articles

20-12-2023: Spoletta, symbol of Hungarian anti-communist resistance
Budapest Opera House was inaugurated in 1884 to be a competition for Vienna StaatsOper. It is localised in the center of the hungarian capital, just a few minutes behind St. Stefan cathedral, the bigest church of the city. In 2022 is was open again a
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[ Author Michael Daniel Watson ]
From category THE Articles

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