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New Nabucco at Verona Arena [ Author Michael Daniel Watson ] [ From category THE Articles ] [ Subcategory Arena din Verona ] [ Subcategory II Nabucco ] [ Article date: 2017-07-15 ] [ From city Verona ] [ Country Italia ]   The Verona Arena Summer Opera Festival prepared for this year 5 regular performances and a few unique nights. The regular titles are "Aida" by Giussepe Verdi, presented in two versions, one modern, one classical, "Rigoletto" and "Nabucco", also by il grande italiano Giussepe Verdi, "Madama Butterfly" and "Tosca" by Giacomo Puccini. As unique nights, "Antologia de la Zarzuela" (with Placido Domingo), `Roberto Bolle and friends" (ballet gala) and "The 9th Beethoven Symphony". The only new performance is "Nabucco", all the other productions being presented in the precedents years, so there it was our curiosity. The performance starts with a big white-lightgray building in the center of the scene and any italian or any opera fan can recognise that as Teatro alla Scala from Milano, the pearl of the crown between opera houses all over the world. A lot of soldiers fills the scene, they fight with the domestic population and, after a while, longer or less, depending of each one, you realise that the subject was moved in rissorgimento time (kind of 1842, when Verdi composed the opera! ), when the actual Italy was divided into many states and Austrian Empire had the foot on the neck of many of them, specialy on the northest. It was the time when even the composer of "Nabucco", Giussepe Verdi, fought for the liberation and union of Italy and his name was transformed by the population in a slogan, the letters of his name gaining the signification "Vittorio Emanuele, Il Re d`Italia"! So, Verdi thought at italiens are the jews and austrians are the assirians and Arena di Verona created this production of "Nabucco" to put "on screen" exactly this ideas! And they made it pretty well, they fit the action of the opera with the real facts of rissorgimento as much as is possible. The most beautiful part was "Va, pensiero! " Not only because is one of the most beautiful choirs, but because it has a real scenary. During a regular assembly, the jews are coming slowly in front of the scene and sing. Now, there are three parts. First, the lodges from "La Scala", ocupied by italiens. Second, the ground floor, where are the austrians, who took the best places, as they are the occupants. Third, the stage of "La Scala", where the jews from classical "Nabucco" opera start to sing "Va, pensiero! " All the spectators are listening, but, at "Oh, mia patria, si bella e perduta! " ("Oh, my country, so beautiful and lost! "), the italiens from lodges start powerful to sing! The austrians are intrigated, most of them are ridding up from their sits and look threatening to italiens, but these are continuing to sing and more, they start to make threatening moves by hands to the austrians! Wonderful scenary, especially for the italien spectators of the Arena! The voices was most of them very good. Great interpretation of the Romanian mezzo-soprano Carmen Topciu (Fenena), also Rebeka Lokar (Abigail), Rafał Siwek (Zaccaria) and Mikheil Sheshaberidze (Ismael) as well. Only Leonardo L�pez Linares (Nabucco) was not enough loud sometimes, but he fulfilled to succed after a few time. Also the conductor "played" the orchestra a little bit faster in the first part, but they found a common rhythm in the second half. So, if you are italian, you must see this production and feel proud about the italian resistance under the domination of Austrian Empire, if not, you can see and learn a little bit about rissorgimento. And see it with your own eyes. Viva V.E.R.D.I.!

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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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