We are planning a trip to Rome, Florence, and Venice in October. We are planning to go to an opera at a church in Rome. How should we plan to dress? We are a little concerned because we do not want to take a suit and dressy clothes. Any help you can give us will be appreciated.
Posted by
Atlanta, Ga, USA
2023 posts
We have been to the church opera in Rome and people were dressed casual/ smart casual. The church was on Via Nazionale--St Paul's or St Michael's I think. I would advise you to arrive early because the better seats go quickly. We were lucky we got decent seats for La Traviata--it was very good especially considering it was quite inexpensive for opera. Enjoy!
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
2084 posts
We attended such a peformance in Florence one evening and everyone was dressed in regular street clothes...e.g. "docker" type slacks and a regular shirt. Dockers to me is almost equivalent to formal wear but I still think the suit would be way overkill. PS We were in our ususal jeans and Crocs...no one threw old fruit or asked us to leave or seemed to care what we were wearing any more than we cared about their attire. It was a wonderful evening.
Posted by
Newbury, VT, USA
75 posts
Whenever I attend the opera or a concert while traveling, I always wear my nicest outfit I have along, either a dress or slacks and top that I reserve for such occasions. Not fancy, though, and something that travels well. A scarf or a necklace can be added to a very casual top to step it up a notch. My husband usually wears a collared shirt and nice slacks. You will see all kinds of dress in the audience. However, out of respect for the venue and the performers, IMO, jeans and a tee shirt are a bit too casual and may not be appropriate. Happy travels!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Anything that looks nicer than what you would wear to mow the lawn, and you'll be in good company. These sorts of performances are not like the ones in official opera houses. They're much more informal.