Going to an opera

When will you be there? There is an opera season and many months without opera. Also, remember that there are no supertitles in English to clue you in to what they're singing. You might want to purchase a libretto translation in advance.

Here are a couple of links for research. http://www.venice-opera.com/ http://www.classictic.com/en http://www.operaroma.it/ http://www.arena.it/en-US/HOMEen.html Verona is close to Venice. Seeing an opera in that arena is one of my dreams, and I'd think well-worth a night there.

Great links - thanks. We will be in Italy 4/4-19. Suggestions on how to dress?

The Verona opera season is a summer season since it's outdoors. Doesn't start until June. Your dates for Rome won't work, sadly, as they fall between two operas. Same with La Fenice in Venice, with a gap from 3/11 to 4/21. As for dress, you'll see all sorts of clothing, including jeans with jackets (no tie) for men.

You might enjoy a tour of La Fenice in Venice. I took the tour and loved it. I believe they open at 10am and it is an audio self guided tour so you can spend as much time as you like. The morning I was there (in September) there was a rehersal which I enjoyed. I think there is a discount for
seniors.

Regretably you'll miss the actual seasons, but there are many classical concerts all year 'round.

We've been fortunate to see Opera in the arena in Verona, at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, the Opera House in Rome... and many other, smaller venues. As mentioned, you'll miss many "seasonal" events - especially the outdoor events. Dress is all across the board. Italians tend to "dress up;" men often in business suits - with or without a tie. Teatro alla Scala was by far the best-dressed crowd, but it's also inside and a tough ticket. When we lived in ATL, we were season-ticket holders in the Opera "scene" and I often wore a tux when we headed to dinner and the opera. You won't see that too often in Europe! Our first show 15+ years ago I was in a business suit (London) and we were severely overdressed. Everyone else was casual and in jeans it seemed. Italy is a little higher on the "dress-up" scale but you'd be fine in slacks and open collar. Depending on the venue and the opera, tickets are sold out quickly (Teatro alla Scala) or available on the very day (we got Verona tickets twice on the same day). La Scala does sell any 'last-minute" tickets at huge discounted prices on the day of the opera but frankly there are usually few available - and perhaps not the best seating locations. There are many "opera shows" available - seems like Opera's greatest hits - but if you're a casual attendee they'll give you some exposure. Sometimes the costumes are better than the arias! Buy hey, you're in Italy ... listening to Puccini!

There are lots of other opportunities for a similar experience, though, if you look for them. In May 2008, we went to a shoestring budget production of La Boheme at the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice. website here We absolutely loved it. The soprano could have been on the stage of the Met, she was so good. The cast was made up of chorus members from La Fenice. So there are opportunities.

Agree, there are opera opportunities other than those in the fabulous opera houses. In Rome we enjoyed LaTraviata in a church on Via Nazionale-cost was around 30 euros. We found an opera in Venice (Barber of Seville) in an old mansion. Most hotels in Venice can provide information on these operas. Both were really enjoyable.

You might look at concertoclassico.info for Florence.