I'd love to see an Opera in Venice, Florence or Rome

As you have noticed most of the venues close for the month of August.

However both Teatro alla Scala in Milan and Teatro la Fenice in Venice have productions in the first week in September.

http://www.teatrolafenice.it/dettaglio_spettacolo.php?IDSpettacolo=285

http://www.teatroallascala.org/en/stagioni/index.html?anno=2009&mese=09

Hi Marie,
I agree that Verona would be a wonderful destination for opera--here's the website: http://www.arena.it/en-US/HOMEen.html

Sharon

Marie, consider perhaps the opera at the Arena in Verona. The last night for the season will be the end of August. For Rome, look at http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/rome/entertainment.html
There is also a church in Via Nazionale, St Pauls Within the Walls (at or opposite no. 14)which produces operatic concerts, or whole operas. In summer, there are operatic productions at the Terme di Caracalla. A Google or Yahoo search will provide many links. Enjoy.

We went to a wonderful shoestring production of La Boheme in Venice, at San Giovanni Evangelista church. It was done by members of the chorus of Teatro La Fenice, Venice's main opera house. The soprano in particular was out of this world. And it was VERY affordable. There is no shortage of these sorts of productions and concerts.

Marie, I think the Milan advice you were offered is spot on! La Scala is considered by many to be one of the top 3 (if not the #1) opera houses in the world. It's a quick, comfortable 3hr train ride from Venice, and Il Duomo, Milan's Catherdal, the Galleria, and the square are worth seeing. If you really want to see an Opera, Milan (or Vienna, wink) would be the way to go. :)

Just saw your note on Paris. Paris is worth going to as well. It has an entire "Opera District", and the building is great. In early September, Milan will have Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky) - less performed, but still one of the main stays. Perhaps not specfically familiar, but most American's dig Thchiakovsky's writing. Paris will have Aida (Verdi). Most people will recognize a tune or two from this (from tv, movies, etc), and is your classic, powerful traditional Italian Opera. I think either of them would be great choices.

I'm not even an opera fan but there are two on my wish list. First is La Scala in Milan and the second is an outdoor performance in the Roman ampitheater in Verona.

If you have a chance for either of those, take advantage of it.

Look at the webpage for the Opera Production companies in each town for more info. Before we went to Moscow I found the schedule of events and ticket costs for the Bolshoi. That made it easier to plan.

If you don't know the name of the company, do a search for "Rome opera". Or any other city.

You can learn more about any opera house you want to visit by reading the webpage.

We very much enjoyed La Traviata at St Pauls on via Nazionale as another poster mentioned. It was about $25 euros each. In Venice we went to Barber of Seville which was a minor production performed in an old palace by candlelight--again, not expensive and hotels in Venice have the info on this. Try ampconcerts.com for performances in churches in Paris. At certain times it is possible to be lucky enough to attend a concert at St Chappelle.

We have gone to the theater in Rome, which was great fun. We saw Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Barefoot in the Park. It was in Italian of course but knowing both the story and the music it was not a problem.

There are lots of concerts at churches. I din't see any opera, but we caught an organ concert at the Duomo in Florence and another concert in Florence in a small church. Most churches post their concert schedules by the door and are free or low cost. We didn't plan to do this, but it was a wonderful way to spend the evening. Most concerts don't start until about 9:30.