Opera in the open

I still feel tingly all over when I recall 'Aida' under the stars in Verona, writes MAURA PRENDERGAST

I HAVE WANTED to go to the opera in Verona ever since I watched an episode of Inspector Morse that was set there back in 1992. For my 10th wedding anniversary I finally got the opportunity to go.

I know little about opera – unless a penchant for listening to Pavarotti while cooking counts – and my husband knows less, so it was as opera virgins that we arrived in Verona tickets to Aida in hand.

Verona, a town of crumbling buildings and piazzas, is no stranger to drama. It is the setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Its arena, the Roman amphitheatre where the operas are staged, is the largest open-air theatre in the world and has been drawing crowds for almost 2,000 years: to gladiators in Roman times, games and tournaments in medieval times and since 1913, to the opera.

Every night from June to August thousands come to see opera performed on a grand scale. The arena has played host to the world’s most notable opera singers, including Callas, Domingo and Pavarotti. The operas, four each season, alternate every night and, as there is not enough room to store all the sets in the arena, the larger pieces are kept in the piazza. On the day we were there, a 20ft sphinx sat majestically amidst the cafés and the milling crowds.

People begin to spill into the piazza from 5pm on the days of the show and the best way to enjoy the spectacle is to grab a table at the edge of the square and watch as people from all over the world converge on the arena. The cheaper seats are filled on a first-come-first-served basis, so it’s a good idea to come early if you don’t have a numbered seat.

Spectators tend to dress according to the price of their ticket, so they turn up in everything from jeans to evening dress. Ticket prices range from €15 for the unreserved stone steps high up in the arena (bring a cushion for these) up to almost €200 for the velvet seats of the stalls.

If you’re lucky enough to get a ticket in the stalls you’ll be close enough to the action to have a conversation with the conductor without raising your voice but, where ever you sit, the acoustics are amazing.

It is traditional for the audience to light candles just before the show begins so, as the sun sets and the orchestra tunes up, the amphitheatre becomes a sea of flickering lights. But then the music takes over and it’s all eyes on stage.

Film director Franco Zeffirelli directed the production of Aida we saw. The stage was enormous, the set lavish, the jewel-coloured costumes stunning. Giant sphinxes sat atop golden steps. An Egyptian pyramid soared into the night sky. Trumpeters and drummers were in plentiful supply.

For three hours the cast played out their agonies and ecstasies. The tenors reached incredible lows, the sopranos thrilling highs. Crescendo after crescendo was reached only to be surpassed. The 100-strong chorus and the full orchestra wrought every ounce of drama from Verdi’s great opera.

During this extravaganza the conductor jumped around so energetically carpenters had to be called to fix his podium after the first act. We had never seen anything like it. And it didn’t matter that it was in Italian or that we hadn’t a clue what was going on, the spellbinding drama of it all bypassed our heads and went straight to our hearts.

There were three intervals in all – Aida is a long opera! Glasses of champagne cost €10 each, but we got to keep the souvenir flutes. It was after midnight when the last glorious chorus was sung and the audience rose to its feet in unison. “Bravo, Michele,” they shouted to the lead soprano. “Bravo Michele.” We joined enthusiastically in the applause.

Long-held dreams often fall short of expectations, but that night in Verona surpassed everything I had hoped for. Even now, on cold winter nights when we resurrect our champagne flutes, fill them with wine and reminisce about that balmy night we listened to opera under the stars in Italy, it makes me feel tingly all over.

Anniversaries will come and go, but that one, I will remember forever.

See arena.it.

Opera season

Verona Opera Festival In its 88th year, this year's programme includes Turandot, Aida, Madame Butterfly, Carmen and Il Trovatore.

Topflight has a number of excursion packages to Verona for the opera, including flights, accommodation and tickets. 

A city break to Verona starts from €659pp for three nights in the three-star Hotel Mastino, including breakfast, travelling in June, July or August. See topflight.ie for details of all special offers. And bring a cushion.

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