My Trip In Italy (Part 2A): Verona – Arena di Verona & Opera Festival

Most people may know Verona as the setting for William Shakespeare’s great tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. However, the city has more than just a world-famous balcony and statue; it’s full of cultural heritage and great architecture, with an additional benefit of astonishing views.

However, if you search up comments on Verona online, you’ll find two general stances. Some say it is a significantly underrated city with so much to experience, while others say it is too ‘touristy’ and extensively commercialized. This got me wondering, why would this city give rise to two drastically different opinions?

When I first arrived in Verona, I was honestly underwhelmed. Although the city definitely gave off strong Italian vibes and had all sorts of amazing architecture, it wasn’t all that different from other places I had visited. However, when I stepped into their annual opera festival that evening at the city’s renowned amphitheatre, the Arena di Verona (Verona Arena), I quickly changed my mind about Verona entirely.

That’s why I’m eager to share my impressions of the Arena as well as the festival in this article. I hope you enjoy!

Arena di Verona

Described as the ‘most Italian place on earth’, the Arena is one of the best preserved ancient amphitheatres that still stand today, the largest Roman amphitheatre still in use, and a place definitely worth visiting.

Built in 30 AD (predating Rome’s Colosseum by decades), the Verona Arena originally functioned as a venue for Roman gladiator fights. In medieval times, jousts (fights on horseback using lances) were held in the amphitheatre. Today, it hosts the Arena di Verona Festival (Verona Arena Festival), international concerts, and other events. To me, the fact that the Arena has managed to bring fresh, entertaining experiences to countless generations throughout its existence is truly an unbelievable feat.

Interestingly, humans have enjoyed seeing other humans compete in competitive dueling sports throughout history, from gladiators to jousting to fencing. Personally, I would love to organize a world-class fencing competition in the Verona Arena, to bring this heritage back to where it all originated.

Arena di Verona Festival

If the Arena was a human’s flesh and body, the festival would be the soul.

The Verona Arena Festival is a festival of opera performances held in the city’s amphitheatre every summer starting all the way back in 1913. Thanks to this event, the Verona Arena is considered the world’s largest open-air opera house, with a modern capacity of 15,000 people. The stone benches I sat on to watch the opera, the stairs I walked to get to my seat, even the restrooms I visited during the performance breaks were literally historical artifacts!

What Is Opera?

Before I get into why the Arena di Verona Festival completely changed my view of the city, it helps to first explain what opera actually is, especially since I wasn’t entirely sure myself before I visited to Italy.

Opera is an art form that originated in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many people compare opera with another type of entertainment, musicals. Although they do share similar traits, such as using singing and music to tell a story, there are important differentiating factors that make operas stand apart. Most importantly, opera singers don’t use microphones to amplify their voice, and the music is performed by a live orchestra. Furthermore, musicals often focus more on spoken dialogue, while most operas are entirely sung-through.

What Was The Festival Like?

The opera I watched at the festival was an evening performance of Aida, a famous tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, there are three central characters to this opera: Aida (an Ethiopian princess enslaved by Egypt, torn between her loyalty to her people and a love for Radamès), Radamès (an Egyptian military hero whose commitment to Aida overrides his duty and triggers his downfall), and finally Amneris (an Egyptian princess who loves Radamès and collapses when she realizes power can’t secure his heart).

Although my Italian isn’t as fluent as I would like it to be, that didn’t stop me from following the storyline as the opera unfolded. Not only were the performers very committed to their act and genuinely sang with emotions, but the organizers also conveniently placed electronic screens in the Arena that provided real-time captions in Italian and English.

Jokes aside though, I was truly surprised by the loudness of the opera singers’ voices; I kept thinking they must have a microphone attached, only to remember they didn’t. While I find it challenging to project my voice across the area of a large banquet hall, these singers were effortlessly performing for hours on end in an open-air theatre in front of thousands of people. Speaking of the audience, the amount of confidence the singers have must be unparalleled as well, especially during the solo segments.

Elements of a Great Opera Performance

Besides the main singers, there were also many other components of the Aida performance that really bought it to life.

One of these elements were the shear amount of supporting actors involved. Deployed in roles ranging from full-scale Egyptian armies to more symbolic figures embodying the emotional states of the main characters, they created a sense of depth and scale. These actors made the stage feel alive and thriving, not just metaphorically but quite literally as well. In one scene, the actors surprised the audience by crawling out from hidden stage doors (but the last person forgot for a brief moment to close the trapdoor).

Lighting also played a crucial role in the opera performance. Using clever combinations of different intensities, directions, and colors, the atmosphere could quickly shift from a wholesome moment to ‘the guards are here to arrest you’. The directors also used many innovative props as well, including a gigantic silvery balloon that floated tens of meters above the stage, reflecting the stage lights to simulate a shining full moon.

The entire performance lasted multiple hours and ended at roughly midnight. Normally, I would be very exhausted and tired, but I found myself to be very engaged with the opera and not wanting it to end.

Conclusion

Was watching opera in Verona worth it? Yes – I think it was definitely an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experience that everyone should try if they have the opportunity.

However, the Aida opera performance was just part of my Verona trip. There were also amazing hilltop views, magnificent piazzas, Juliet’s famous balcony, and more, which I’m going to share in the next article.

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