The 92nd season of the Arena di Verona’s internationally-renowned Lyric Festival opens next Friday, June 20.
Un ballo in maschera by legendary opera composer Giuseppe Verdi opens the season, followed on June 21 by Georges Bizet’s Carmen, which this year is celebrating 100 years since it was first staged at the Arena.
For the 2014 season, the Arena will feature six operas between the 20th of June and the 6th of September: Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera and Aida, and Bizet's Carmen will premiere in late June, followed by Puccini's Turandot in early July, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Gounod's Roméo et Juliette in August.
The program also includes “Placido Domingo canta Verdi” on July 17 when the Spanish tenor, directed by Daniel Oren, will sing celebrated pieces from Verdi’s operas, and “Roberto Bolle & Friends” on July 22, a dance show starring the talented Bolle, étoile at Milan’s La Scala Theatre and principal dancer with New York’s American Ballet Theatre.
Each summer, the Arena welcomes nearly 500,000 visitors. The audience set-up for the opera features seats on risers following the curve of the area and modern orchestra seating, as well as unreserved seating along the original stone steps of the area, which are lit with candlelight after sundown.
Tickets are available through the Arena di Verona website, and we have a complete guide to choosing an opera and preparing for the show.
