Verona Opera
Since the raison d’etre of the trip was opera I have been given my very own post on it.
It’s unique among international opera for being in an open arena, not an Opera House.
This does create problems as the facilities are poor, especially the loos for which you had to queue and were smelly.
The singers were not miked so the sound was clear.
I did not like the conductor of Carmen and La Traviata. On several occasions he virtually told the lead violinist to shut up with a dismissive hand movement.
It does not attract the finest operatic voices.
It is a spectacle and the audience is essentially tourist.
Too many photographs are taken and some of the audience talk.
The lecturer complained he missed the final note of Aida as someone asked the time. The children were bored and restless. The sets were superb and it was fascinating to see them constructed in short intervals during the opera.
The best seat cost £200, the norm for opera. It is certainly worth seeing but probably only the once.