At 9.30p.m., at the Arena of Verona :

AÏDA, G. Verdi

U.K.: Conductor

Stefano Poda: Staging

Marta Torbidoni : Aïda

Gregory Kunde : Radamès

Amartuvshin Enkhbat : Amonasro

Rafal Siwek : Ramfis

Agnieszka Rehlis : Amneris

Riccardo Fassi : The King of Egypt

Francesca Maionchi : The high priestess

Ricardo Rados : A messenger

In the beginning was… Aida. In 1913, the very first Verona Arena Festival presented Verdi’s opera. Since then, Aida has established itself as one of the festival’s flagship works, with almost 500 performances in various productions. In 2023, to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the event (the war years explain the difference in dates!), the Arena presented a new production directed by Stefano Poda. Unanimously praised for its plastic beauty, it is this show that is being revived for this 101^st edition.

Although we still don’t know the vocal cast (last summer, Anna Netrebko sang the legendary Egyptian), we can already look forward to this performance led by the brilliant Stefano Poda, a veritable one-man band who directs, sets, costumes, lights and choreographs! A sumptuous, modern Aida, ideally suited to the excessiveness of the Verona Arena.

At 9.30p.m., at the Arena of Verona:

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, G. Rossini

George Petrou : Conductor

Hugo de Ana: Staging

René Barbera : The Count of Almaviva

Mattia Olivieri : Figaro

Vasilisa Berzhanskaya : Rosina

Paolo Bordogna : Don Bartolo

Roberto Tagliavini : Don Basilio

Marianna Mappa : Berta

Nicolo Ceriani : Fiorello

The Barber may come from Seville, but it’s a Verona favourite. In the grandiose setting of the Arena, Rossini’s opera loses none of its verve or dynamism. Hugo de Ana‘s staging, with its spectacular and breathtakingly beautiful flowers, is a joy to behold. It’s such a pleasure to admire this immense French garden on stage, brought to life by a host of extras and dancers! The costumes are not to be outdone, making this show one of the most popular with audiences. And then there’s the pleasure of Rossini’s music…

As Verona is the place to be, the finest Italian Belcan singers will be on hand.

At 9.30p.m., at the Arena of Verona :

TURANDOT, G. Puccini

Michele Spotti : Conductor

Franco Zeffirelli: Staging

Anna Pirozzi : Turandot Princess

Piero Giuliacci : Altoum

Riccardo Fassi : Timur

U.K. : Calaf

Daria Rybak :Liù

Youngjun Par : Ping

Riccardo Rados : Pang

Matteo Macchioni : Pong

Nicolo Ceriani : A mandarin

U.K. :The Executioner

U.K. : Young Prince of Persia

This production of Turandot is legendary. It is the performance directed by Franco Zeffirelli, the legendary Italian opera director who brought fame to La Scala and the Verona Arena. As a former assistant to Luchino Visconti, Zeffirelli had a taste for splendour, and his Turandot is one of the most spectacular productions ever seen in Verona. On stage, huge screens illustrated with dragons soon revealed a gigantic pagoda, brought to life by countless extras. The court of the Empress of China, as dreamt by Giacomo Puccini.