The ancient Roman Arena of Verona, world famous for its summer season of opera under the stars, celebrates its centenary this year with a special homage to Giuseppe Verdi, whose bi-centenary also falls on 2013.
The Arena, constructed by the Romans as an amphitheatre for typical games with gladiator duels and battles to the death with animals, has perfect acoustics and was converted into an opera theatre a hundred years ago to celebrate the then centenary of the birth of Verdi.
Since then, it has become a must on every opera lover's wish list. The Arena is the biggest open air opera theatre in the world and can accommodate up to 14,000 spectators. Almost all the world's greatest singers have performed there at one time, including Maria Callas, who de-butted there in La Gioconda 1946.
Verdi's Aida was first performed at the Arena on the 10 August 1913 and since then has proved a firm favourite. In fact, the tragic fate of the star-crossed lovers in ancient Egypt has been performed 597 times, in 53 seasons. Bizet's Carmen comes second in popularity, with 226 performances, followed by another Verdi evergreen: Nabucco, which has been played in the Arena 176 times.
Info and programme: www.arena.it
