The two upper tiers at La Scala are known as the galleries. For my second evening at La Scala I paid € 24.00 for a ticket in the last row of the topmost gallery. From the seat itself I could see nothing, but since there was no one behind me Read More …
A few days before each premiere La Scala presents an introductory talk, in Italian, about the upcoming production. These talks are held in the “Arturo Toscanini” foyer at 6 pm. Admission is free and you don’t need a ticket to get in, you just have to be one of the Read More …
The composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was born and raised about a hundred kilometers southeast of Milan near the town of Busseto, in the province of Parma, but Milan was an important city for him throughout his life. Five of his early operas had their world premieres at the Teatro alla Read More …
Since Giuseppe Verdi once applied to be a student at the Milan Conservatory and was not admitted, it might seem ironic that the Conservatory is now named after him. But actually they turned him down mainly on formal grounds, because he had applied too late and was not a resident Read More …
The one thing I really messed up on my visit to Milan in 2008 was that I didn’t see the exhibition Ricordi e i Fantastici 5 — and why not? Because I didn’t notice the little sticker saying it had been extended, so I thought it was all over before Read More …
On my visit to Verona in August 2006 I saw three open-air opera performances in the Arena: Verdi’s Aida, Bizet’s Carmen and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. What they had in common was that all three productions were by the same stage director, Franco Zeffirelli (1923-2019), who also designed the stage sets Read More …
The stage for Zeffirelli’s production of Verdi’s Aida in the Arena of Verona is dominated by two large statues of ancient Egyptian pharaohs (rulers), which between performances are stored out in front of the Arena on the Piazza Bra. Here are some more of the stage elements for Aida in Read More …
Here on the shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) at Bregenz, Austria, is the open-air opera venue where the Bregenz Festival is held every summer. On the grandstand there are 6800 seats for us spectators, surrounded by over 600 loudspeakers that are part of a sophisticated sound system called “BOA — Read More …
My favorite thing about Fontainebleau is the music it inspired at the beginning of the five-act versions of the opera Don Carlos (in French) or Don Carlo (in Italian), by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). The Spanish prince Don Carlos, alone in the twilight in the wintry forest, sings: Fontainebleau! Immense, lonely Read More …
The Kuppeltheater (‘dome theater’) was originally built in Freiburg, where it was used for two years while their theater was being renovated. Then it was taken down and moved to Erfurt, where it stood for four years while their new opera house was being built. And after that it was Read More …