Arena di Verona Opera Festival 2018

Opera, music and great shows for the 96th Opera Festival

From 22 June 2018 to 01 September 2018

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Back again this year the long-awaited opera season at the Verona Arena Opera Festival 2018! From 22nd June to 1st September, 47 evenings devoted to the Arena di Verona Opera season, with 2 special events: Arena Roberto Bolle & Friends Show and a special Verdi Opera Night ... Do not miss the 96th Opera Festival in Verona!

The Arena di Verona Opera Festival in 2018 presents five productions: Carmen by Georges Bizet, Aida and Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi, Turandot by Giacomo Puccini and The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini.

Grand debut at the Arena Verona for Carmen, which inaugurates the Arena opera festival and has always been one of the most appreciated events included in the Verona Arena Festival. This year’s edition has a new production masterminded by Argentine Hugo de Ana, who is in charge of the direction, scenes and costumes. The opera’s period staging has been fast-forwarded to 1930s, about a hundred years after the libretto was compiled and a time laden with important events that contribute to enhancing the quest for independence and freedom of the protagonist who, during her entire life, stood up to male arrogance and society’s hostility towards her gypsy roots.

23 June sees the beginning of the long programming of Aida at the Verona Arena: the most represented opera of the festival, it has become a symbol of the Verona opera festival program. For the 2018 Verona Opera festival schedule, Verdi's opera will be staged with the dazzling production directed by Franco Zeffirelli in 2002 and made even more spectacular thanks to Anna Anni’s stunning costumes and Vladimir Vasiliev’s choreography. The 16 scheduled performances will see the three conductors Jordi Bernàcer, Daniel Oren and Andrea Battistoni swapping leads on the stage.

From 30 June all eyes will be on Turandot, once again with Franco Zeffirelli’s mesmerizing production and the lavish costumes of Oscar-winning designer Emi Wada. A welcome comeback also for Arnaud Bernard’s staging of Nabucco, which last year captivated both spectators and critics. The last event of the Arena Verona Festival in 2018 will be The Barber of Seville with stage setting by Hugo de Ana and captivating choreography by Leda Lojodice.

Verona Opera Festival schedule

• Carmen

22 and 29 June at 9.00 pm; 6, 11, 17, 21 July at 9.00 pm; 3, 9, 12, 22, 25, 28, 31 August at 8.45 pm
Opéra-comique in 4 acts by Georges Bizet
A new production by Argentine director Hugo de Ana

Conductor Francesco Ivan Ciampa

Direction, staging and costumes Hugo de Ana

Choreography Leda Lojodice

Lighting design Paolo Mazzon

Projection design Sergio Metalli

A.LI.VE. Treble voice chorus conducted by Paolo Facincani

Chorus Master Vito Lombardi

Ballet coordinator Gaetano Petrosino

Director for Stage Design Michele Olcese

Arena di Verona Orchestra, Chorus, Corps de Ballet and Technical Team

• Aida

23 and 28 June at 9.00 pm; 8, 10, 14, 19, 22, 27 July at 9.00 pm; 2, 5, 7, 11, 19, 23, 29 August at 8.45 pm; 1 September at 8.45 pm
Opera in 4 acts by Giuseppe Verdi
A constant presence in the Verona summer opera festival: 16 performances with Franco Zeffirelli’s stunning production and enriched by Anna Anni’s lavish costumes and Vladimir Vasiliev’s choreography

Conductor: Jordi Bernàcer (23 and 28 June; 8, 10 and 14 July); Daniel Oren (19, 22 and 27 July; 2, 5, 7 and 11 August); Andrea Battistoni (19, 23 and 29 August; 1 September)

Director and set design Franco Zeffirelli

Costume Anna Anni

Coreography Vladimir Vasiliev

Arena di Verona Orchestra, Chorus, Corps de Ballet and Technical team

• Turandot

30 June at 9.00 pm; 5, 13, 18 and 26 July at 9.00 pm
Opera drama in 3 acts and 5 sections by Giacomo Puccini
Staged once again in Franco Zeffirelli 2010 production and stage design with the elaborate and stunning costumes of Oscar-winning Emi Wada

Conductors: Daniel Oren (30 June; 6, 18 and 26 July); Francesco Ivan Ciampa (5 and 13 July)

Director and stage design Franco Zeffirelli

Costume Emi Wada

Coreography Maria Grazia Garofoli

Lighting design Paolo Mazzon

A.d'A.MUS. Treble voice Chorus conducted by Marco Tonini

Arena di Verona Orchestra, Chorus and Technical team

• Nabucco

7, 12, 20 and 28 July at 9.00 pm; 10 and 18 August at 8.45 pm
Opera drama in 4 acts by Giuseppe Verdi
Arena Verona Nabucco is to be staged with the acclaimed design which inaugurated the Opera Festival 2017, with directing and costumes by Arnaud Bernard and set design by Alessandro Camera

Conductor Jordi Bernàcer

Director and costume Arnaud Bernard

Set design Alessandro Camera

Lighting design Paolo Mazzon

Arena di Verona Orchestra, Chorus and Technical team

• The Barber of Seville

4, 8, 17, 24 and 30 August at 8.45 pm
Opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini
The Roman Amphitheatre is again turned into the great garden created by Hugo de Ana in 2007 with Leda Lojodice’s entertaining choreography.

Conductor: Daniel Oren (4 and 8 August); Andrea Battistoni (17, 24 and 30 August)

Director, set, costume and lighting design Hugo de Ana

Choreography Leda Lojodice

Arena di Verona Orchestra, Chorus, Corps de Ballet and Technical team

In addition to the rich program dedicated to opera, the Arena di Verona devotes an evening to dance and one to Verdi Opera Night.

Roberto Bolle at the Arena di Verona has become a classic, with a show that has now entered by law in the Arena di Verona festival programme: the international dancer and his Friends will bring to the Arena a show designed specifically for the magical scenery that only the arena is able to offer- classical and contemporary dance together in a tribute to the ethereal elegance of ballet. Roberto Bolle and friends in Verona will be accompanied by artists working in the biggest international dance companies… Ready for a repeat of the huge success of the last editions! On 25th July Roberto Bolle at the Arena di Verona opera Festival 2018!

An exciting evening dedicated to Verdi will be staged on 26th August as a celebration of the highest-level opera with stage productions of Rigoletto, Il Trovatore and La Traviata and performances by great artists.

Tickets for the Verona, Italy, Opera Festival can be purchased on the official website of the Fondazione Arena di Verona.

From 22 June to 1 September, do not miss the International Opera Festival in Verona: the magical setting of an ancient Roman amphitheatre, famous operas and evocative productions await you to offer a unique experience evenings and many emotions... Not forgetting the great evenings that accompany the opera: Roberto Bolle and Friends 2018 and Verdi Opera Night!

Be seduced by the magic of the opera season in Italy and take advantage of the opportunity to discover the beautiful city of Verona: book a hotel or B&B near the Arena in Verona and choose tours and activities near Lake Garda to enrich your stay!