Arena di Verona Opera Festival 2022

The Arena di Verona Opera Festival 2022, after two years of restrictions caused by the pandemic, has loudly announced its 99th edition with the long awaited return to monumental scenes that make it unique.

The iconic Roman amphitheater, a few steps from Hotel Colomba d’Oro, is ready to host 46 performances, with the best international voices for an audience that is finally again in 100% capacity.

The Colomba d’Oro Hotel is the closest 4-star hotel to the Arena. During this century of festivals it has always been run by the same family  and has proudly housed many opera stars. Here it’s so easy to be fascinated by the beauty of history and art: the perfect location for and unforgettable stay, after a show in Piazza Bra.

So let’s see the program. Carmen is the Opera that inaugurates the Festival and will be presented to the public as no one has ever seen it before, in an original and “definitive” synthesis of all the different versions of the famous staging signed by Maestro Franco Zeffirelli. Over the summer, Georges Bizet’s masterpiece will be repeated until the end of August, for a total of 9 shows: 17, 24 and 30 June, 14, 21, 31 July, 11, 14 and 27 August.

Next with the schedule of the festival, a stone’s throw from the Hotel Colomba d’Oro, we find Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida, the most represented opera in the history of the Arenian festival. The “premiere” on Saturday 18 June opens a series of 11 shows: 23 June, 3, 8, 16, 24 and 28 July, 5, 21, 28 August and 4 September.

Then Verdi’s Nabucco, with the staging of Arnaud Bernard, will set the stage of the Amphitheater on fire for 8 performances: 25 June, 1, 7, 10, 23 and 29 July, 18 August and 3 September. In some of these evenings the role of the female protagonist Abigaille will be played by the world famous star Anna Netrebko.

The most represented opera in the world, La Traviata, returns to the stage of the Verona Arena in the sumptuous production conceived by Franco Zeffirelli: it is the first time after the live broadcast in 2019 that took place just a few days after the death of the Maestro Zeffirelli, becoming a sort of artistic testament. La Traviata will be staged on 2, 9, 15, 22 and 30 July, 6, 20 August, and 1 September.

Finally, the program includes the last work by Giacomo Puccini, Turandot, left unfinished by him, much loved by the public for the aria “Nessun dorma”: this will also return in the scenographic staging by Franco Zeffirelli with the costumes of the Oscar winner Emi Wada, on 4, 7, 10, 13, 19 and 26 August and 2 September.

To complete the bill, three gala nights: on 20 July, ten years after the first performance, “Roberto Bolle and Friends” delights the audience of the Arena with a show of a thousand emotions that combines classical, modern and contemporary ballet.

Carmina Burana will also return on August 12, in homage to Ezio Bosso, exactly three years after his last concert in the Arena.

The third anniversary also occurs for the Plácido Domingo 50 – Arena Anniversary Night event: the Verona Arena hosts Maestro Domingo on 25 August with an evening dedicated to Giuseppe Verdi, directed by Stefano Trespidi, an extraordinary event divided into three acts, with unprecedented surprises for Verona’s audience.

Three months of shows, symphonies and truly unique sets. The 4-star Hotel in Verona closest to the Arena is ready to welcome you to fully enjoy the magical and special atmosphere of the Arena Opera Season, with the utmost care for relaxation and wellness.