Summer Opera Festivals in Italy

Italy offers many opportunities for opera fans and opera novices like myself. Summer opera choices range from small opera festivals and opera school performances to major performance venues like the one in Verona. Here is a sampling of places to enjoy summer opera.

• The Tuscia Opera Festival, north of Rome, is a great chance to experience opera in a historic outdoor venue without paying a huge price. Pictured is Tuscia Opera Festival's 2007 opening night set against the background of the Papal Palazzo in Viterbo, where the first conclave was held in 1261 (click on the photo to see it larger). The Tuscia Opera Festival runs through August 10.

  Find out more about the interesting region of Lazio, north of Rome, with our Northern Lazio Travel Map.

• One of the most popular settings for summer opera is the Roman amphitheater in Verona. Gioachino Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, The Barber of Seville, made its debut July 14 as another new production for the Operatic Season at the Arena di Verona. Eight performances are scheduled through August 30. Also on stage this summer is Aida. Check the schedule and buy tickets at Arena di Verona.

  Verona is a beautiful city in northern Italy on the train line between Milan and Venice. See our Milan to Venice Suggested Itinerary for details.

• Next week we're going to visit Italian Operatic Experience, a summer program for young opera students. Students give performances near the end of the summer session with a program that includes opera scenes, Italian songs, and arias. We'll be attending the first performance on July 27. They'll also have performances the first weekend of August. The Italian Operatic Experience is in Urbania, near Urbino, in the Marche region of central Italy.

  Find out more about Urbania and the Marche region with our Marche Region Travel Map.

_{Photo of Tuscia Opera Festival provided by Mary Jane Cryan, Elegant Etruria}