Flying_Kiwi

Hello there.

We hope to attend a performance (either Cavalleria Rusticana, Carmen, Tosca, Aida)with our two teenage daughters in late July. As we are on a budget I am thinking about the unreserved seating way up the back on the stone steps? Has anyone sat at the centre back (D & E blocks)? Are those seats adequate to be able to see and hear? I realise it won't be the same as the better seatin, but don't want to ruin this opportunity by not spending a little extra if necessary. Do you think it better to buy online now or wait until the morning of the performance - is that risky? Thank you in advance. PS If I take ages to reply it is not because I am not ignoring your advice, just getting sidetracked....

MissPrism

Those Romans knew what they were doing.
I remember sitting on the steps as a student and the view was fine.

You can hire cushions.

DinPa

The views will be fine and you will be able to hear. It is definitely worth going to see, even if your back will be killing you for a day or so. (and yes, we did rent the cushions)

eliztrav

We got unreserved tickets when we went, and got seats in the section across from the conductor....I think it was section B. Not only was the sound wonderful (we worried it would be terribly unbalanced, but it was not. We were there for Rigoletto), but we had the extra fun of seeing the stage so well, and the singers took their bows right in front of us.

The only thing to look out for with unreserved seating is that you need to line up early at the entrance and RUN when it opens to claim the best seats you can grab.Assuming there are at least 2 of you, the fastest should run to claim good seats while the second one rents cushions and grabs candles just inside the archway. Once this is accomplished, squatters rights prevail & you settle in and enjoy! It will be like a baseball game as you wait for the opera to begin, with vendors selling food, drinks, wine, programs, rain ponchos if the forecast is dicey, etc. Many people picnic, bringing their own food. It is festive & fun.But I recommend you wear pants rather than a skirt/dress if you will be clambering up & down the stone seating! With the cushions, it is perfectly comfortable, or at least we found it too be so. Enjoy!

Flying_Kiwi

Thank you for your suggestions and opinions - so helpful. I think you are all right - it will be great no matter what, and as suggested by eliztrav I will make my husband run for his life to score the good seats!! I can't wait - I'm all excited about my trip again - I have been counting down since October 2005!

eliztrav

It should be great fun! A spectacle even separate & apart form the opera itself....it was a highlight of our trip. I forgot you will be 4, so I advise your husband and one daughter RUN for the seats, as it is tough for one person to hold 4 seats alone as people push & shove for position. Then you & the other daughter can rent the cushions and pick up the candles that will be lit in twilight as the performance is about to begin. Some buy the little flashlight "candles" in the Arena shop instead, but when we were there the real candles were free.

We bought our tickets on-line and picket them up the day of the performance with no problems at all. Note that the place you pick up tickets already purchased is DIFFERENT (but nearby) the "ticket office" where people line up to buy their tickets. Just ask when you get there....it is near where the really tall fragment of the Arena is located, at the opening of the pedestrian shopping street which I think is Via Mazzini or something close to that.

We enjoyed seeing the stage business from our close up position, but given the superior accoustics, if you choose the farther away but center view, you should have no problem hearing and you'll have a different vantage point but closer to what the director intended. No matter what, you should have a grand time!

After the opera, we grabbed outdoor seats & a drink at one of the Piazza Bra caffes (yes, they are open after midnight) & watched people milling about for a bit under the lights with the Arena in the background before meandering on to our hotel. Lovely memories.

Flying_Kiwi

Thank you so much, eliztrav, for all that info. I will send my husband and younger daugther (the older one is too lazy and "cool" to run fast!)to guard 4 seats, as you suggested. And thanks - I will book online because it saves worrying whether we will get in - we are probably going to drive from Milan the day of the performance, or catch the train, and then either return to Mialn after, or find a little 1 or 2 star hotel - can you recommend one? Remember that I am only a poor kiwi (from New Zealand) and don't have such a strong currency as the "greenback" to pay in (1NZD = .50 EURO!!!!). Anyway, thanks again.

rbrazill

Just another word of encouragement. Seeing Aida last year was the height of out trip. The sound system is excellent, and the production is so over-the-top, that the location of your seats is not crucial. This is not seeing opera at the Met or La Scala. It is a huge stadium filled with people of varying degrees of interest and awareness of opera. Some people in the audience will sing along with the performers. Others are there just for the scene. But it is a once in a lifetime experience.
One word of caution: even though people do bring food, and even though wine is sold during intermission, you are not permitted to bring wine into the amphitheatre. They search your bags and will confiscate it.
And the cushions are not only important because the stone is hard. On a hot day, with the sun beating down, the stone steps actually get hot and retain that heat long after the sun has gone down.
Have a great time.

laclaire

I loved the Opera when we went last year, and I highly recommend going to eat pizza at the Bella Napoli. You will recognize it by the long line of locals outside. . . best pizza of my trip!

Flying_Kiwi

Thanks, rbrazil, for advice about cushions - I never thought about the "heat-protection" factor! And also to laclaire for pizza advice, always welcome, there is nothing like genuine pizza. I'll post a report in mid-September sometime.

Byrd

Hi Kiwi,

We enjoyed a too-short stay in Verona in April at Hotel Torcolo. www.hoteltorcolo.it

The location is perfect, just steps from Piazza Bra and the Roman Arena.

We had a nice double corner room, 85 euro.

I don't know how to post a link to my trip report, but if you're interested, maybe you could find it under Portrait of an Unplanned Trip.

Byrd

LoveItaly

Hi Kiwi, if you just click on Byrd's name you will see all of his posts and consequently his trip report.

Verona is beautiful and it is wonderful you will be able to attend the opera, it will be a magical evening I am sure.

Flying_Kiwi

Thanks, Byrd & LoveItaly, I will have a look at Byrd's report. I am waiting to hear back from that hotel as it gets such good reviews and sounds affordable.

eliztrav

Flying Kiwi, sorry, I'm just seeing your next question. We stayed at the Residence Verona House, a lovely place across from Castelvecchio which is about a 5 minute walk from the Arena. During the opera festival, the rates are higher than I think you want to go, though each room or apartment has a kitchenette and some have washer/dryers. Best for a longer stay to maximize the value. However, if you google them, they also have on their website a wonderful group of links for useful information on Verona itself.

Flying_Kiwi

Eliztrav, thanks for your response - I will check out the Residence Verona. As we are staying in an apartment in Milano we were only planning a day-trip to Verona, but we are now thinking it would be easier to stay the night, rather than drive/train there and back in one day.

eliztrav

Flying Kiwi, I think you'd be happier with your Verona experience if you stayed overnight. And, although I'm not sure of the Milan/Verona night (wee hours)options, I know there are none for those going on fom Verona to Venice post opera. This has come up before. You might find yourself having to drive, and doing that in the wee hours of the morning in basically unfamiliar territory after a long day/night might not be pleasant.

Part of the fun of the Arena opera for us was enjoying the ambience (and the caffe life) for awhile after the opera performance. Relaxing. Also, on our night, there was a 20 minute "rain delay." One of those pesky sudden showers. But hardly anyone left, and the opera resumed but finished later than originally planned. [By the way, the shower is another reason for renting cushions....you can run with your cushion to the covered stairwell, then when you return to your stone seats, your cushion is dry!] Anyway, if you are staying overnight, you can take things as they come and not worry about the drive back to Milan. Good luck!

Flying_Kiwi

Eliztrav, thanks for your input again - the multi-use cushions are a must! We are definitely going to stay in Verona (for at least one night) and have found a couple of b&bs that look pretty good, in the old city, close to the Arena etc, which I am discussing under another topic heading (something like "Recommend Verona B&Bs&quot.