Londonjetsetter

Has anyone been to the opera in Verona while staying at Villa Feltrinelli? They are able to secure us the best tickets at either Aida or Madame Butterfly and will obviously sort out transfers. I think the journey is around 1.5 hours each way. Did it feel like a treck or was it so magical that it was worth it?

TRAVELSIG

Hey Londonjetsetter.

By planning in advance, you should be able to get tickets to either opera- should not be a problem.

You can buy them here:
http://www.arena.it/en-US/HOMEen.html

It IS a bit far from Verona to Villa Feltrinelli- I would plan around 90 minutes to two hours depending on traffic. If you do decide to drive, go into the centre- you should be able to find pay parking near the arena as long as you don't arrive too late- look for a garage that stays open late (not a problem on opera nights really). I have not stayed at Villa Feltrinelli, but do understand it is supposed to be very nice (although not really that close to Verona).

Raffles

Can they transfer you by boat with a car connection? Vuitton's may know. It rings a bell that this is possible.

Verona by car is a trot - we actually flew into Verona when we went, which is the price you pay for avoiding Ryanair!

Very nice place, recommend it strongly - and that is after it rained for entire stay there!

Non-NonRev

I don't know the Villa, so I'll comment on the operatic aspects.

Performances in the Arena, as befits the nature of the venue, stress monumental spectacle, at the expense of nuanced interpretation and refined vocal drama. This approach works OK for some, less good for others.

I despise Franco Zefferelli and his narcissistic approach to opera production, and the 2010 season is a retrospective of several of his past prosecutions. My view of Zeff is not shared by everyone, and I think that the unique experience offered by the Arena as a performance venue should be experienced, at least once. I went to one performance in the latter 1990s, and once was enough - I was glad I experienced it, but feel no need to return.

In looking as the casting for 2010, as is usual in Verona, there are some fine singers mixed in with others who are has-beens, and still others who are unknown. Some of the Trovatores, for example, have Radvanovsky, Alvarez and Hvorstovsky - that is a world-class cast, and even the unsubtle Cornetti as Azucena should work well in the open-air setting - this would be my choice (by a mile). Kate Aldrich as Carmen, and Pisapia as Pinkerton in Butterfly are also very good in their roles.

Groombridge

I haven't attended the opera at the Arena di Verona while staying at Villa Feltrinelli, but have seen performances while staying in Verona, and I was underwhelmed each time. The acoustics aren't especially great, there are (of course) no supertitles (which is ok with the repertory staples they perform there), but the performances lacked elegance or real visual thrills--lots of flat painted wood backgrounds and stadium-style spectacle, somewhat tacky, nowhere near the production quality of, say, the Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria or the superb indoor summer opera festivals in Europe (Glyndebourne, Salzburg, etc.) But I guess it depends on how many nights you're staying at the Villa Feltrinelli. If you're staying just two nights, I wouldn't want to tear myself away from the place, except maybe for a stroll into the village for dinner at Michelin-starred Tortuga. But if you're staying three nights, you might be feeling a bit stir crazy, in which case a night in the Roman amphitheatre might be worth the transit time, even if the production quality is ho-hum.

Londonjetsetter

Thanks everyone, very useful. We are staying four nights at Villa Feltrinelli, but I am extremely talented at zoning out and just relaxing, so I doubt I would go stir crazy. I had dinner with my parents last night and discovered that they have actually been to see Aida in Verona and share the sentiments of others here: slightly tacky, but fun to have seen. Undecided....

behuman

By all means go if you have never been. Acoustics are a disgrace and you may barely hear the singers , but the setting and the atmosphere are great.

For your comfort stay in any city center hotel for that one night after or before enjoying Villa Feltrinelli. Traffic in Italy is no fun and on opera nights even less around Verona.

For more refined opera evenings in Italy why not try Pesaro or Macerata festivals (great acoustics).

(Wow, this is my first post after having been suspended for having been to raw on this platform, hope I will improve and be helpful).

Londonjetsetter

Thanks behuman, a very helpful first post it was too!

Londonjetsetter

BTW thanks for reminding me of the Bregenzer Festspiele - I had forgotten all about them. I used to Live in Konstanz and get very sentimental about the 'Bodensee'!

MSPeconomist

I stayed at a different hotel about an hour from Verona. It was a Relais & Chateau property with a two-star restaurant. I did not go to the opera (no time, was driving from Udine back to MXP) but I talked with several couples at the hotel who had used the hotel's package and were very pleased. It included limo service, good seats, and I think cocktails in some VIP area.

I liked the hotel very much, including my dinner there. I think if you look at the R & C map, it should be pretty obvious which one, but I don't remember the name and I can't search for it now. My LHW access special gift was a coffee-table book on Verona.

Groombridge

I envy your time there--I try to hit the festival there every few years or so. 2012 will be the time to go, with a Robert Carsen production of a new opera (Solaris) and a Keith Warner production of Andrea Chenier. Right now, there's a visually thrilling, interesting, if over-the-top, anti-American production of Aida set in the ruins of a terrorist-bombed Statue of Liberty.

Sadly, the hotel scene in Bregenz is incredibly dire, with no luxury options at all.

Can't wait for your report on Villa Feltrinelli--especially since I think I recall your indicating that you'd be staying in one of the newer buildings, and I'm thinking I want to try one of those locations next time I go.

Cheetah_SA

Although I agree with most of what has been said here (variable standards of singers, old-fashioned stagings, too big a schlep from the Feltrinelli, etc.) I must record my contrary opionion about the acoustics. Obviously an open air venue can't compete with the best opera houses, but I had no problems with hearing the singers well enough to enjoy the performances. Frankly I heard far better than I did from a box on the side in the Met. That was especially true from the terraces which I found better than the stalls.

I consider myself an unashamed opera snob but I found the experience of opera in the amphitheatre most enjoyable. (Had to giggle at the ladies in off-the-shoulder dresses using the velvet chair covers to protect them from a chill wind!) But it's an experience to be enjoyed in a leisurely, laid-back fashion. IME it would probably not bear the weight of a lot of hassle like long journeys in traffic. (That said a friend of mine travelled from Venice for a performance and thought it worthwhile.)

behuman

No luxury option in Bregenz? Deuring Schlössle http://www.deuring-schloessle.at/ is within walking distance to the Seebühne in Bregenz and a very pleasant small palace in the remparts of the old city. Heino Huber is a good chef too and the place has been Relais & Chateaux some years ago.

P.S. : To make an opera anti-American is giving too much importance to politics. I remember a shocking production of Theodora in Glyndebourne which was as well over the top. This even for me who otherwise would have agreed with the message but found it out of place in an opera production.

Non-NonRev

Interesting - the 1996 Peter Sellars production of Theodora is considered a classic - it received rave reviews from the British press, and it has at its center an incredibly moving performance by the lamented Lorraine Hunt Lieberson as Irene.

Yes, Sellars' hand-motions can be repetitive, and the modern dress can be jarring to some, but Sellars does tell the story as set down by Handel and the librettist (Morrell). But I understand that each viewer has his/her ideas as to production styles, and all opinions are valid, of course.

Groombridge

Thank you for this recommendation--I'll definitely stay there next time I go to the festival. Many thanks!