The 2017 Arena di Verona Opera Festival will be staged from June 23rd to August 27th. The program consists in 48 evenings with 5 operas and 3 special events.
On Friday June 23rd at 9.00 pm Opening night of the 2017 Arena di Verona Opera Festival with the first performance of Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi, in a new stage design directed by Arnaud Bernard, with sets by Alessandro Camera.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Engelhardt
Another opera on the program is Aida, the opera that is a symbol of the Opera Festival, having been performed 650 times from 1913 to the present day.
One of the three special events will be on 15 August with the performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9: a truly emotional gala evening, during which the absolute masterpiece by the genius from Bonn - the first musical composition to become part of UNESCO’s official cultural heritage treasures (in 2001), with the inclusion of its original manuscript in the “Memory of the World Register” - will resound round the amphitheatre, embracing it with the enthusiasm of the renowned Ode to Joy.
A German project has won in the international competition of ideas for a planned cover for the ancient Roman arenaImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Verona Municipality
At the 95th Arena di Verona Opera Festival, performances will begin as follows: 9:00 pm in June and July and at 8:45 pm in August. The three special evenings will begin at 10:00 pm.
is/ks (dpa, www.arena.it)
Classic Open Air-Festival BerlinImage: picture-alliance/POP-EYE/Kriemann
Cultural highlights on Germany's unique stages
Summer is the time for festivals even in Germany. There are more than 500 festivals in all - many of them open air shows in spectacular settings.
Cultural highlights on Germany's unique stages
Summer is the time for festivals in Germany, with a wealth of theater and music performances across the country. There are more than 500 festivals in all - many of them open air shows in spectacular settings.
Image: Theater Erfurt/Lutz Edelhoff
Schlossfestspiele Heidelberg
Heidelberg Castle is one of the best-known castle ruins in Germany. It was only partly restored after it was destroyed more than 200 years ago. Today it’s a magnificent backdrop for the Heidelberg Schlossfestspiele, a festival that dates back to 1994. This year’s program also features Cole Porter's "Kiss me, Kate".
Image: Mende/Heidelberg Marketing
Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival was founded in 1896 and remains one of the largest and best-known events of its kind in Germany. Performances are held in churches, castles, barns, and country estates - like the Emkendorf estate near Kiel, pictured here.
Image: Dirk Hourticolon
Nibelungenfestspiele Worms
Love and hate, pride and betrayal - it's the stuff the Nibelung myth is made of. The saga is said to have taken place in medieval Worms. And since 2002, it’s also been at the center of the Nibelung festival in that very city. More than 230,000 viewers have already basked in the saga of Siegfried and Kriemhild - and every year’s staging in front of the Worms Cathedral offers fresh surprises.
Image: Nibelungen Festspiele/Bernward Bertram
Luisenburg-Festspiele Fichtelgebirge
A craggy landscape full of beauty and mystery - that’s the Luisenburg Festspiele, set in the Fichtel Mountains near Wunsiedel. The festival kicked off in 1890, making it the oldest event of its kind in a German-speaking region. The repertoire ranges from popular Bavarian and children’s theater to classics like Mozart's "The Magic Flute."
Image: Luisen-Festspiele/sff fotodesign
Domstufen Festspiele in Erfurt
To the left the cathedral, on the right St. Severi Church, and at the center a staircase with 70 steps. That’s the spectacular backdrop that transforms Erfurt’s landmark into a concert stage every summer. This year will feature "The troubadour" by Giuseppe Verdi.
Image: Theater Erfurt/Lutz Edelhoff
Karl May Spiele Bad Segeberg
Since 1952, Germany’s Wild West has flourished in the town of Bad Segeberg, not far from the North Sea. Every summer, one of Karl May’s adventures is staged at the Kalkberg Stadium open-air arena. With characters familiar to generations of German schoolchildren, the performances feature action and stunts galore, and are a festival of delight for the entire family.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Scholz
Festspiele Bad Hersfeld
Bad Hersfeld has long been known as one of the premiere locations for open-air theater. The festival at the ruins of the old church is now in its 67th year.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Zucchi
Störtebeker Festspiele Rügen
There are still legends galore about Klaus Störtebeker, a pirate who waged battles for freedom and justice on the North and Baltic seas in the 14th century. His adventures are the focus of a spectacular festival on the Baltic Island of Rügen. The event includes 150 actors and staff, four ships, 30 horses, and countless stunts and special effects.
Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt, with its neoclassical architecture, is one of the loveliest squares in the city. For 25 years, the festival has offered a broad musical repertoire, ranging from Italian arias to bombastic symphonies, to classics of jazz and even film scores. But the highlight is always the fireworks that light up the night sky of Berlin.
