Italian Opera Experience
Italian Opera Experience offers a spectacular musical journey through the best of the Italian operatic tradition. Performed at a superb venue in the heart of Rome – the Ponte Sant'Angelo Methodist Church – this concert is a must-see event for anyone who loves opera or who has an interest in its relationship to contemporary Italian culture. The experience features numerous examples of the best of Italian opera with music by the likes of Giacomo Puccini and Giuseppe Verdi, among others. In addition, Italian Opera Experience showcases some of the best of traditional Neapolitan songs with many classic tunes that are loved not only throughout Italy but the rest of the world, as well.
Three talented performers take to the stage at the church, an intimate environment which provides a truly intense operatic experience. There is a tenor and a soprano as well as a professional pianist who accompanies the singers. Arias and duets are performed in addition to a short piano instrumental in the middle of the programme. Audience goers will be able to experience the most famous operas written in the Italian language such as Tosca, La Bohème and Madama Butterfly. In addition, renditions of music drawn from La Traviata and Turandot are on the programme.
The concert opens with a rendition of E lucevan le stelle, an aria scored for a lone tenor voice which Puccini wrote for the third act of Tosca. The programme continues with other pieces for the soprano singer, such as Un bel dì vedremo, a much loved aria from Madama Butterfly. Before the interlude, a duet from La Bohème, O soave fanciulla, is performed with both singers working in harmony. After this, the concert takes a musical turn, focussing more – but not exclusively – on Neapolitan songs. One particular highlight is ‘O surdato ‘nnammurato which is also a duet, sung in the traditional dialect of Naples. Other songs included are La Spagnola, also known as 'Stretti stretti, nell'estasi d'amor', and Funiculí funiculá, an ever-popular favourite written in 1880 by Luigi Denza with lyrics provided by Peppino Turco. Italian Opera Experience concludes with a rousing rendition of Libiamo ne' lieti calici popularly known as Brindisi, a Verdi duet that features in the opening act of La Traviata.
Italian Opera Experience is a concert that few who enjoy opera will want to forego, especially given that the intimate staging creates a closer ambience between performers and audiences. With so many well-known Italian songs and operatic music, it is an extravaganza that will delight and entertain all who attend.