Arie e Aromi
A concert and dining event in the heart of Florence, Arie e Aromi includes some of the most loved arias drawn from the Italian operatic tradition and seamlessly fuses them with the aromas and flavours of Italian cuisine. Attendees will have the enviable chance to witness top-quality operatic entertainment, performed by a piano accompanist and vocalists, at a venue that is often used for concerts in the city. After the concert concludes, the event continues at a nearby Florentine restaurant just a few steps away down the street. Everything takes place close to Santa Croce Square, one of Florence's most important and iconic squares, just to the north of the majestic Arno River.
Arie e Aromi begins at Santa Maria Vergine della Croce al Tempio, located on Via di S. Giuseppe. The concert, entitled La Grande Opera Italiana, is scheduled to begin at 7.15 pm, offering an exciting and extraordinary journey through the most famous arias to have ever been written for Italian operas. The programme is subject to change here and there for the sake of musical variation but audience goers can expect extracts from some of Giacomo Puccini's most important works, such as La Bohème, Madama Butterfly and Tosca, to feature, for example. The wonderful music of Giuseppe Verdi is also a near-constant part of the programme, with arias taken from La Traviata, for instance. The Italian-language music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is also commonly used for the impressive programme. Key parts of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro are typically included during the event. Other greats of Italy's long-standing operatic songbook, such as extracts from Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville, also feature in a programme that will delight fans of opera as well as newcomers to it.
After the concert, Arie e Aromi continues at the Belcanto Ristorante, just a stone's throw from the church concert venue. Commencing at around 8.30 pm, the dining portion of the event consists of a three-course meal with water, a glass of wine and a coffee included. Sliced beef with rocket and parmesan is the typically Italian main course and there is a choice of starters which includes risotto with porcini mushrooms or two types of pasta dishes. Dessert usually consists of chocolate mousse. Nevertheless, the menu can be subject to slight modifications, just like the musical programme beforehand.”
With two great elements combined into one special event, Arie e Aromi offers some of the best of Italian culture, its food and its operatic arias, in a single experience in central Florence.