La Grande Opera Italiana
Staged at the historic Oratorio di Santa Maria Vergine della Croce al Tempio in Florence, La Grande Opera Italiana constitutes an exciting aural journey through some of the most famous Italian operatic arias of all time. With a programme that is sometimes subject to change, La Grande Opera Italiana offers something fresh and familiar at the same time. Performed by a top-quality piano accompanist and singers, this concert features selections from hugely successful operas such as La Traviata, by Giuseppe Verdi, and La Bohème and Tosca, both written by Giacomo Puccini. Other frequently featured operas include The Marriage of Figaro, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Gioachino Rossini's masterpiece, The Barber of Seville. Sometimes, music drawn from Madama Butterfly, another popular Puccini opera, will also be on the programme.
The evening of operatic entertainment takes place in the heart of the city near the Santa Croce Square, one of Florence's most important and iconic piazzas. The Gothic architecture of the former Oratory of Saint Mary of the Cross in the Temple, as the Florentine building is known in English, invites audience goers to experience a wonderful and varied programme that showcases the best of the operatic tradition.
La Grande Opera Italiana sometimes, although not always, commences with arias taken from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, a commedia per musica in four acts composed by the great maestro in 1786. Although premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna, it was written with an Italian libretto, penned by Lorenzo Da Ponte, so it fits right in with the other arias being performed during La Grande Opera Italiana.
Audiences can also expect to hear operatic extracts and arias by the great Italian opera masters, such as Puccini, whose music typically features in the changing programme. La Bohème is the earliest Puccini opera to be included. It was first performed on 1 February 1896 at the Teatro Regio in Turin. Tosca came later in Puccini's career and premiered at Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. Sometimes, this concert also features music from Puccini's Madama Butterfly which had its debut at La Scala in Milan on 17 February 1904. Added to this, La Grande Opera Italiana often also includes Verdi's La Traviata, another ever-popular Italian opera classic. It was first staged at Teatro La Fenice in Venice on 6 March 1853 and, despite its unsuccessful premiere, it has become a staple of the operatic repertoire ever since.
Given the unique venue and memorable melodies performed by skilled opera singers, La Grande Opera Italiana will immerse you in the amazing world of Italian opera.