Verona Travel Forum

Hi,
I'm hoping to see an Opera when I am in Verona in June. I was wondering if tickets are difficult to get. Can you turn up on the night and get a ticket, or must you book in advance?

thank you

Hy,
No, there aren't problems , maybe for the "premiere" only, but the program isn't still ready for June.
Take a look here: http://www.arena.it/en-US/HOMEen.html
Ciao, Marco

When we went to the opera 2 years ago I bought our tickets on the day for the cheap seats which were fantastic fun, so as Marco says, it should not be a problem.

However, as we are going back in August this year, I know that the opera schedule has been available for some time now and can be seen at

http://www.arena.it/en-US/festival-lirico/schedule.html

Have a great time and remember to take a cushion with you if going to the cheap seats!

Regards,

Billy

yes, the schedule is ready one year in advance.

And no, it is very rare the unnumbered "steps" tickets are sold out. They are cheap and available, but have some cons:
1) not too close to the stage
2) you better go standing in line before the 7 pm opening in order to have a decent position.. But that means "working" for hours before the opera starts at 9.15 pm
3) they are not soft (bare stone!) and if the day was especially hot, you may think to be sitting on an oven.. Better bring cushions, or rent them inside.

Ciao
Francesco

Cushion is indispensable on the stones - and bring something to drink as well - you may get very thirsty all the long time from late afternoon until to the "small hours" when the opera ends. But all together it is really a great experience, I think much closer to the real idea behind an opera than any performance in a normal opera house. A "grande spettacolo" indeed!

the cheap seats seem to be good to me especially if the night is warm. take your own blow up cush or can you hire them at the arena? and i believe the 'de rigeur' thing is taking a candle and a bot of something. any comments ?

Thank you everyone for the great tips, really looking forward to the experience. I'll definetly remember to bring a cushion.

The cnadles to lit up the beginning of the opera are usually offered at the entrance. And yes, you can rent the cushions inside, if you don't have one. There is a charity association that founds itself that way.
Ciao
Francesco

Can you please advise whether the expensive seats are worth getting? That is, would we get just as good a view sitting on the cheap stone seats (bringing cushions etc)? And perhaps you could recommend (regardless of price) which seats/position in the entire arena are, in fact, the best seats for the best experience?

Thanks in advance!

The lower unnumbered seats have + or - the same position that the higher numbered steps: the problem is to get them you have to queue well before the gates open at 7 PM.
With the numbered, you can enter 10 minutes before.... So, the difference is the time you have to "invest" under a possibly burning sun to have the best unnumbered and cheap places.

As for the sector, the one under the "wing" (the only remain of the outer ring of walls) is considered to be better..

Ciao
Francesco