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Far from Traditional
Puccini operas in Rome,
reviewed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI
Rome's Teatro dell'Opera has a summer season in the monumental Terme di Caracalla (Baths of Caracalla), a grandiose setting of Roman ruins with an amphitheater for an audience of 3,700, reaching over four thousand when, for certain performances, the demand is such that some three hundred standing passes are sold. This summer, special low price tickets are available for youngsters and senior citizens, and the ballet and opera performances are intertwined with rock and pop concerts — also a way to attract new audience members to the place where they may return for opera performances. In addition, the operas form a Puccini festival: three of the best known Puccini operas — Madama Butterfly, Turandot and Bohème — are presented in a row, so that tourists, especially, can see and listen to them one after the other over three evenings. Is it a challenge to the traditional Torre del Lago Festival which features a new production of Tosca and revivals of past productions of Trittico, Madama Butterfly and Turandot this summer?..
Copyright © 21 July 2015
Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy
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