I'm exhausted..........

............but not from walking!  Now to explain, and apologies - there's a lot of explaining to do!

My reason for hopping on the train to get to Verona was to attend the opera!  I had worked out that it would be better value for money to sit in the un-numbeted stone steps of the arena rather than buying an expensive seat on the floor of the arena.  This was confirmed by my hostess at Rovereto who warned me that if even one drop of rain falls the orchestra picks up their instruments and they're off!  You don't get your money back, and so it is quite possible to waste a considerable sum of money.  This opera season is famous worldwide and is in its 101st year!  The arena holds 14,000 people, but sadly since the economic crisis they don't have full audiences very often.  The photos are not of the performance, as we were requested not to take photos during the performance, which I obeyed, but many didn't!

Why has attending the opera exhausted me you ask?  Most nights it starts at 9.00 pm, and has finished anywhere from midnight to 1.00 am!  Then I have to negotiate the crowds, firstly to buy a snack and cold drink, and then to my hotel, which fortunately is not far out of town.

Just some of the crowds leaving the opera.

On Thursday I decided that it was too good an opportunity to hear Placido Domingo sing, hence my train trip.  The night was called "Domingo Sings Verdi", but he had quite a few superb "friends " singing with him.  I was so close when he arrived I could have shaken his hand, but I didn't realise who the dapper little, white suited,  grey haired, bearded man was until everyone started applauding.  Didn't even have my camera out.  This concert started at 10 pm and just as the orchestra went on stage after the 20 mins interval the first rain drops fell - they beat a hasty retreat and announcements followed that the concert had been temporarily suspended.  At about 12.15 I decided that it wasn't going to restart and headed home.  My decision to go cheap seats was vindicated, but nonetheless I was also thrilled to have had about an hour and a quarter of superb music.  The orchestra shared the stage with the soloists for this programme, and the entire programme was acoustic.

The staging for Domingo sings Verdi.  For the next three performances the orchestra was in the pit, where the shrubbery is.  

The crowd at the Arena to hear Domingo.

The next night I attended Carmen.  This is a four act (and three 20min intervals) opera and so was a marathon night, but a superb one of music and drama.  Apparently this opera is a favourite and they do it almost every year.  An outstanding set and for the final act, very bright, colourful costumes.  Four donkeys were on stage at various times and five horses - three of them white.  One of these cantered on and off the stage several times, ridden by a pretty skilful rider at a guess.  He was one of the leads, so not sure if that skill was part of the job description!  The "curtain" is manually carried on and off stage by about thirty stage hands, all dressed in character.

The orchestra getting ready for Carmen.

Getting ready for the overture to begin.  Note the attention to detail with the food on the benches at the rear.  The coloured fabric on the poles at the front is the "curtain".

The opening scene in Carmen,  the overture is about to start.  You can see the donkeys on the left

A set change.  This shows quite clearly the stage hands in black, with red hard hats.  It also shows the sloping stage, so that those in the expensive seats can clearly see!  I would guess that the back of the stage is about 12 feet high.

Curtain call for Carmen.  This gives an idea of the size of the cast.  Also note the set change.  The white horse that cantered onto the set a couple of times came around the side of the stage on the far side, swung across the front and out the near side.  The gap at stage front was only about six foot wide at a guess!

The following night was "Un ballo in masquera" by Verdi.  This is an opera that I had never heard of, although the overture was vaguely familiar.  A totally different set, complete with some of it revolving,  very colourful costumes and affective use of colour - even when it was black and white with red thrown in.  The ball gowns were stunning, but they would have been hot.  The men were in long dress jackets in the style of 150 years ago so they would have been hot too.  My estimation was that it was probably about 27 / 28 degrees.

The set for "Un ballo in masquera".

When a set change of a cave was needed it revolved to the black side.  The middle section divided and revolved, and suddenly there were a half dozen candle pines in the garden!

Every five minutes near the end of the interval, this woman, always dressed in character depending which performance, played a crescendo on the cymbal, hitting it once, twice, then three times as a warning that the interval was ending.

 Curtain call for the chorus.

Curtain call for the dance troop.

The final night of this marathon was "Aida", and what an extraordinarily spectacular performance this was.  It was quite a futuristic performance with two crane rigs being the set and on which a "cave" was built during the second act which then, in act four, was lowered to "bury" Aida and her lover.  There was even a water way with part of the stage flooded so that a boat could "float" across.  Rain threatened for a couple of hours prior to nine and I was fearful that it would be postponed or cancelled but the spots stopped in time.  I am actually at a loss trying to describe this performance as there was so much happening.  The effects were stunning.  Even simple little things like the crocodiles in the water looked real, or as real as they could in the grey white costumes.  As they moved through the water, you could believe it was a croc looking for its next feed!  There was even a lantern puppet show using people not puppets, and when they wanted to change scenery in the acts a strong flood light was used to dazzle the audience so they couldn't see what was happening.  In affect the light became the curtain.

 The stage for the beginning of Aida.  Stage hands are putting the final touches to the crane rigging.

Stage hands and riggers with part of the set.  This was all happening while the overture played.  The funny bits of fabric on the steps blew up during the first act giving the suggestion of sand hills.

The end of act 2 - the Grand March act.  You can see the elephant in front of the the massive wall that the riggers built during this act, and on the steps in the distance dressed in white overalls, are six trombombonists mirroring the six very close to where I was sitting.  They played the fanfare part of this fantastic work.

Curtain call - note the reflections in the water.

 Curtain call at the end of Aida. Here you can see the "cave" wall that gradually lowered during the last act, "smothering" Aida and her lover.  Note the reflections in the water again.

I have never seen much opera before, but this is very special and I am so glad that I took the opportunity to go to the four performances.  It was nearly a full house for Domingo and for Carmen, but for the other two there were only about 6,000 people.  It was an exhilarating, but exhausting, four days.  I now know that "bravo" is for the man, "brava" for the woman, and "bravi" for a number or mixed group!  You can imagine the crowd when it came time to leave - one of the reasons for the huge numbers of tourists here.

Now a few facts for the muso's and theatre people reading this.  Some is what people told me, others from my observations.

Firstly, the opera.

• The chorus has about 100 people in it.
• In each opera they sang backstage, out of sight of the audience
• There is a dance troop, somewhere between 30 and forty strong
• In Carmen there was a children's choir of about 30.  They also appeared to watch the puppets in Aida.
• Some (I estimate between 30 - 40, depending on the performance) stage hands are dressed in character so that they can do work and still partipate as part of the performance.

Next the stage and arena crew.

• There are about 200 stage hands.
• An entire production is bumped out, and the next one bumped in, in less than 18 hours.
• Changing scenery between acts, and even during the performance, I counted up to 50 people beavering away!
• The sets are stored around the outside of the arena, and along with people power and smaller machinery such as fork lifts, a crane is used to remove and bring in the bigger stuff.
• There are about 80 Arena crew - the people who check tickets, find a seat etc.  These are mostly by my estimation young people under about 30.  They are very knowledgeable, and very attentive, rushing to assist people who have trouble with the high steps and so on.  They don't get ruffled and control little outbreaks of temper tantrums from the audience with skill and tact.  One young man, with numerous earrings, tatoos, and a very contemporary hairdo, dipped his head each time he saw me for the first time at each performance.  I don't think my behaviour so outlandish that he had cause to remember me, but it is an indication of their people skills. 

Stage hands moving the elephant ready for its role in Aida.

Lastly, the orchestra.

• The orchestra is about a 120 strong!
• It has 5 harps, and 9 double basses.  I thought there were a lot of harps (3) at the Domingo concert, till I saw the 5 in the pit for Carmen.  I thought there were no harps in Aida, but then I heard them backstage accompanying one of the soloists.  Once their job was done backstage they came back onstage (in the pit) for the rest of the performance.
• The orchestra is arranged differently for Italian opera.  Not sure how we do it in Australia, never having been in the pit for an opera performance.  When Carmen began I was quite surprised as there didn't appear to be any double basses.  It wasn't until half way through the second act that I noticed they were on the left of the conductor, behind the violins.  The violas were on his right, and the cellos in the centre.  The percussion was in the back right corner, but the harps were on the left.  To further change things, the woodwinds were in the centre back, and the brass were on the back right of the conductor.  Apparently this is standard for opera in Italy.
• Not all the orchestra was in the pit.  Depending which opera was being performed somewhere between 20 - 30 played back stage.  There were two conductors, and the one backstage could follow the one on stage via video!  The ensemble, not only of the orchestra but of the chorus in this situation was amazing!

The five harps in the orchestra.