Carmen: 30 years in the Verona Arena, near the Colomba d’Oro

Opera – the perfect blend of music, dance and theatre – has enchanted the audience of the Verona Arena for more than a century: since 1913, every year the Roman amphitheatre, icon of the city that hosts the Colomba d’Oro, a hotel with parking in the centre of Verona, gioves the world the unique emotion of the Verona Arena Opera Festival, now in its 102nd edition. A special event for the summer of 2025 is the 150th anniversary of Carmen, Georges Bizet’s masterpiece, which promises to thrill with its captivating story and unforgettable melodies.

Thanks to its particular elliptical shape and its perfect acoustics that allow the music and the voices of opera singers to propagate perfectly inside it, the Verona Arena confirms itself as the ideal stage also for opera performances. This year Carmen is celebrating not only the 150th anniversary of its debut (it premiered in Paris in March 1875) and the death of its composer (George Bizet died three months later, the day after the thirty-third performance of Carmen), but also 30 years of performances at the Arena, a few steps from the Colomba d’Oro (which, by the way, had already existed for 38 years when Carmen saw the light, having welcomed its first guests in 1837).

Set in Seville (Spain) in 1820, Carmen tells the story of a charming and rebellious gipsy lady who seduces Don José, a soldier, who gives up his fiancée, Micaela, to follow her. Overwhelmed by his feelings, Don José becomes involved in the world of smugglers; but their stormy love is destined to end soon. The drama reaches its climax when Escamillo, a charismatic bullfighter, wins Carmen’s heart: consumed by jealousy and her refusal to start a new life together, Don José, in an act of desperation, kills her. This story of passion and destiny continues to thrill for its intensity and for the setting of the Spain of the past, and is ideal for those seeking inspiration among overwhelming passions and romantic landscapes. The production that is being staged in the Arena is the majestic and richly detailed one designed by the great Franco Zeffirelli, who brought it to the stage for the first time in 1995.

If you want to attend this blockbuster with over 500 people on stage including choirs, children’s voices, mimes, extras, dancers and the Antonio Gades dance company, the Verona Arena has 8 performances scheduled between July, August and September: July 4, July 12, July 18 and July 26 at 9:15 pm; and then August 14, August 23, August 29 and September 3 at 9 pm.

The Colomba d’Oro is the 4-star hotel closest to the Verona Arena, just perfect after an evening of opera. Give the gift card of this luxury hotel in Verona or book your stay in our rooms in Verona and experience the opera in all its intensity, with the elegance and comfort that only a 4-star hotel in the very center of Verona with private garage can offer.