I just received my confirmation for the b n b in Naples that Jonathan so highly recommended, so that's set, and I am ready to reserve my opera ticket. Il Turco in Italia, on Thursday October 7, at the civilized hour of 6pm. What are the best seats in the house? Is it better to sit in the stalls (orchestra) or in, say, the second tier of boxes? The music is important, of course, but part of the whole experience is the ambience of the house. Where to sit? Yrs, Robert
I like to sit front and center if at all possible. That way I get to thear the orchestral balance. Others say they like to sit int he first teir to get the blended sound. Since the singing is unamplified, it tens to fall off in the back in almost any house.
I just looked at the Charta site. It seems to me that sitting in Zone 1 for €100 is a better value than in zone 2 or 3 for a €20 to 25 savings. I might look at zones 4 and 5 at a lot less money but you can get into some pretty tight angles.
Thanks, Dean. I just bought a ticket in the front of the second tier of boxes, one of the expensive ones. From the theatre plan, it looks as if I will have unobstructed sightlines, and the acoustics there are supposed to be wonderful. Weird to do it all via the internet, but I am sure it will work out. I even get a personalized barcode to bring with me! Can't wait. Yrs, Robert
We have used Charta 4 times with no worries. Enjoy. Its a light piece but a lot of fun. People in disguise, true love wins in the end. The fool gets his comeuppance. And its Bel Canto!
I'm glad I bought my ticket today; there were only about 21 seats listed in the section I wanted, and I got just the position I wanted. I just downloaded the plot synopsis for Il Turco in Italia, and even by the exacting standards of silliness set by some (most? all?) 19th century opera stories, this one might take the biscotti. I think I'll just sit back and let the music and voices wash over me, and hope that in the end, they all go to the sea-shore. And thanks for the reassurance about Charta, Dean, who did make it very easy indeed for me to spend some bucks. Still, Opera at Teatro San Carlo! Can't wait. Yrs, Robert
I'm glad the B&B worked out, Robert. Yes, that Charta site is nice to use: we used it for the first time last month, and now have our very own barcode, waiting to be used at Macerata's Sferisterio in August (Simon Boccanegra). We've only been to Macerata in the winter, but enjoyed looking round the outside of the building (converted from a huge 19th-century handball arena) - have you ever been there, Dean?
Jonathan
Posts: 2924 | Location: Stroud, UK | Registered: 18 November 2001
Never been to Macerata and will be really interested in hearing how you like the performance.
Boccanegra is a wonderful opera. Simon takes 2 full acts to die of poison. Take that Violetta and Mimi! They only takes all of the 4th act to die in La Trav and La Boheme respectively! I have a wonderful DVD of Boccanegra with, I recall, Milnes and Domingo. What an opera!
Dean I have to come to the defense of Violetta - surely she is dying from the moment the curtain goes up on Act One??
We thoroughly enjoyed La Traviata at the Q.E. theatre here in Vancouver last week. Soprano Madeline Bender was tremendous - and what a great actress to boot!
For those with Charta experience, my bar code states that the tickets are available at the box office one hour before the performance. I thought I had read somewhere that the tickets must be picked up prior to one hour before the performance???
Does it differ by venue - we have tickets for Barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro Malibran.
Sheena
Posts: 2263 | Location: West Vancouver, B.C. Canada | Registered: 28 February 2004
quote:Originally posted by Sheena: Dean I have to come to the defense of Violetta - surely she is dying from the moment the curtain goes up on Act One??
Does it differ by venue - we have tickets for Barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro Malibran.
OK... I admit, I meant to talk about Tosca. One moment she sees her fate and the next she's dead in the streets of Rome. For tohse who have never seen the opera, she jumps off the top of the Sastel St. Angelo. As Sondheim said in another context... "Boom! Squish!"
As far as picking up the tickets, at Tore del Lago we were there several hours before the performance and at Roma we were there about an hour or a little less. Both times we flashed our confirmation and got the tickets. I don't recall what was printed on our confirmations so I really don't have an exact answer, but my intuition tells me its a fairly loose system.
Yes, our Charta barcode e-mail for Macerata just says 'presentando... un'ora prima dell'inizio dello spectacolo' I expect we'll get there earlier just to be safe.
Tosca: for our first trip to Rome our hotel was just round the corner from S. Andrea delle Valle (Act 1). So it was fun to see the church, walk round to the Palazzo Farnese (Act 2), and then, the next day, stand atop the Castel (Act 3).
Jonathan
Posts: 2924 | Location: Stroud, UK | Registered: 18 November 2001
Jonathan, I did the same "Tosca Tour" last year; plus, I had the joy of seeing inside the P. Farnese, which is spectacular. They did a live televised production of Tosca some years ago, sung and filmed at the original sites, with the cast (Domingo?) and orchestra racing across Rome with police escorts. Quite the show. San Andrea d. Valle always seems sort of incomplete without the Puccini soundtrack. Yrs, Robert
We did a convoluted Tosca Tour. We went to Castel St Angelo. Next up was a wander to Campo di Fiori to try and find a reccomended shop which we never did. In the wandering around, we entered San Andrea delle Valle whithout knowing it was the Tosca church and then we found ourselves just outside Palazzo Farnese. We went back tot he apartment and put on Tosca (Calas' version).
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