COVID-19 Update No. 8 :

UPDATE No. 8 Little change from last week. Still no word from our contacts on the ground in Verona. Clearly much thought is being given by national and local government, the festival management as to the pressing practicalities surrounding perception and safety to artists, musicians and audiences: 14,000 [give or take] nearly every night from mid-June to mid-August! Also, nothing further, yet, from the box office at Torre del Lago about the 2020 Puccini festival. Bregenzer Festspiele [22
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Free to view Opera from The New York Met

Alongside their Opera on Demand streaming service, a daily, different, full length opera from their extraordinary archive is available for FREE streaming on the Met website. Each performance available for a period of 23 hours, from 7:30 p.m. EDT (00.30 a.m BST) Performances in coming days include;Monday May 4th: Le Nozze de Figaro by MozartTuesday May 5th: Hamlet by Ambroise ThomasWednesday May 6th: L’Amour de Loin by Kaija SaariahoThursday May 7th: Capricciosa by StraussFriday May 8
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Sleeping Florence

Watching this mesmerizing drone footage of the empty streets and piazzas of Florence, filmed during the Coronavirus isolation measures, gives one uniquely uninterrupted views of the city's ancient buildings. But despite the red roofs and blue skies, without the bustle and energy of its population and visitors, a lot of colour is somehow missing. At the time of writing, we are very much looking forward our December tour,
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Featured Composer

Giuseppe Verdi [1813-1901]

A giant in the world of opera, one of a tiny group of composers who set the supreme standard by which the art of opera is judged. Just consider. Of his 28 operas about a dozen form the backbone of the standard operatic repertoire.

Born in a village in the rural depths of what is now the province of Parma, Verdi received his earliest musical education from church organists in Roncole & Busseto.

He married in 1938, aged 25, and moved to Milan where, in 1839, he completed his first opera, Oberto.

Early personal tragedies followed: his first child, daughter Virginia died in infancy, their second child also. His wife Margherita died in 1840 aged 26.

Devastated and dispirited by these personal losses Verdi found solace in his work and through the 1840s and the 1850s,'60s and '70s he composed Nabucco, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata, Don Carlos, and Aida, amongst others.

Of course, more great works followed right through until old age [Messsa da Requiem, Otello, Falstaff].

Verdi died on 27 Janaury 1901 in Milano.

Featured Composer

Giuseppe Verdi [1813-1901]

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