Opera concert in the Palazzo dei Mutilati
About 60 minutes of arias and duets for tenor, mezzo-soprano and piano in the Sala Antonio Girelli, with a welcome glass of prosecco and access to the palace's interiors.
Why a palace
Why hear opera in a palace, not an arena
Verona has opera at two scales
The Arena stages opera in a Roman amphitheatre that seats about 30,000, and its first festival opened in 1913 with Aida. A palace hall works the other way. You sit a few chairs from a tenor and a mezzo-soprano, with a piano instead of an orchestra, and the voices reach you without a stage between.
A palace built for veterans
The Palazzo dei Mutilati was built as the Verona headquarters of the national association of war-disabled veterans, paid for by public bodies, private bodies, citizens and the veterans themselves. Its first stone went in during May 1933, and it was inaugurated on 16 September 1934. Francesco Banterle designed it, with his brother Ruperto, a sculptor.
A concert that is also a visit
The concert is held in the Sala Antonio Girelli, the assembly hall, which ends in a curved apse with six arched windows. The ticket includes access to the palace's interiors, a marble atrium among them, so the evening starts a little before the first note.
The arias
Four arias, and what they are about
An opera concert is built from numbers that carry a whole story in a few minutes. The four below are the ones named for the programme: a tenor's swagger, a tenor's tenderness, a mezzo-soprano's entrance and a piece with no words at all.
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Verdi · Rigoletto, 1851
La donna è mobile
The Duke of Mantua's song at the start of act 3, written to show off a tenor. It was rehearsed in secret before the Venice premiere, and Venetian gondoliers were soon singing it.
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Donizetti · L'elisir d'amore, 1832
Una furtiva lagrima
Nemorino's tender romanza. He has bought a love potion that is only cheap red wine, sees Adina weeping and decides it has worked. The quietest tenor moment in the comedy.
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Bizet · Carmen, 1875
Habanera
Carmen's entrance in act 1, a mezzo-soprano aria in French. Bizet built it on a Spanish habanera by Sebastián Iradier, which he believed was a folk song.
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Mascagni · Cavalleria rusticana, 1890
Intermezzo
An orchestral interlude that plays while the village square is empty. There is no singing, so at a concert with piano it falls to the pianist.
The programme may differ by date, so take these four as a taste of the style rather than a promise.
The palace itself
The palace in four facts
The concert room belongs to a building with a clear history, set down in Italian sources and in a long run of photographs on Wikimedia Commons. These four facts explain what you walk through.
- Inaugurated 16 September 1934
- The Verona section of the war-disabled veterans' association raised the money in the early 1930s from public bodies, private bodies, citizens and its own members. The first stone was laid in May 1933.
- Designed by Francesco Banterle
- His brother Ruperto, a sculptor, worked on the building. The front recalls a triumphal arch, with a winged Victory in relief and two statues beside the door.
- A hall named for Antonio Girelli
- The Sala Antonio Girelli is the assembly hall. It ends in a semicircular apse with six windows of worked wood, alabaster and glass, and Girelli led the Verona section until 1967.
- Furniture from 1934
- Most of the interior still looks as designed, and most of its original furniture, also drawn by Banterle, survives. The association still occupies part of the building.
The palace and the city
Inside the palace, and around it
The concert hall, the marble atrium, the stair hall and the front of the palace, then the Arena and the city gate nearby and Verona's historic opera theatre.
Opera in Verona, compared
Three ways to hear opera in Verona
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Opera concert in the Palazzo dei Mutilati
About 60 minutes of arias and duets for tenor, mezzo-soprano and piano in the Sala Antonio Girelli, with a welcome glass of prosecco and access to the palace's interiors.
Best forVisitors who want a close-up first taste of opera in a single short evening.
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Opera in the Arena
Full productions in the Roman amphitheatre, where the opera festival began in 1913. Its programme and tickets are on the Arena's own site.
Best forSummer visitors who want the largest stage and will buy separately.
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Opera at the Teatro Filarmonico
Staged operas, ballets and concerts in the theatre the Accademia Filarmonica opened in 1732, rebuilt after the bombing of 1945.
Best forOpera lovers who want a complete work in a historic theatre and will check its season.
Book the palace concert
Book an opera evening in Verona
The card opens the opera concert in the Palazzo dei Mutilati. The calendar under it shows dates and start times, and the strip below lists other things to book in Verona.
More to book in Verona
Arriving and sitting
Before you go
Finding the palace
It stands on via dei Mutilati, just outside the Portoni della Bra, the city-wall gate beside Corso Porta Nuova. Take the steps and go in by the big door. Your confirmation shows the meeting point.
Step-free entrance
The ticket is marked wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair users enter from the side of the building rather than by the front steps.
Check-in and the membership card
A cultural association organises the concerts, and the reservation counts as a donation to it. At check-in you fill in a membership card with your first and last name and your country of residence.
Seats
Seats are reserved and assigned when you arrive, so you cannot choose a row. A few guests would like more comfortable chairs, so settle in at the start.
After the concert
The performers meet guests in the atrium afterwards for photographs. Keep your phone away during the music and use it then.
Start time and length
Every date in the calendar has its own start time. The music lasts 60 minutes, and the whole visit is listed at roughly an hour and a half.
Guides to the palace, the arias and the city
Guides to the palace, the arias and the city
Which opera, and how to book Verona opera concert: how to book
How to book the opera concert in a Verona palace: what the ticket covers, the membership card, and how it compares with the Arena and the Teatro Filarmonico.
On to the Verona guide → The building and the way in Palazzo dei Mutilati Verona: the venue
The Palazzo dei Mutilati in Verona explained: why it was built, who designed it, what the Sala Girelli is, where the door is and how check-in works.
On to the Verona guide →FAQ
Before you reserve a seat
How long is the opera concert?
Sixty minutes of music. The whole visit is listed at about an hour and a half, which leaves room for the welcome prosecco and the time with the performers. Start times differ by date.
Where is the concert held?
In the Sala Antonio Girelli of the Palazzo dei Mutilati, on via dei Mutilati in Verona's city centre. It is a separate venue from the Arena and from the Teatro Filarmonico.
Who sings, and what is sung?
Three performers: a tenor, a mezzo-soprano and a pianist. Pieces from Rigoletto, L'elisir d'amore, Carmen and Cavalleria rusticana are named for the programme, though the line-up may differ by date.
Is the prosecco included?
A welcome glass of prosecco on arrival is part of the GetYourGuide ticket. Other drinks and souvenirs are not.
What is the membership card at check-in?
The concerts are organised by a cultural association, and the reservation counts as a donation to it. At check-in you fill in a membership card with your first and last name and your country of residence.
Is it a good first opera?
Guests who had never been to an opera say it suits first-timers. It is short, the pieces are famous and the room is small. It is a concert with piano, not a staged opera.
Is the palace wheelchair accessible?
Step-free access is through the side entrance, not the front steps, and the ticket is flagged as suitable for wheelchair users.
Is this the opera in the Arena?
No. The Arena stages full productions in a Roman amphitheatre, mostly in summer. This is an hour of arias and duets with piano in a small palace hall.
Can I cancel?
Until 24 hours before the start, yes, with a full refund; the fare can also be paid later. These terms belong to the GetYourGuide ticket.
Arias and duets for tenor, mezzo-soprano and piano, a welcome glass of prosecco and a 1930s palace hall in the centre of Verona.
Reserve a seat in the palace ↗Fares are quoted per adult in US dollars and converted to your own currency at checkout.