THE VERONA OPERA FESTIVAL - TIPS, ADVICE AND SOME PRACTICALITIES

THE VERONA OPERA FESTIVAL - TIPS, ADVICE AND PRACTICALITIES

Your tickets are only valid for the date printed on them, so ensure you check your tickets as soon as you get them. If you don't use them you have no entitlement to a performance on a different day.

The Arena di Verona issues no refunds for tickets except in specific conditions where a performance is cancelled because of bad weather. In this situation, all information will be given by loudspeaker. There will be refunds if the opera is cancelled before the end of Act I. Should it be a one-act opera, then the entitlement to refund is lost the moment the opera begins. Whatever the weather, performances at the Arena di Verona are never cancelled before the scheduled start time ... this is to allow the weather time to clear.

To get a refund, hand tickets to the main ticket office of the Fondazione Arena immediately or on the following day. If you cannot do this, mail them to the Arena di Verona Foundation head office (to be received within ten days of the performance) and you will receive a refund. The office is located at:

Fondazione Arena di Verona
Piazza Bra 28
37121 Verona
Italy

Duplicate tickets are never issued, and all prices in the programme include every relevant tax. The Arena di Verona Foundation does reserve the right to change the programme, date or schedule in the event of technical problems or force majeure. No children under four in the Arena we're afraid (though why anyone would wish to take a three-year-old to several hours of Aida or Tosca we cannot imagine). As we've said, operas are long, but it is possible to rent cushions within the Arena di Verona, and we'd advise it. There are no cloakrooms, so go before the performance. There is a lost-property office at the Office of the Town Hall (Ufficio Oggetti Smarriti del Comune di Verona). Should you be at the planning stages, may we steer you towards ahotelinitaly.com for a wide range of Verona hotels, all with availability vhecking and online booking.

On performance evenings there is an information office open, from 7pm, at Gate Number 5. You can buy programmes and librettos for the opera within the Arena di Verona before the performance. You can buy these (and other opera merchandise) at Gate Number 10, open every day during the Arena Festival. Beware of fake merchandise ... the official items are only on sale at the places we've mentioned. Anywhere else, you should steer well clear.

How to behave in the Arena

Please only occupy your own seat and ensure you reach it before the performance starts. If you arrive late you will not be admitted during the performance, but will have to wait until the first interval. Please dress appropriately (while taking preparations for wet weather). There are refreshments available, but these are only available for the numbered seats and stalls during the intervals between Acts. Certain objects are prohibited in the Arena di Verona, such as bottles, knives, scissors and glass objects - these may be confiscated by ushers. Photography, sound or video recording of any type is forbidden. Turn off your mobile/cellphone before the opera starts. Smoking is banned during the operas at Verona, as are pets ... so no lapdogs!

If you have a physical disability, please ask the ushers at Gate 4 for assistance.