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The Clemence of Titus, Drottningholms, Stockholm [ Author Michael Daniel Watson ] [ From category THE Articles ] [ Subcategory OperaRail 2013 ] [ Subcategory II Stockholm Royal Swedish Opera ] [ Translator Dana Pavel ] [ Article date: 2013-08-13 ] [ From city Stockholm ] [ Country Suedia ]   I had the chance to be in Stockholm on the same day that the “Clemence of Titus" was on at the royal summer palace. Of course, it did not happen solely by chance, I had planned to be in Stockholm precisely on that day. The royal summer palace of Drottningholms is located on one of the 14 islands that form the capital of Sweden. Alongside it there is, obviously, a lake. At the entrance I caught a glimpse of a beautifully laid-out large garden behind the palace. For the opera, there is a theatre of roughly 500 seats. All the organizers were dressed up in costumes typical of the age of Mozart, which made you step into this atmosphere from the moment you entered the door. I have to admit that I was not very elegantly dressed, and my suitcase made me look anything but charming, but since I took it to the opera in Munchen and Rome, I had to acquaint it to the opera in Stockholm as well. In order not to deviate from the main idea, I will introduce it here. The setting was perfect: a small room, dimly lit by 8 chandeliers fit for the size of it, the scenery, the orchestra (whose members were, of course, all dressed up in Mozart type of costumes), two side balconies (they sang from them as well). The thing that impressed me most was that every gesture was perfectly framed, which only meant that they had reahearsed them tens, if not hundreds of times. Need I say that the voices fitted perfectly with the scenery or would it be redundant? The orchestra was not very big, at most 30 members. The conductor was standing somewhere on the side and instead of a music stand, he had a piano in front of him. Later on I saw why: he played some of the arias himself. The floor of the stage was of unpolished wood: large undyed floorboards. But the scenery was vivid and it was changing in the twinkling of an eye. At some point, I took a short look on the programme and when I raised my head the scenery had already been changed. When they moved on to the following scene, I was able to see how they changed the scenery as well. About the opera itself… it`s Mozart. He is a genius of classical music, but his works are strikingly similar, so “The Clemence of Titus" is not special in any way. But the setting was worth the effort: to get from the city centre to the theatre and back I needed to change 4 means of transportation; and, of course, it takes time to get there: roughly one hour. However, an opera at the Drottningholms Palace should not be passed up.

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30-09-2024: Aida storica 1913
"Aida" in Verona 100 + 1. A hundred emotions plus one, yours!

Arena di Verona, the most Italian place on Earth!

These are the slogans through which Arena di Verona has chosen this year, 2024, to promote the Opera Festiva
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[ Author Michael Daniel Watson ]
From category THE Articles

21-09-2024: Aida shines brightly at the Arena di Verona
The Arena di Verona is also presenting a modern version of Aida, in addition to the old but wonderful version from 1913. And it looks something like this!

The stage is tilted, and the floor is made of glass. In the center, a giant hand
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[ Author Michael Daniel Watson ]
From category THE Articles

11-09-2024: Tosca a Verona 2024
Mario`s painting is huge, but... it`s on the floor, lying on its side. Mario doesn`t actually paint it, but "works" on some sketches. In the center of the stage you can see some huge shapes/objects, covered with black cloths. There are also two canno
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[ Author Michael Daniel Watson ]
From category THE Articles

01-09-2024: “La boheme� at Arena di Verona
Arena di Verona. We arrive. We park. We get off. We take a few pictures with the Arena in the background, then ... a heavy rain starts! We take shelter under a tree. :-) I don`t think the show is happening anymore, but we can`t leave either, so we ju
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[ Author Michael Daniel Watson ]
From category THE Articles

20-12-2023: Spoletta, symbol of Hungarian anti-communist resistance
Budapest Opera House was inaugurated in 1884 to be a competition for Vienna StaatsOper. It is localised in the center of the hungarian capital, just a few minutes behind St. Stefan cathedral, the bigest church of the city. In 2022 is was open again a
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[ Author Michael Daniel Watson ]
From category THE Articles

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