“Veneto terra di amici, Verona terra d’amore” (“Veneto land of friendship; Verona land of love”) is the chorus of one of an Italian song dedicated to the city of Romeo and Juliet: a place that boasts Roman and romantic, cultural and oeno-gastronomic traditions, which include wine and the Arena.
From the hot nights of June till the mild ones of September, Summer in the Verona area cannot but be spent on the shores of Lake Garda in the company of a glass of Le Fornaci Lugana D.O.C., or in the shade of an umbrella by the pool with a glass of Valpolicella D.O.C., served cool, if possible.
Because there are only two things that the rising temperatures cannot put a stop to: a good bottle of wine and the annual appointment with opera. The latter is a tradition that boasts years and years of huge success, with productions bearing the names of artists like Riccardo Cocciante or Riccardo Muti, whose latest “Aida” opened the 2021 season in Verona’s famous amphitheater. But, to discover its origins, we have to take a step back in time.

It was in 1913 – around the time that Tommasi, too, was beginning to make its name known around the city – that “Aida” brought the wonders of opera onto the stage of the Arena.

«I think that, of all the operas, it’s the one that’s most suited to this venue: it’s hard for anyone not to associate it – as a great visual and vocal event – with the Arena in Verona».

Alberto Gazale, the baritone born at Sassari in Sardinia, smiles on the stage of the Arena as he prepares to sing the part of Amonasro, Aida’s father in Verdi’s opera, 22 years after his debut here in this role. Verona has been his second home, and it is here that he laid the foundations for the enormous success that has led to him performing in the most prestigious theaters in the world, including La Fenice in Venice, La Scala in Milan, the Wiener Staatsoper in Vienna e the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

«Artistically speaking, I was practically born in the Arena, the mother of the art of opera in the Veneto. In 1999 I sang in my first “Aida” here, but in ‘98 I had made my debut in Giuliano Montaldo’s production of Verdi’s “Un ballo in maschera” (“A Masked Ball”), that season’s première. For me, coming back to Verona almost every year is a great source of satisfaction and a great joy».

Meanwhile, the audience are taking their seats for another sold-out performance: Italians, foreigners, couples and single people, adults but also children. For many years now, colored fans have fluttered amid the stalls and glasses of wine have accompanied the show.

«I couldn’t have a home in Valpolicella and not love the great wines of the Veneto and of Verona,» Gazale stresses, «Amarone above all, but also Ripasso, Recioto and all the great historic wines. We might say that wine has a lot in common with art. It is made up of sensations, psychology, connections and emotions, and the liaison of a great wine with a great artistic performance represents a real apotheosis. I have known few well-traveled artists who didn’t also have a passion for wine, which is an extremely deep-rooted part of our culture. It is one of the finest things we know how to do or make».

In the vaults under the Arena, the artists are beginning to prepare for the performance: here you can hear their vocal exercises, while the half- made-up and half-dressed extras run from one end of the corridors to the other. Because, in the Arena, every evening represents a new challenge.

«Choosing a favorite opera is a bit like having to choose between your children. It depends on the director, the conductor; the cast members change, and the same opera can have greater or lesser appeal. But the important thing is especially to love that production, because the strength of an opera is its impromptu nature. Every performance and every evening are different from the rest».

Just as, in the same way, every glass of wine can have a different effect, especially in Valpolicella, where the tasting from Rafaèl Valpolicella Classico Superiore doc, to Ripasso Valpolicella Classico Superiore doc  and Amarone della Valpolicella Classisco docg is an experience of never ending harmony, also evidenced by the excellent reviews of the well-known critic James Suckling.