tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1024398511254172770.post697017030228693937..comments2023-10-26T17:06:56.408+04:00Comments on cool travel guide: A night at the opera in Verona, or, When is opera not opera? When it's pure spectacleLara Dunstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05568159382939703162noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1024398511254172770.post-65246188837383468582009-02-27T05:21:00.000+04:002009-02-27T05:21:00.000+04:00Hi Erica - Oh look I got a tonne out of the experi...Hi Erica - Oh look I got a tonne out of the experience as a travel researcher and someone fascinated by why and how people travel.<BR/><BR/>And I love Aida. I'm mad about opera in general and love a night at the opera as much for the rituals and setting, the theatres themselves, and the people-watching, as the performances. <BR/><BR/>But seriously I don't recommend that anyone serious about the opera go to the Arena at Verona unless they're going to buy the best seats - where they can actually hear and see the performance!<BR/><BR/>Yeah, bragging rights is big for a lot of travellers, you're right. But we all get a bit of a kick out of that sometimes, don't we? The thing I hate is when it's at the expense of the actual experience. Hmmm... might have to do a post on that one too! Thanks once again for the inspiration! :)Lara Dunstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05568159382939703162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1024398511254172770.post-79249921340823058182009-02-27T02:39:00.000+04:002009-02-27T02:39:00.000+04:00Too bad you didn't get more out of the experience....Too bad you didn't get more out of the experience. Aida is terrific. I saw Aida (but not the opera, the musical) at Broadway a few years ago. I think this "They just wanted to be able to say they'd been." applies to lots of events and sights around the world. Some people are more interested to say, or brag, they've been somewhere rather than enjoying the experience only for themselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1024398511254172770.post-72443078362840848152009-02-27T01:53:00.000+04:002009-02-27T01:53:00.000+04:00Hi TravelMuse - how lucky you were! It's such an e...Hi TravelMuse - how lucky you were! It's such an enchanting city isn't it? I'm determined to live there for a bit one day and learn Russian - my grandparents are Russian and the fact I don't speak it is shameful!Lara Dunstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05568159382939703162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1024398511254172770.post-22555328100682716432009-02-26T21:58:00.000+04:002009-02-26T21:58:00.000+04:00The St. Petersburg trip was a special birthday gif...The St. Petersburg trip was a special birthday gift from my husband and I don't believe I've ever been more seduced by a City. I loved everything about it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1024398511254172770.post-27359430625590817332009-02-26T05:27:00.000+04:002009-02-26T05:27:00.000+04:00You're right - this was an altogether different ex...You're right - this was an altogether different experience to La Scala! And the worst thing was that we'd been to La Scala just a couple of weeks before so the experience was fresh in our mind.<BR/><BR/>But your St Petersburg experience sounds wonderful! We also saw ballet there and it was fabulous. I had so many memories of my uncle (who lived there for many years) telling me about how he loved going to the ballet and being so close you could hear the ballerinas slippers on the wooden floor, and we got great seats there and it was the same! Wonderful stuff!Lara Dunstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05568159382939703162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1024398511254172770.post-6504089596639774842009-02-26T05:15:00.000+04:002009-02-26T05:15:00.000+04:00Wow that's no night at La Scala. It does look lik...Wow that's no night at La Scala. It does look like a soccer stadium in the picture. My husband and I once went to a ballet performance in St. Petersburg where halfway through they stopped the ballet for a pas de deux and the entire audience started rythmically clapping along. We were astonished. It was absolutely wild.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com