At the Embassy of Italy in Washington, the General Manager of the Arena di Verona Foundation, Cecilia Gasdia, together with the Deputy Artistic Director, Stefano Trespidi, presented the 2024 and 2025 seasons of the Arena Opera Festival.
In her welcoming address, Ambassador Mariangela Zappia emphasized the special connection established between Washington and Verona thanks to Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot, which will be performed at the Kennedy Center as well as at the Arena.
The evening, held in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute, is part of the international tour organized by the Arena di Verona Foundation to celebrate the 2024 Opera Festival at the Verona Arena, the centenary of Giacomo Puccini’s death, and the recent inclusion of Italian opera singing in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage.
Following the presentation, sopranos Yeajin Jeon and Sara Cortelezzis, tenor Ivan Magrì, accompanied on the piano by General Manager Cecilia Gasdia, performed some of Giacomo Puccini’s most famous Italian opera arias in front of a large audience including key figures in the cultural landscape, including the press, tourism operators, and institutional guests.
The Arena di Verona Opera Festival, the world’s largest open-air opera theater, presents fifty events this year, from June 7th to September 7th, including three operas by Puccini and, as the season opener, a grand televised show dedicated to Italian Opera Heritage with an orchestra of 150 musicians and a chorus of over 300 voices directed by Maestro Riccardo Muti.
