Italian Opera in Taormina

Unique experience . Must...

Unique experience . Must indulge in pre recital drink in garden . Amazing tenor , soprano and pianist . Must see when in Taorima

via Viator

Great Opera experience with very reasonable price.

When I booked, I was looking for something we can do in our 2nd trip to Taormina. Very reasonable price and performing throughout the year, thus, I was thinking here is rather for a tourist site, thus I did not expect much honestly. Wow! reality was very differen in a greater way. Real opera! We can't imagine we could have such a wonderful time with the price. Great opera singers and a pianist. Only 5mn on foot from main street. Staffs are attentive too.

via Tripadvisor

A lovely evening of opera in an intimate little theatre

Loved this. It's a warm, relaxed evening of well known opera arias and duets in a small, intimate theatre where you're right up close to the performers. The singers were fantastic, real voices with proper expression, and the pianist was excellent too, with a couple of solo moments of his own. The selection of pieces was spot on, all the famous ones you'd hope to hear, so even if you're not an opera buff there's plenty to enjoy. Nice touch getting a glass of prosecco at the interval as well. One thing to set expectations: this is a selection of arias, not a full staged opera. You're getting the highlights rather than one complete work start to finish. We knew that going in and honestly it's part of the charm, since it lets each performer show what they can do, but worth knowing so you're not expecting a full production. Highly recommend, especially as a low key way to spend an evening in Taormina. Go and enjoy.

via Tripadvisor

Nothing could’ve prepared me for this level of disappointment.

We bought tickets via the official website for the advertised opera performance, drawn in by photos of the Teatro Antico di Taormina at sunset that were used in all the promotional material at the time of purchase. Upon arriving at the ancient theater on the day of the event, we discovered the actual venue was somewhere else entirely: the Teatro Nazarena on Via Fontana Vecchia. It was a space featuring an artificial grass terrace and a small hall with a stage—bearing no resemblance whatsoever to what had been advertised. We weren't the only ones misled this way; other reviews here recount the same experience of being led to expect an open-air spectacle with panoramic views, only to find an enclosed, charmless hall. The stark contrast between what was advertised and what was actually delivered amounts to clear false advertising—using images of a famous historical landmark to sell a completely different experience. To make matters worse, we paid for six "VIP" tickets (around €50 each), sold with the promise of early entry, welcome drinks, complimentary drinks during the intermission, and reserved seating. In reality, the only promised perk actually delivered was the welcome drink; the intermission drinks—marketed as an exclusive benefit—were served to everyone present (VIP or not) in leaky plastic cups. In short, we paid extra for benefits that didn't exist. To compound the misery, the venue had no climate control, making the event—held in 30°C heat—even more uncomfortable. Unsurprisingly, the opera "show" itself was also disappointing. The performances were mediocre—bordering on ridiculous—and the costumes and set design were bizarre, turning an already bad experience into a pathetic one. The discomfort of the other audience members was palpable; in fact, more than one group left the venue during the intermission—abandoning their €50 tickets—and never returned. Already extremely disappointed with the venue and the opera performance, we were forced to do the same. Not only would I not recommend this experience to anyone, but I am also considering what appropriate steps to take regarding this situation.

Response from the operator: Dear Ms Zenaro, We are sorry to read your review, particularly as it contains numerous statements that do not correspond to reality and are potentially damaging to our organisation’s reputation. Italian Opera Taormina has been organising opera performances since 2014 and, across more than 5,000 performances, has never engaged in misleading advertising practices. The venue for the performances is always clearly stated at every stage of the booking process, on the official website www.italianoperataormina.com, on the tickets and in communications sent to customers. Nowhere is it stated that the performances take place at the Ancient Theatre of Taormina, nor that they are open-air performances. The images on our website and official channels depict Taormina and the artistic and cultural context in which our event takes place, but the venue for the show is always explicitly stated as the Teatro Nazarena. This is demonstrated not only by the content published on our website and social media profiles, but also by the thousands of reviews collected over the years from audience members from all over the world. The claim that photographs of the venue were altered during the event is also completely unfounded. Our website is constantly updated, but no alterations were made with the aim of depicting a venue other than the actual one. As regards VIP tickets, the services provided were delivered as agreed. Any organisational decision to offer additional courtesies to other guests certainly does not constitute a failure to provide the benefits reserved for VIP ticket holders. We are, of course, aware that artistic judgement is subjective and we respect every opinion on the show. We would also like to clarify a particularly important point. Your review states that the artists were presented as ‘international’ despite being Italian. This statement demonstrates a clear misunderstanding of the term’s meaning. An internationally renowned artist is not necessarily a foreigner, but rather a professional who performs in the world’s leading theatres and festivals. The artists who collaborate with Italian Opera Taormina are all professionals with international careers, who perform regularly in prestigious theatres and musical institutions across Europe, Asia, the Americas and the rest of the world. Opera represents one of Italy’s greatest cultural treasures, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and it is a source of pride for our country that many of its greatest performers are, in fact, Italian. To claim that an artist cannot be described as ‘international’ simply because they are Italian is to ignore the very history of opera and the global prestige it continues to enjoy thanks to its performers. That said, however, we cannot accept accusations of ‘misleading advertising’ or the dissemination of false information, which lack any objective basis. Precisely because of the seriousness of the claims contained in your review, which risk causing unjust damage to the reputation of a cultural event that has been running for over ten years, we reserve the right to defend our reputation through the appropriate legal channels should these statements prove to be defamatory. We remain, however, open to any direct and constructive dialogue, confident that dialogue is always preferable to the dissemination of information that does not correspond to the facts. We would also like to clarify that this same complaint has been repeatedly posted by the same person across multiple channels and platforms, despite the fact that we have already provided a detailed response and clarification regarding the matter. The content is substantially identical each time and relates to the exact same booking and experience, rather than to separate or independent customer experiences. We therefore believe it is important to point out that these are not multiple independent reviews, but repeated publications of the same complaint across different platforms (Google/TripAdvisor) We respectfully ask readers to consider this context when assessing the review and to distinguish genuine, independent customer feedback from the repeated dissemination of the same content across multiple channels. https://goo.gl/maps/R4jCtoBfbVjQHuhS8 The Italian Opera Taormina Team

via Tripadvisor

Not at all what was advertised

We bought tickets through the official website for the advertised opera show, drawn in by the sunset photos of the Teatro Antico di Taormina that illustrated all the marketing at the time of purchase. On the day of the event, when we arrived at the ancient theatre, we discovered that the actual venue was somewhere else entirely: Teatro Nazarena, on Via Fontana Vecchia — a space with an artificial-grass terrace and a small hall with a stage, bearing no resemblance to what was advertised. We weren't the only ones misled this way, as other reviews right here describe the same experience of being led to expect an open-air show with panoramic views, when in practice it's an enclosed hall with no charm whatsoever. The clear gap between what was advertised and what was delivered amounts to clear false advertising, using images of a famous historical landmark to sell a completely different experience. This impression is reinforced by the fact that when we checked the website again during the event itself, the photos of the Teatro Antico were simply no longer there, replaced by images that finally matched the actual venue. If the change was a coincidence, it was a remarkably convenient one. To complete the disappointment, we paid for 6 tickets in the "VIP" category (around €50 each), sold with the promise of early entry, welcome drinks, free drinks at intermission, and reserved seating. In practice, the only benefit actually delivered was the welcome drink, since the intermission drink, marketed as exclusive, was served to everyone present, VIP or not. In other words, we paid extra for benefits that didn't exist. To make matters worse, the venue had no air conditioning or ventilation of any kind, which made the event, at around 30°C, even more uncomfortable. To no one's surprise, the "opera show" itself also fell short. The performers were billed as "international," despite all being Italian, once again relying on false information to inflate the perceived value of an at-best mediocre performance. The acts featured mediocre performances bordering on the ridiculous, along with bizarre costumes and set decoration, turning an already poor experience into a pathetic one. The discomfort among the rest of the audience was evident — so much so that more than one group left the venue at intermission, writing off their €50, never to return. Already deeply disappointed with the venue we found ourselves in and with the opera show itself, we were forced to do the same. Beyond not recommending this experience to anyone, we are considering further action.

Response from the operator: Dear Ms Zenaro, We are sorry to read your review, particularly as it contains numerous statements that do not correspond to reality and are potentially damaging to our organisation’s reputation. Italian Opera Taormina has been organising opera performances since 2014 and, across more than 5,000 performances, has never engaged in misleading advertising practices. The venue for the performances is always clearly stated at every stage of the booking process, on the official website www.italianoperataormina.com, on the tickets and in communications sent to customers. Nowhere is it stated that the performances take place at the Ancient Theatre of Taormina, nor that they are open-air performances. The images on our website and official channels depict Taormina and the artistic and cultural context in which our event takes place, but the venue for the show is always explicitly stated as the Teatro Nazarena. This is demonstrated not only by the content published on our website and social media profiles, but also by the thousands of reviews collected over the years from audience members from all over the world. The claim that photographs of the venue were altered during the event is also completely unfounded. Our website is constantly updated, but no alterations were made with the aim of depicting a venue other than the actual one. As regards VIP tickets, the services provided were delivered as agreed. Any organisational decision to offer additional courtesies to other guests certainly does not constitute a failure to provide the benefits reserved for VIP ticket holders. We are, of course, aware that artistic judgement is subjective and we respect every opinion on the show. We would also like to clarify a particularly important point. Your review states that the artists were presented as ‘international’ despite being Italian. This statement demonstrates a clear misunderstanding of the term’s meaning. An internationally renowned artist is not necessarily a foreigner, but rather a professional who performs in the world’s leading theatres and festivals. The artists who collaborate with Italian Opera Taormina are all professionals with international careers, who perform regularly in prestigious theatres and musical institutions across Europe, Asia, the Americas and the rest of the world. Opera represents one of Italy’s greatest cultural treasures, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and it is a source of pride for our country that many of its greatest performers are, in fact, Italian. To claim that an artist cannot be described as ‘international’ simply because they are Italian is to ignore the very history of opera and the global prestige it continues to enjoy thanks to its performers. That said, however, we cannot accept accusations of ‘misleading advertising’ or the dissemination of false information, which lack any objective basis. Precisely because of the seriousness of the claims contained in your review, which risk causing unjust damage to the reputation of a cultural event that has been running for over ten years, we reserve the right to defend our reputation through the appropriate legal channels should these statements prove to be defamatory. We remain, however, open to any direct and constructive dialogue, confident that dialogue is always preferable to the dissemination of information that does not correspond to the facts. The Italian Opera Taormina Team

via Tripadvisor