Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Opera
Venice is the home of modern opera and the legendary, incendiary Teatro La Fenice, one
of the world's top opera houses since its founding in 1792 and host to Giuseppe Verdi's
premieres of
Rigoletto
and
La Traviata
. But the music doesn't stop when La Fenice takes
its summer break: opera divas from around the world perform under the stars from June to
August at Verona's Roman Arena, Italy's top summer opera festival.
Today you can see opera as Venetians did centuries ago, inside a frescoed pleasure-
palace music room at Palazetto Bru Zane, in Grand Canal palace salons with Musica a
Palazzo, among heavenly frescoes at Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista, and in
period costume at Scuola Grande dei Carmini.
Classical Music
Venice is the place to hear baroque music in its original and intended venues, with notes
soaring to Sebastiano Ricco-frescoed ceilings at Palazetto Bru Zan, filling Ca' Rezzo-
nico's vast baroque ballroom, sweeping through the salons at Palazzo Querini Stampalia
and reverberating through La Pietà , the original Vivaldi venue. Between opera seasons,
summer symphonies are performed by
La Fenice's Philharmonic Orchestra
(
www.filarmonica-fenice.it
)
at the opera house or affiliated Teatro Malibran.
Interpreti Veneziani plays Vivaldi and other baroque classics on original instruments
with radical verve, in a style known in Italy as 'baroque-n-roll' or 'ba-rock'. Tickets can
be purchased on site or at Museo della Musica, an informative museum of baroque music
and instruments with free admission provided by Interpreti Veneziani.
Music becomes a religious experience surrounded by Venetian art masterpieces during
organ vespers at Basilica di Santa Maria delle Salute and occasional sacred music concerts
at other Venetian churches.
Jazz
July's Venice Jazz Festival features international stars like Cesaria Evora and Omar Sosa,
but tributes to Miles Davis, Chet Baker and Charles Mingus continue year-round at Venice
Jazz Club and you might catch free-form jazz jams at I Figli delle Stelle, Ostreria da Filo
or Ai Postali.
Rock & Pop
A handful of other bars sporadically host live music acts, usually rock, reggae, folk and
leggera
(pop). For all-ages alt-rock and punk, check events at Laboratorio Occupato Mor-
ion. Bars with regular musical interludes include Paradiso Perduto, Al Timon, Bagolo,
