The Arena Opera Festival Experiences return

Following last season's great success, the Arena Opera Festival Experience returns: an exclusive initiative reserved to business customers, to experience the magic of opera and the millennial beauty of the Roman Amphitheatre from an unforgettable perspective. The project, exclusive to the Fondazione Arena, is offered in cooperation with the Noahlity Group, which manages the initiative, for each evening of the Festival.

The four experiences (The Star Roof, The Stone Lounge, Backstage Vip Pass and Meetings & Events in Gran Guardia) were last year named 'Best Exclusive Cultural Experience 2023 in Italy' by the prestigious British publication LUXlife Magazine which draws up a ranking each year of the best experiences available in the field of international hospitality, culture and tourism.

Opera, food and wine culture, and the craftsmanship of internationally famous sets and costumes are the essential ingredients that allow corporate audiences to offer their stakeholders unique experiences in the most Italian place on earth®, enriched by refined hospitality and first-class services for the evening in the Arena.

"Fondazione Arena is pleased to share spaces and moments dedicated to those who want an exclusive experience where they can discover the magnificent monument and theatre that is the Arena," says Cecilia Gasdia, Superintendent of Fondazione Arena di Verona. “These include the chance to dine among the stone structures of the wing lit by the light of sunset, an intimate, unique moment thanks to the dishes prepared by a Michelin-starred chef, and a wonderful way to connect with the Amphitheatre and opera. The beauty of these experiences is that those same millenary stones also benefit: thanks to the collaboration with the Municipality of Verona and the Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Verona, Rovigo and Vicenza, for the third year running The Star Roof is helping to support projects for the protection of the Arena.”

To guarantee the very high level of quality of the services offered, Fondazione Arena has selected a shortlist of partners with a strong local basis.

The historical partner Sartori di Verona (Collis Heritage Group), consolidates a 20-year collaboration as Official Supplier with product exclusivity for wines, strengthening the link between the wine and cultural excellence of Verona and its city. Top wines, such as the 'Regolo' Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore and the 'Arnea' Soave Spumante Brut, accompany the season's most evocative moments and experiences.

Dinners in the Star Roof and Stone Lounge are enhanced by a guided tasting of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PDO. "For our Consortium," says Enrico Corsini, Chairman of the Consortium for the Protection of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, "the collaboration with the Arena di Verona originates from a common desire to enhance the historical and cultural heritage of a region and to develop strategies for the effective promotion and dissemination of excellence in Italy and around the world. It was precisely with this objective in mind that the Consortium has supported the Fondazione Arena di Verona by promoting and offering samples of its product on a tour that included the Italian Embassies in Spain, France, Germany and the United States of America.

The lucky guests are then led to the desserts, created with the sweet specialities of Forno Bonomi, the world leader in Savoiardi biscuits and producer of the special edition Tortafrolla di Verona for the Arena Opera Festival, whose historic production site is located on the Lessinia plateau over 900 metres above sea level. Forno Bonomi, like the Fondazione Arena di Verona, has always represented the excellence of an area that brings Italian-ness to the world.

THE STAR ROOF

The Star Roof is a place as magical as it is unknown: it is the level that connects the first ring of the Arena with the wing (the part of the amphitheatre that survived the 1117 earthquake and has always been the iconic symbol of the Arena). Before the opera, 24 guests will have access to a stellar gastronomic experience, consisting of four courses created by Mattia Bianchi, Executive Chef of the Amistà Restaurant, a Michelin Star venue since 2020, which is inside the 5-star Luxury Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amistà owned by the Facchini Family.

"Cooking is my passion and cooking in the Arena is a source of pride for me, but also a great responsibility; not only because Verona is the city where I was born, but because these 'experiences' in the amphitheatre are among the most prestigious events of the 2024 Arena season," comments Mattia Bianchi. "The menus I have devised for these dinners stem from a desire to tell the story of my professional journey and the special attention I have always paid to the territory and seasonal ingredients. This is the philosophy I also follow at Ristorante Amistà, strongly supported by the Facchini family'.

After dinner, guests will be able to follow the opera from the Royal Podium where, during the interval, they will enjoy an exclusive courtesy service directly on-site. To date, more than 20 evenings have already been sold out for this unique offer, which is also available for purchase online this year at www.arena.it.

'This experience marks an important step in our collaboration with the Fondazione Arena,' says Alessandro Rossini, CEO of the Noahlity Group. "Following the success of 2023, we have chosen to rely again on the hospitality experience of the 5-star Luxury Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amistà and the talent of Mattia Bianchi, a chef from Verona who has earned the coveted Michelin star. The response from the public is very good, thanks also to the new on-site service we offer during the interval. We have a lot of confidence in this new beginning of the Festival and hope to tell the story of Italy at its best as we make the experience unforgettable for our guests'.

THE STONE LOUNGE

This is the only ‘lounge’ area in the Arena: a protected thousand-year-old vault next to the stalls entrance. The experience (open to a maximum of 80 people) includes a dedicated welcome service, a light dinner accompanied by a selection of Sartori wines, personalised gifts, a special reception for collecting accreditation and reserved entrance to the Arena to access the show.

BACKSTAGE VIP PASS

This experience, with priority booking rights for sponsors and donors of the Festival, is designed specifically for those who want to experience the show in an immersive way, going backstage and thus discovering both the excitement of the backstage areas and the history of the theatre and city from a unique perspective. This exclusive itinerary in places not normally accessible to the public is reserved each evening for a few guests who will be able to witness the birth of an Arena production: from the positioning of the sets to the moment of putting on the costumes, from the ritual of 'hair and make-up' to the final stage in which the protagonists warm up their voices before making their entrance onto the stage. After watching from up close the singers, musicians, choristers, extras and technical staff prepare for the performance, guests will also be able to stop in a reserved area at the edge of the stage to witness the grandeur of the opera live, from a privileged vantage point.

MEETINGS & EVENTS IN GRAN GUARDIA

Thanks to a collaborative partnership with the City of Verona, in the bar of the Palazzo della Gran Guardia (adjacent to the Arena), a lounge area will be accessible where guests can enjoy a pre-opera moment with a wine trail through the best labels of the Fondazione Arena's partner wineries, followed by a light dinner. Companies will also be guaranteed a special welcome for their guests, with access to exclusive benefits: from their arrival in Verona (with dedicated shuttles and concierge service) to their entrance in the Arena (delivery of accreditation, reserved entrance, personalised gift and access to the best seat) with the option of adding an introduction to the show, organised by the Fondazione Arena.

Please note that all initiatives are organised by the Noahlity Group in cooperation with the Fondazione Arena. For verification of membership and availability of the various offers, please write to corporate@arenadiverona.it.