My wife and I were on holiday in Rome and took the oppurtunity to see a production of La Traviata…read moreat the Teatro Salone Margherita. They are located just off the Piazza Spagna, on the Via del Due Macelli. The theater is very intimate, seating only several hundred patrons. The production couldn't have been better! All the principal singers were wonderful. The scenes were filled with very talented auxileries, and the dancers were great. I couldn't believe how many musicians they fit into orchestra, and the sound was equal to any other I've heard. The Teatro Salone Margherita was apparently opened around 1890 to be a dinner theater. For those willing to pay, they offer table service in the boxes and upstairs. Downstairs, the tickets included a buffet of pasta and rice salad that wasn't fancy, but was very filling. They also offer a full bar, and gellato at intermission. The drinks were reasonable, the gellato wildly overpriced. There are 3 classes of downstairs tickets, depending on how close you want to be to the stage. We paid for the center section, but found that in the front part of the back section, on either side are seats that have a small table and unobstructed view of the stage. The next time we go, I'll save the price of my drinks by paying for the cheaper seats and sitting there again.

If you're looking for a glorified dinner theater, then this is the place for you. It would be a fun…read moredinner date. The show is split up and courses of the meal are eaten in between acts. I am both a self taught chef and a trained singer/actor- If you're looking here for good food or a super talented cast, you're going to be disappointed. The food was just okay. I had the balcony seats (which put us the farthest away from the stage you can get) and those tickets come with a fixed menu. There was nothing memorable or spectacular about the food and my pasta was dry. One of the most annoying things is that to get from one side of the stage to the other, the cast has to walk behind those on the balcony. I found the ensemble to be lacking vocally and often distracting. The live orchestra was good except sometimes some didn't keep tempo. The tenor I saw was fantastic and carried the whole show. (La Traviata) His soprano was just okay vocally but paled in comparison.

We attended an opera dinner on our second night in Rome and had an absolutely wonderful time…read more We were seated in a small room within the Doria Pamphilj with a few other diners at other tables, and the service was fantastic. They were very attentive and made sure you had enough water and wine throughout the show. It's a multi course dinner where you pick either meat or fish entrees from the menu. The food was yummy but it honestly took a backseat to the performance. Francescoantonio, Paola, and Tei were incredible, I was so taken by the music, the voices, and the pure emotion of each piece.

Old world charm!…read more When in Roma it was only right that we went to an opera! What a treat to see Othello on a warm summer night in Rome! The opera house still holds her old charm with the additions of modern touches. We will definitely check it out again when in Rome!

This show was full of so many talented people. I loved…read moreseeing all the different acts and listening to the rocking band. The reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because of our seats. We were not in the very center, but we weren't in nose bleed seats either. From our seats we could not see the very front part of the stage. It was obstructed by one of the tent poles. It would have been nice if the web site had mentioned this before purchasing our tickets.

Waaaah! Amaluna. Ama-was-really bored! Ama want my $126 back too!…read more What a letdown. I've seen four Cirque du Soleil shows and this one doesn't even seem to be good enough to put the Cirque du Soleil name on it. The show isn't cohesive at all. It's just one act after another, all talented, and they all do something interesting and impressive for about a minute or two, and then spend the next ten or fifteen minutes doing it again, and again, and again. Enough already. The music was upbeat and I think it gave the allusion that the show was better than it really was. Oh man, this was bad. I was so glad when the show was finally over. You know it's bad when a show features someone balancing bones for fifteen minutes. I wish I was kidding about that. I was thinking of being generous and giving it three stars but I don't what Cirque du Soleil throwing these sub-par shows at us and knowing we'll still go because of their name. Another thing is they were way too lax with people taking photos during the show They were even using flash! Not good! Not safe either. It's not cheap to see this show, but the Cirque de Soleil shows are usually worth it. Not this one. One good thing about the San Pedro venue where I saw it is that free street parking can easily be found just a five-minute walk away...which is great because I couldn't wait to get the heck out of there.

The major classical music venue for Rome…read more The music that is booked there is a mix. Much of it is outstanding. We have heard magic. We have heard "leave-while-you-cans". * * * Architectually, the complex is an epic fail. Italy has tremendous architecture. The Citta Della Musica most assuredly does not make the A list. * * * The Auditorium Complex was meant to be a cross between London's South Bank and London's Barbican. It is like the South Bank because there are many concert halls involved in related buildings. It is like the Barbican because the complex is Brutalist. Make that failed Brutalist. Brutalism when it works combines two fascinating aspects. 1) An exterior profile that is striking and powerful. You can't get the basic shape out of your mind. 2. Complex interweaving interiors that are non-linear, difficult to manoever, but expose interlinkages of space in non-trivial surprising ways. Rome's Citta della Musica flunks majorly on both counts. 1 Elaborated) The profiles are three egg concrete egg shapes. They look like every basketball stadium you have seen in the United States. Nothing new or exciting in the shape. The architect did not allow for what water would do to the concrete. So what was once new and resplendent and white is now gray and dingy. On a powerful form such as Boston City Hall or the Barbican, Vertical sharp ridges on the walls or other parallel forms draw water away from the concrete allowing the concrete to maintain its original color. Plus the form is bold enough to be interesting regardless of the color of the concrete. Here you just get Cleveland blah. 2 Elaborated) There is no real twisting or turning of forms. Just inconvenience with no spatial discovery. The snack bars for all of the many halls is on the far right of the complex. So for many shows, refreshments are simply too far away to get. There is no great discovery in having to walk through three identical lobbies to get to water when you are thirsty. Most of the halls involve mandatory climbing of endless stairs. And I do mean endless. And I do mean mandatory. Anyone who has been to an old school concert hall like Carnegie Hall and has bought the cheap seats knows all about climbing endless stairs to get to your seat. Nothing new or innovative here. 3) The two plusses - credit where credit is due. 3a) The lobbies are in beautiful red brick. They are high, deep, and expansive. Those are wonderful public spaces. 3b) The acoustics are outstanding. Most of the great European symphony concert halls have great acoustics. So this is not so distinctive. Still, there are some surprisingly dead concert halls in the United States. * * * For the right performance of a Haydn symphony, a Strauss tone poem or a Szymanowski concerto, none of the failed Brutalism will matter. Music assuages the imperfections of architecture.

WOW. This place is just so stunning. What a beautiful hall to listen to music in. I actually had…read morethe honour of performing here once and was wowed by the acoustics. It is probably one of the best concert halls I have ever been in. The architecture is simply amazing. Do take the time to explore around here as there are cafes, stores, etc. that you can look around in prior to the event/concert you are attending. I wish I had more time to stay in the hall and fully soak in how great it was. Do not pass on an opportunity to come here if one comes up.

Since we were in Rome, we thought it would be fun to attend an Opera. We bought the tickets on line…read moreand got front seats. Enjoyed the performance, not being an opera aficionado can't really compare it to any standard but we enjoyed it. The staff was excellent, they offered free pasta and water. Wine cost 5 euros a glass. We showed up at the suggested time and since there are no assigned seats got front row seats right behind the orchestra which was perfect. One point the leg room is terrible, worse than economy class on an airline. The box seats looked a lot more comfortable. Would we go again, yes, but we'd get those box seats.

From the owner: The Orchestra of I Virtuosi dell'opera di Roma offer every year to thousands of spectators the…read morepossibility to be in contact with lyrical opera and its fascinating culture which make it the ambassador of the italian spirit in the world.

From the owner: Prosa, danza, concerti e operaread more