Opera and ballet lovers from or passing through Rome in the next few weeks will have the unique chance of enjoying their favourite genres from one of the world’s best known and oldest venues: the Circus Maximus.

The Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (Rome’s Opera House) is no stranger to this kind of event – every summer, its stage moves to the Baths of Caracalla to have people enjoy their shows under the stars. This year, though, it has been set up in a much more grandiose space to comply with the social distancing measures as requested by the health authorities.

Resuming a disrupted season

It’s a relaunch of sorts for the Teatro dell’Opera, which indoors season was cut short by the lockdown at the end of the winter.

Even more than that, this calendar of events will be crucial to all workers, on and behind the scenes, in the entertainment world at large: with many theatres still closed off, their professional future is in jeopardy. Finding a space to perform is a message of hope to them and to all of Europe as the Costanzi, as it’s also known as by Romans, is the first opera house in the continent to resume operations.

What to see at the Circus Maximus?

As you will surely know if you’ve already enjoyed shows at the Teatro dell’Opera, the calendar of events for this summer festival is diverse and fascinating: it includes classics as Verdi’s Rigoletto, on until July 20, The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini, from July 22 to August 13, and Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow (July 31-August 12).

It does not end there, though: from July 25 to August 3, prepare to enjoy a ballet based on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (see video above!), or a touching hommage to Rome by opera singers extraordinaire Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov (August 6 to 9).

Tickets are still available at the time of writing this post, and you can learn more about the events at the Opera House’s official website.

Group tours and skip-the-line tickets