Traveling isn’t always about seeing popular Italian icons and taking photos. Sometimes it can also be a way of connecting with other cultures. Therefore, when you visit Italy, it can be useful to view at least one operatic performance.

There are several different types of opera that may suit you and your traveling party. Doing a bit of research into current performances, as well as the overall history, could help you to understand why you should go.

Make a booking

There may be a few musical events in Italy at the time you plan on visiting. You may be tempted to opt for something more like what you are used to at home, but this could mean that you miss out on that cultural experience. You could choose to watch a historic classic, or pick one that was written in a more modern period.

You can book tickets to go and see an Italian opera before you even leave home, which could simplify the process and allow you to know what you will be doing on which day. Unlike when they first came out, you can now pay for them online with your credit card and have that booking information stored on your email.

If you’re new to opera check out these 10 famous Italian Operas.

Historic context

Italian theater may be incredibly different today if it weren’t for the creation of opera. Jacopo Peri is believed to have composed Dafne in 1597. This, currently, is thought to have been the first opera piece ever made.

Before this, a group of artists based in Florence were looking for a way to recreate some Greek pieces for a more modern audience. From here, opera was born.

The performances created at this point tended to fall into one of two categories. Either pieces were made purely for comedy, or more tragic stories aimed at formal, higher-class settings.

Understanding emotions

There may be both good and bad things going on in your life. Due to the pressures put on people from everyday life, you may find that you must bury your feelings so that you are able to get on.

Visiting the opera can allow you to feel raw emotions due to the different aspects of the performance. The staging may all be deliberate so that you can feel like you are really in that particular setting. The music itself, while being sung in Italian, can bring some of those emotions right up to the surface.

You may notice, in the passion of each singer, what is meant to be going on in each scene. Having an understanding of the backstories of each story could also aid with this.

Opera may not have the same sound or CGI effects as some of the more modern types of entertainment, but that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked. Attending a performance could allow you to be taken back in time to the Italy of the past, and begin to understand just what makes Italian Opera so special.