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Yes - we went  last  August - 5 of us - I believe it came to around 80 euros which were the cheaper seats but that means you sit in one of the boxes at the back which seat around 6 people so is very special! It was a magical evening and definitely worth the money - hoping to go again this summer!

 Is this the website???  

Here is some info for the for this July and August with links through to website - don't forget the in Pesaro starts in August too (there's a short video clip from youtube from last years festival in the link). 

Thanks everyone for the info ... managed to find the sferistio website ....  hoping to tie it in with a visit from friends from UK - looks like it will have to be the 2010 season for that assuming it is on the same time each year.  80E for up to six isn;t bad.....    can you take picnic food in with you?  The prosecco and eatie bits thing?  

For the sferistio opera - is there any dress code? I'm thinking of taking the wife as a surprise for our anniversay in August - not planning on telling her where we are going but am not sure how smart we need to be? Is there a dress code?PS Hope my wife doesn't see this post

Doesn't appear to be any dress code  - the locals seem to go to town and dress up for the evening but have seen some in shorts and teeshirts - all fairly relaxed overall! I would say the dress code is determined by the price of your seats as much as anything else - some fabulous outfits in the stalls but more casual in the boxes.You can take refreshments in with you - saw several with coolboxes and bottles of wine but again can only speak of our experience in the boxes. There is a small crush bar which is worth a visit in the intervals just to savour the experience of being packed in with hundreds of ��������s all after a quick caffe!

Wotcha folks. It is well worth the trip. Prices have doubled over the last few years so I havn't been recently. It was a great event, hopefully still is. They've got La Traviata this year so might pull out the stops and buy a ticket. I used to fax to book. They were always very efficient.  The interpretations are  avante garde sometimes causing cat calls and derision. For me,that was part of the fun of the event.Even though ticket prices have risen, something like 75% of the cost of each production is subsidised. That's an opera problem. Too blooming expensive to stage. Macerata has a huge stage so BIG productions can be spectacular. If you are on holiday, just do it. Hang the expense, Covent Garden will be far more expensive.

Forgot that bit. Well worth it. crush yes. It works though. There is also plenty of time to get to the bars outside.

Always worth a second or third look. It is my favourite opera, followed by The Marriage of Figaro. I don't care for Madame Butterly, give me a mature trollop anytime!  Don Giovanni? That's good too.  Been celebrating....am DIVORCED as of today.  Zippadee doodaa zippade    ay...........

Goodness a free man!!!  So not all the best men are taken David!!!  lol   And for the record as it were,  my love of Italy didn't start with Radio Italia and Ligabue but rather Lucrezia Borgia and Donizetti, or was it Otello and Verdi.  Whatever.  I love all �������� Opera.  including Le Nozze Di Figaro!!!  lol

 "La Traviata" is wonderful. I can watch it a million times. The best version I have ever seen was with Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti. Madama Butterfly is nice but it is not Puccini at its best, my favourite is "La Bohème". A Verdi opera that I love is "Un Ballo in Maschera".

Gala did you see the La Traviata that was televised live for the year 2000 celebrations? It was staged in I think 4 locations around Paris. I don't know whether it's available but from memory, it was superb.At  Macerata once they did Oberto Conte di San Bonifacio, Verdi's first opera. In that you could hear that he at an early age had the ideas for much of his music to follow.Macerata productions that have caused scandal are Madam Butterfly, the scenery was awful. The cast and orchestra were all applauded but when the Director took the stage he was booed off.Tosca caused a storm  with a naked "Virgin Mary" giving "birth" to two nude fully grown men. The local paper was so outraged that it published a full page colour photograph of the  offending scene followed by complaints from outraged members of the audience.So with all that maybe it isn't really expensive.  

 David, some of the so called modern versions are really awful. I saw Bizet's Carmen in a modern version and it did not have the brilliance of the classical one. On the other hand, I was able to watch "Un Ballo in Maschera" at the Metropolitan Opera House last year, in its original version, and it was fabulous. Rigoletto's modern version, a sort of "La Dolce Vita" was not the worst I've seen, but give me classical versions any time. I can't remember watching "Traviata" in that 2000 version. I have the Pavarotti-Sutherland version at home and I play it regularly because it is simply superb.