Verona Arena

The Olympic flame for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will pass through all 110 provinces in Italy on a 63-day journey before the cauldron is lit.

Kicking off the summer program at the Athens Concert Hall (megaron.gr) is a screening of the revival of Franco Zeffirelli's version of Georges Bizet's "Carmen" as presented last year at the Verona Arena in Italy. With costumes by Anna Anni and sets by El Camborio, it stars the Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and is conducted by Marco Armiliato.

The Verona Arena amphitheater in northern Italy has returned to staging full operas for the first time since the pandemic, but with one big difference.

The monumental sets that normally fill the vast amphitheater stage have been replaced by dynamic, 3D images broadcast on huge LED screens, recreating a Sicilian village or a Fellini-esque film backlot.