Opera and Bellini in Catania: the church concerts and what to expect

If you want to hear opera in Catania, the Bellini tribute concert in the Church of the Badia di Sant’Agata is the one to book: €35, 1.5 hours, two singers and a chamber orchestra, 4.8 stars from 383 reviews. If you would rather have Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the Bellini, a second concert in the same church costs the same. Neither is a staged opera, and that is worth knowing before you buy.

Why Bellini, and why a church

Vincenzo Bellini is the composer of Catania, and the booking pages call him the city’s foremost composer. The concerts take place in the Church of the Badia di Sant’Agata, which, according to the pages, was built next to the cathedral where Bellini is buried. That is the reason this is more than an evening of arias: you listen next to the cathedral that holds his grave.

Both concerts are given by the Catania Chamber Orchestra, a small ensemble that describes itself as specialising in reviving the Italian classical and opera tradition. Both pages say it is made up of professors who graduated from the main Sicilian conservatories and of young musicians from Catania.

The two concerts compared

Concert	Price	Length	Rating
Opera concert, a tribute to Vincenzo Bellini	€35	1.5 hours	4.8 stars, 383 reviews
Tribute concert “Bellini and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons”	€35	1.5 hours	4.8 stars, 153 reviews

Both pages say the venue is wheelchair accessible. Both pages tell you to go directly to the church. They give no fixed start time, so you see the times when you check availability for a date.

The opera concert

The first one is the more popular, and the page says it is likely to sell out (the second one’s page carries the same note). Two singers join the orchestra, and the programme on the page runs in two parts. Bellini opens it with the overture to Norma and returns with “Casta Diva” and “Vaga luna che inargenti”. In between come Rossini’s Barber of Seville, Verdi’s “Va, pensiero” from Nabucco and Offenbach’s Barcarolle. The second part has Carmen, Donizetti’s “Una furtiva lagrima”, the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, Musetta’s waltz from La Bohème and the drinking song from La Traviata.

That is a selection of the best known: the page lists fifteen pieces in all. It adds that the programme may change, so treat the list as a guide and not a promise.

It is a good first opera for someone who has never been to one. The pieces are famous, the evening is short, and there is nothing to follow or read. If you already know opera well, it is a taster and not a performance of a whole work.

The Four Seasons concert

The second one is described as a string ensemble paying tribute to Bellini and to Vivaldi. The programme lists Bellini pieces first, including the overture to Norma, and then all four of the Four Seasons from Vivaldi’s Op. 8. The page says it is a journey through classical music and Italian opera.

Look at the listing if the voices matter to you. The page describes a string ensemble, while the first concert names two singers. The programme does include Bellini pieces from I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Il pirata and La sonnambula, though; whether anyone sings them, the page does not say.

A reviewer on the booking page wrote that Bellini’s music is very accessible and that the first violinist of the Four Seasons was fantastic. The page also mentions a panoramic terrace in the Abbey that you can visit, reached by an internal lift, with a view of the city. Ask what the arrangements are for your date before you plan around it.

Rules and practicalities

The pages list food and drink as not allowed, so eat first. The programme can change on either evening.

Both pages show free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

Choosing

First opera, famous arias, voices: the opera concert.

You prefer strings, or you want the Four Seasons: the Vivaldi concert.

You want a full staged opera: these are not it. Look at the programme of the city’s opera house, the Teatro Massimo Bellini, for your dates.

You have two evenings: the two programmes differ a great deal, although both start from the Norma overture.

For other ways to spend an evening in the city, see the things to do in Catania.