Arena di Verona celebrates the 150th anniversary of Giovanni Zenatello's birth

A conference featuring historical recordings, a book retracing his life, achievements and influence, an exhibition running throughout the Festival, and a dedicated evening performance. Fondazione Arena di Verona commemorates Giovanni Zenatello on the 150th anniversary of his birth: the Veronese tenor, talent scout and opera impresario who brought opera to the Arena in 1913, marking the birth of the Arena Opera Festival.  

Exactly on February 22, 2026, the day the Amphitheatre hosted the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, coincided with one of the most special birthdays in the history of the Opera Festival.  A birthday recalled for the occasion before a television audience of millions of viewers (more than six million on Rai’s live Italian broadcast alone). On that same day, 150 years earlier, in 1876, Giovanni Zenatello was born in Verona. A tenor, artist and courageous impresario. He was the first to understand that the Arena could host grand spectacles destined to make history. And so, on August 10, 1913, he staged the first performance of Aida on the occasion of the centenary of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth, involving Rovato, Cusinati, Serafin and other artists of the time who believed in the undertaking, which proved so successful that it has been repeated every year ever since.

Giovanni Zenatello (1876-1949) was one of the greatest tenors of the early decades of the twentieth century: the leading opera composers of his time, including Puccini, wrote new works specifically for him; he was among the first artists to record his own voice for the commercial distribution of music on disc, and he discovered talents of historic importance, from Fleta to Lily Pons and even Maria Callas, who at the age of twenty-three made her true international debut at the Arena thanks to the audition she had in New York with Zenatello himself.

Fondazione Arena is dedicating a series of special initiatives to celebrate this anniversary, beginning with the presentation event held on Monday, May 18 in the Sala Maffeiana, open to the public and introduced by speeches from Marta Ugolini, Councillor for Culture of Verona, Cecilia Gasdia, Superintendent of Fondazione Arena, Giovanni Zenatello, great-grandnephew of the tenor of the same name, and Michele Magnabosco, Conservator Librarian of the Accademia Filarmonica di Verona.

This was followed by a musicological conference in which critic and lecturer Davide Annachini reconstructed Zenatello’s vocal style, his role as a reference interpreter and creator of characters, and his artistic and discographic legacy through rare historical recordings, among the earliest ever documented on disc. A story intertwined with the history of the twentieth century, all waiting to be rediscovered.

The new publication promoted by Fondazione Arena di Verona together with the Zenatello family is entitled “Grazie Zenatello”. It is edited by Davide Annachini himself: the 200-page volume republishes the biography written by Zenatello’s daughter, Nina Zenatello Consolaro, in 1976, for the first time accompanied by historical notes that accurately contextualize and at times correct myths and personal recollections, completing a portrait accessible to today’s readers. The volume opens with an extensive essay providing further historical information in light of more recent discoveries, and includes an iconographic section with 50 period photographs, many previously unpublished, featuring autograph dedications from composers, colleagues and artists discovered by the tenor, who later also became Superintendent of the Arena institution.

The volume will be donated in the autumn to all libraries and all secondary schools, academies and universities in Verona and its province.

Throughout the 103rd Arena di Verona Opera Festival, a piece of history will be on display: inside archway 1, beside the commemorative plaque of the Festival’s founders, the historic bronze sword specially created for the first performances of Aida in 1913 will be exhibited. In collaboration with the Accademia Filarmonica di Verona, which still preserves it today, a special display case created by the Arena workshops will pay tribute to Zenatello before the Arena’s vast international audience.

Furthermore, the performance on July 2, 2026, the 780th performance of Aida since the inaugural evening in 1913, will be dedicated to Giovanni Zenatello, with a special tribute before the opera. A homage that represents a necessary rediscovery for audiences in Verona and beyond.

Marta Ugolini, Councillor for Culture, Tourism and Relations with UNESCO for the Municipality of Verona, recalled the importance of Zenatello’s involvement with the city, “a true cultural entrepreneur who knew how to dream and take risks in managing the opera festival. Our grandparents’ generation knew opera arias by heart also thanks to the popular concept of opera in the Arena introduced by Giovanni Zenatello. We hope that Zenatello’s vision and courage may continue to inspire the city of Verona and all of us in the future.”

Cecilia Gasdia, Superintendent of Fondazione Arena, expressed particular satisfaction with the initiatives presented: “Since my very first summer as Superintendent, I have wanted a Festival that looks ahead without forgetting its roots. We have constantly remembered the great early patrons of the Arena di Verona. We truly owe Giovanni Zenatello a great deal. Not only for what he conceived in 1913, but also for his discovery of talents over the following thirty years. This 150th anniversary allows us to know him better. He received everything from opera and wanted to give opera to everyone.”

Giovanni Zenatello, great-grandnephew and member of the 67 Columns for the Arena di Verona, said he was particularly moved: “I have often spoken publicly about Uncle Giovanni. Today, however, I am more emotional than usual because of the many initiatives promoted by Fondazione Arena. His is the story of an artist, entrepreneur and Veronese citizen who deserves to be known by everyone. I hope that Uncle Giovanni is watching us from above and is proud of us and of his city.”

“An artist born in the nineteenth century but entirely projected toward the new century, solid in his singing and modern in taste” – explained Davide Annachini, presenting recordings made by Zenatello between 1903 and 1947 “A tenor who rejected the diva attitude and remained a simple man despite international success, he never lived on past glories but continually reinvented himself, demonstrating outstanding managerial abilities and an infallible talent for discovering new artists. Above all, he remained until the end a Veronese man of great human qualities, beloved by all who had the fortune to know him as colleague and friend.”

The presentation, introduced by greetings from the Accademia Filarmonica di Verona delivered by Michele Magnabosco, concluded with the preview display of the sword destined for the Arena during the 2026 Festival, the same sword created in 1913 “by the Veronese association of merchants and industrialists” for Giovanni Zenatello, with symbols of the city and the tenor’s name engraved among Egyptian-style decorations. New surprises were also announced in the spirit of enhancing this historical, artistic and symbolic heritage.

Information
Press Office Fondazione Arena di Verona

Via Roma 7/D, 37121 Verona - ufficio.stampa@arenadiverona.it

tel. (+39) 045 805.1861-1905-1891-1939 -1847

National and International Press Office Skill & Music 

Firmina Adorno +39 339 6483224 - firmina@skillandmusic.com

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