Santa Monaca church opera tickets

What the concert is

The concert is about an hour of Italian opera arias sung live by professional singers, accompanied by a grand piano, in the church of Santa Monaca in Florence. It is a recital rather than a staged opera: sets and a full orchestra are not part of it, only voices and piano in a frescoed room. The booking page names Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, Bellini and Mascagni among the composers, and a printed programme comes with the ticket. Guests describe a small cast, two singers and a pianist in some reviews and a trio in others, performing close to the rows of chairs. That closeness is the format's main appeal, and one reviewer calls it a good introduction to opera.

The room you are buying

Santa Monaca is a former convent church. The city's tourist board says the Augustinian nuns of Santa Monica, known as Santa Monaca, came from Castiglion Fiorentino and took refuge in Florence during the 1442 war with Milan. The altar and choir were remade in the 16th century, and a wooden choir and organ were built in the 17th. Cosimo Ulivelli painted the vault fresco, The Glory of San Martino, in 1700. The religious order was suppressed in 1800, and the church is now deconsecrated and used for concerts, exhibitions and events. The photographs show wooden choir stalls along both walls. Sources differ on the exact date of the building, so this guide gives only dates that the city's account supplies.

Read next: Finding the Santa Monaca church

Who sings, and what

Who sings, and which pieces, varies from date to date. The booking page names Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, Bellini and Mascagni. A Florentine events listing for opera concerts in the church names arias from Le nozze di Figaro, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La traviata, La bohème, Madama Butterfly and Tosca. Treat both as examples of the repertoire, not as a promise for your evening, because programmes and performers change. An aria is a solo number, complete in itself, so you can enjoy it without knowing the plot. The listening guide on this site picks out six well-known arias of this kind and says what each one is about, which helps if you like to arrive prepared.

Read next: A listening guide to the arias

What guests describe

Guests praise the skilled singers and the pianist, and many note that the intimate church setting suits newcomers to opera. Several call it a good way to end a day in Florence; one says the hour went quickly, with a good variety of music, and another that the performance felt well timed. Some mention that better ventilation or temperature control would improve comfort, which is worth remembering for a crowded summer evening or a cold winter one. The concert holds a 4.7 out of 5 rating from more than 3,000 reviews. Reviews cannot tell you your programme, but they agree on the format: small, close and short.

The painting that comes with the ticket

The ticket lists a free visit to a painting, The Battle of Anghiari by Nico Paladini, with a description of it. It is billed as inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's lost mural of the same subject in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. Leonardo was commissioned in 1504 to paint the battle, fought in 1440, and abandoned the work in 1505, when the paints made with walnut oil failed to hold on the wall. Vasari's frescoes of 1563 to 1565 later replaced it, and the composition is known mainly from copies, the best known being a drawing that Rubens acquired and extended. Paladini's canvas is therefore best seen as a small extra to the concert, not as a reason to book.

What the ticket includes

The ticket is a single admission to the concert. A printed programme is listed, which gives you titles and composers in your hand, and a free visit to the painting The Battle of Anghiari, with a description of it. The ticket covers no food or drink: wine is sold in the interval and paid for separately, so budget a little extra for a glass, and eat before or after the music. Transport is not part of it either, so work out your own route to the church; the practical guide on this site gives the address.

• Admission to the concert
• A printed programme
• A visit to The Battle of Anghiari, with a description
• Not included: food and drink, with wine on sale at the interval at your own expense

Choosing a date

Start times appear in the booking calendar, and the confirmation gives them again with the meeting instructions. Because the performers and arias vary, no date can promise one particular piece, so pick the date that fits your evening and your travel plans rather than chasing a single aria. The concert carries a sell-out warning, so reserve early for weekends and holiday weeks. An hour-long recital leaves the rest of the evening free, so many visitors pair it with a late dinner or an early aperitivo in the Oltrarno, the neighbourhood south of the Arno where the church stands. If you are flexible, an earlier date also leaves room to move if your plans change.

Two other Florence concerts on this page

The cards on this page show two more concerts. One is an opera-arias concert with a pianist, in a church in the Santa Croce neighbourhood, where the repertoire and the singers change every night. The other is an evening of Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart and Pachelbel by the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, with a choice of venue and seat options. Each lets you cancel a day ahead. The first is closest to Santa Monaca in format; the second is an orchestral evening of instrumental music rather than arias. The comparison guide sets the three side by side.

Read next: Florence opera concerts compared

A recital or a staged opera?

Florence's staged opera is a different evening. The Opera di Firenze opened its current theatre in 2011 and permanently replaced the old Teatro Comunale in 2014, and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino festival, founded in 1933, runs from late April into June, typically with four operas. A church recital offers none of the scale of a full production. It keeps the evening short and puts the voices in a small room, which suits visitors who want a taste of opera, or an easy evening between a day of museums and dinner. A recital offers the best-known solos from several operas in one sitting, the quickest way to hear the range of the repertoire. A staged opera tells one story in full.

Who this isn't for

This is not the right ticket for everyone. If you want sets, costumes and an orchestra, a staged production at the opera house is the better fit. If you want a long evening, an hour will feel short. The GetYourGuide ticket is not suitable for children under 5. It is also a poor fit if you want a lively show with dinner rather than a seated, quiet hour. If you need step-free access, ask through the booking page before you book, because the building is a converted convent.

• You want a staged opera with sets and an orchestra
• You want dinner included
• You are travelling with a child under 5
• You need step-free access and have not checked first

Booking terms

GetYourGuide refunds a cancelled booking in full until 24 hours before the concert, and nothing has to be paid when you reserve. The booking is shown in English. Each adult fare appears in the calendar and is converted to your currency. Read the terms for your chosen date before you commit: they, rather than this guide, settle dates, times and refunds. If your plans are uncertain, watch the cancellation window: the concert carries a sell-out warning, so it is better to decide before the last day than on it.