Opera and concerts in Florence: tickets, prices, hours and what you really choose

If you are looking for opera in Florence, read the listing to the end: it could be a full opera at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale or a tourist concert of arias (the Three Tenors from €35, Santa Monaca €35 / €25, dinner and concert €80). They differ in length, orchestra and price. Here are the tickets, prices and hours for each, clearly laid out.

Real opera: Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

The Teatro del Maggio (Piazza Vittorio Gui 1) is Florence’s opera and concert house, with full operas, ballet and symphony concerts. The Maggio Musicale festival runs from spring to early summer, and the rest of the year follows the theatre’s season.

Usual start times in the Sala Grande (from the official calendar): 20:00 on weekdays and 17:00 on Sundays. Running times depend on the production (listed for each show; some have no interval). Festival events at other venues may start around 21:00.

Prices (a typical seating plan for a scheduled production):

For later performances of a run, the top stalls price can drop (for example to €110). With the Maggio Card for under 30s, tickets cost €15; the card is free only on first sign-up (through an agreement with the Unicoop supermarket chain), not on renewal.

The box office is open Tuesday–Friday 12:00–18:00, Saturday 10:00–13:00, and from 2 hours before each performance; it is closed on Mondays and Sundays. Advance sales carry a 10% surcharge at the box office and through the Courtesy Service on +39 055 2779309. Dress is smart-casual; there is no formal dress code.

Getting there: take the tram or bus towards the Cascine / Teatro del Maggio — the theatre is outside the pedestrian centre around the Duomo and Uffizi. Check the address on your ticket so you do not confuse it with the Oltrarno churches.

Tourist concerts: the Three Tenors and Santa Monaca (not operas)

Auditorium Santo Stefano — The Three Tenors

The typical product on booking platforms: three tenors with piano (or a small ensemble), singing opera arias and Neapolitan classics (“Nessun dorma”, “O sole mio”). It is not a three-act opera.

• Tiqets price: from €35; with dinner €87
• Start time: 20:30–21:00 depending on the date
• Length: about 1 h 30
• Rating: about 4.5★ from 193 reviews on the main Tiqets listing

Ideal if you want a short evening after the museums, without a taxi to the Maggio or three hours in the stalls.

Chiesa di Santa Monaca (Oltrarno) — Italian Opera Concert

Arias and duets from La Traviata, Rigoletto, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and The Barber of Seville, sung with piano accompaniment. Again, not a full opera.

The organiser’s prices (italianoperaflorence.it):

Doors open at 20:45, the concert starts at 21:15 and ends around 22:15 (about an hour of music). Some resale sites show “VIP” or “aperitivo” categories that do not appear on the organiser’s own price list, so do not treat them as seating tiers. On Tiqets and GetYourGuide the basic ticket matches the €35 official price, and the church concert is highly rated on GetYourGuide.

We are an independent guide. If you book through our Tiqets or GetYourGuide links we may earn a commission; the price you pay does not change.

St Mark’s: abridged opera, price not published

St Mark’s English Church (Via Maggio 18) stages abridged operas (for example La Traviata, La Bohème or The Barber of Seville) with 5–6 singers, piano and costumes. It is the closest you will get to a complete opera in a church, but it remains a chamber production, not the Maggio.

Times vary by event: full operas often run 20:30–22:30, aria concerts 21:00–22:00, and some evenings 18:30–19:30.

Price: the church does not publish a fixed price online; its pages refer you to the flyer for “times, costs”. Classictic, Viator and similar sites are resellers, so their prices are not the church’s own. If you need a guaranteed price, choose a concert with a clear fare (€35) or buy at the Maggio box office.

Other “opera” concerts online

Tiqets also lists matinées and “Great Italian Opera” evenings at the Teatro Nazionale for €35–45, lasting 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes: the same arias-with-piano-or-ensemble format. The same rule applies: if it lasts an hour, it is not the whole of Aida.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (from €30) is an instrumental concert, not opera — a good option if you prefer strings to voices.

How to choose

A typical day: museums in the daytime (Uffizi, Accademia), a walk or a city tour in the late afternoon, and a concert at 21:00. Do not book a 5-hour Chianti wine tour on the same afternoon as a Maggio performance: you will get back late and tired.

How to read an online “opera” listing

Three signs you are buying arias, not an opera:

1. It lasts 60–90 minutes, with no interval mentioned.
2. The venue is a church or small auditorium, not the Teatro del Maggio.
3. There is a flat price of €27–45, the same for almost every seat (no stalls or gallery).

Three signs of a staged opera:

1. Seating sections (stalls, boxes, gallery) at different prices, €15–130.
2. A long running time, or an interval in the programme.
3. Tickets sold on maggiofiorentino.com or at the theatre box office.

If the title says “La Traviata” but the description mentions “highlights” and piano, it is a medley. St Mark’s abridges the opera with costumes and more singers, so you follow more of the story — but it is still a chamber production with piano.

Before you buy, check:

1. Does the listing say “opera” or “concert of arias”?
2. Running time: 2.5–3 hours with an interval points to the Maggio; 90 minutes or less with piano means arias.
3. The address: the Cascine area (Maggio), or Santo Stefano, Santa Monaca or Via Maggio.
4. Age discounts: €25 for under 25s at Santa Monaca, €15 with the Maggio Card for under 30s.
5. Is dinner included or an extra?
6. Cancellation: often 24 hours on booking platforms; the theatre’s own rules at the Maggio.

Under 30s, under 25s and families

The €15 Maggio Card for under 30s is the best young people’s deal in the city — just check the terms for first sign-up versus renewal. At Santa Monaca, under 25s pay €25, the usual church-concert discount. The Three Tenors listing often has no reduced fare. Churches are not ideal for small children: choose a matinée if one is scheduled, or wait.

Two adults with dinner at Santa Monaca (€80 × 2) spend €160; the same money at the Maggio buys two mid-price stalls seats, or gallery seats plus dinner out. Decide whether you want the theatre experience or a relaxed souvenir evening.

Dress, arrival and timing

At the Maggio, arrive with time to spare: security checks and finding your seat in the stalls take a while, and latecomers are not treated as at a cinema. In churches, respect the place of worship, do not use flash and follow cues for applause. In summer the stone walls hold the heat: drink water beforehand. Leave large bags behind — daytime luggage storage is available at Santa Maria Novella, and some churches have little space.

For a concert at 21:15, finish dinner by 20:30. After a 20:00 Maggio performance, eat near the theatre or return to the centre by taxi or tram. If you also want the evening view, go to Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset before the concert, not after. In high season and on festival weekends, book early: the best stalls seats go fast, while tourist aria concerts usually have last-minute availability. For more evening ideas, see things to do, and if a resale listing looks unclear, write to travel@alltours.florence.it.

In short: opera in Florence, tickets, prices and hours

For real opera, go to the Maggio (stalls €45–130, under 30s €15); for a tourist evening of arias, the Three Tenors or Santa Monaca from €35 (€25 for under 25s, €80 with dinner) is enough. St Mark’s stages abridged operas but does not publish its prices. Check the comparison and choose knowingly between theatre and concert.