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Let's face it: Rome is a bit of a backwater for the performing arts. Northern Italy is where creativity in theatre and dance – and, of course, opera – flourishes, and very few international performers of renown in any of the arts regularly put in an appearance here. Nevertheless, there is cultural entertainment available, and the quality is sometimes better than you might expect. In any case, what the arts here may lack in professionalism, they often make up for in the charm of the setting. Rome's summer festival, for example, organized by "Estate Romana", means that there's a good range of classical music, opera, theatre and cinema running throughout the warm months, often in picturesque locations – amidst ancient ruins with soaring columns, or perched on hills with brilliant panoramas of Rome by night – although obviously some of what's on is of little interest if you don't speak Italian.

During the winter season, you'll find a regular programme of classical music at the Accademia Santa Cecilia, and other sporadic musical offerings of mixed quality, sometimes in beautiful churches or palatial halls, and on occasions free. Opera is well established in Rome and on occasion approaches world-class levels, but not often enough. Good dance is a rarity in Rome, although international companies do show up from time to time, usually at the Teatro Olimpico and the Teatro Argentina. Finally, cinema-lovers will find an increasing number of films in the original language, as Italy gradually breaks away from its nationalistic dubbing mania.

For current information about what's on where in English, consult the English section at the back of Romac'è (L2000, Thursdays) or Wanted in Rome, the English language bi-weekly (every other Wednesday), which you can pick up at almost any newsstand in the centre. Otherwise, in Italian, Time Out Roma (L4500, Thursdays) is your best bet. There's also the "Trova Roma" insert in La Repubblica's Thursday edition.


Tickets
Rome has no comprehensive ticket service; you usually have to go to the venue in person some time before the event. However, you can first try Orbis, near Santa Maria Maggiore, at Piazza Esquilino 37 (Mon–Sat 9.30am–1pm & 4–7.30pm; tel 06.474.4776), or, not far from the Vatican, Box Office, Viale Giulio Cesare 88 (Mon 3.30–7pm, Tues–Sat 10am–1.30pm & 2.30–7pm; tel 06.372.0216), but these two provide only information by phone. If you have a credit card you may be able to save time by calling the Italian-language Prenoticket (Mon 3.30–5pm, Tues–Fri 10am–1pm & 2.30–5pm, Sat 10am–1pm; tel 06.520.721); let the recorded voice speak for about a minute, then dial tel 1 to select the reservation service.


Classical music
Rome's own orchestras are not of an international standard, and the city attracts far fewer prestigious orchestras and artists than you might expect of a capital, although there are plenty of music-lovers and students from around the world. Check the listings and keep a look-out for posters advertising little-known concerts – a wide range of choral, chamber and organ recitals – in churches or other often spectacular venues, sometimes including the private halls in Renaissance or Baroque palaces. The city's main classical venue is the Accademia Santa Cecilia, and we've listed a number of other places where the city's other orchestras and musical associations perform. Otherwise, the many national academies and cultural institutes (Belgian, Austrian, Hungarian, British, American, French, et al) frequently offer free concerts as well, along with the Auditorium Cavour (tel 06.721.9771). In the summer, concerts are staged in cloisters, in the Villa Giulia and Teatro di Marcello, just off Piazza Venezia, and in the ancient Roman theatre at Ostia Antica. In addition there are sponsored Sunday-morning concert cycles, such as the Telecom Italia one at the Teatro Sistina, Via Sistina 129 (tel 06.482.6841), between November and April. It may be that you'll just stumble across a concert-in-progress while out on an evening stroll, passing by some ancient church with all its lights on (a rarity not to be missed); Rome is a city where such magical musical moments can still happen.

Accademia Filarmonica Romana

Teatro Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 17 tel 06.326.5991. Tram from Piazzale Flaminia.

A programme of classical standards, with occasional contemporary works. Performances are on Thursdays and run from October to early May. Tickets range from L30,000 to L60,000.

Accademia di Santa Cecilia

Via della Conciliazione 4. Bus #64. Box Office tel 06.6880.1044; Information tel 06.361.1064.

Year-round, the focus of the Rome classical music scene is here. Santa Cecilia stages concerts by its own orchestra (Rome's best) and by visiting orchestras and artists. Orchestral concerts are held at the auditorium, just down the road from St Peter's. Most of the tickets are pre-sold by season pass, but for certain special events tickets can go for as little as L15,000.

Gonfalone

Oratorio del Gonfalone, Via del Gonfalone 32a tel 06.687.5952. Bus #64.

The season here runs from November to early June, offering performances of chamber music, with an emphasis on the Baroque, every Thursday at 9pm. Tickets cost L25,000 and you can reserve by phone. Reservations are strongly recommended. For those wishing to visit the Oratorio, or to pick up tickets in advance, the entrance is at Vicolo della Scimia 1b, during office hours.

Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti

Aula Magna of the Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5 tel 06.361.0051. Bus #492 or Metro B Policlinico.

Musical offerings which range from Mozart to Miles Davis, and from Ravel to Kurt Weill. Tickets cost L15,000--50,000. The season runs from October to April, and performances are usually held on Tuesday evenings and weekends.


Opera
Rome's opera scene has long been overshadowed by that of Milan but is improving. The Teatro dell'Opera is located near Termini Station and Piazza della Repubblica, at Via Firenze 72 (box office daily 9am–4.30pm; English spoken; tel 06.4816.0255; metro A Repubblica). Rome's opera season runs from November to May. Nobody compares it to La Scala, but cheap tickets are a lot easier to come by, and important singers do sometimes perform here. Expect to pay at least L30,000. If you buy the very cheapest tickets, bring some high-powered binoculars, as you'll need them in order to see anything at all.

In summer, the opera moves outdoors and ticket prices come down. Summer performances used to be held in a stunning setting at the ancient Baths of Caracalla, but that practice was terminated a few years ago due to excessive damage to the monument. At press time, the 2000 summer programme had not yet been set. The last few years the venue has been the Stadio Olimpico (bring a cushion and some mosquito repellent), where first-rate productions have been staged at one end of the football stadium. However, since the Teatro dell'Opera is now air-conditioned, the entire summer programme may be held there. Tickets start at L20,000 for Stadio Olimpico productions and are available through the Opera box office.


Theatre and dance
There is a good bit of theatre in Rome, but it's virtually all in Italian. Very occasional English-language musicals, usually put together by some travelling American company, come to town during the winter season, as well as the odd dance troupe. The venue for such rare events is almost always either the Teatro Olimpico or the Teatro Sistina.

Local efforts are generally very missable, although there is one English language theatre group, who perform current American one-acts, mostly comedies, on Friday evenings from October to June. However, they tend to change their venue, and even the day of the week, from year to year. At time of writing they were performing at the L'Arte del Teatro, at Via Urbana 107 – take Metro B to Cavour. Call impresario Gaby Ford on tel 06.444.1375 for current information, or keep an eye out for posters in some of the Anglo-American hangouts – bookstores, movie houses, pubs, etc.

Incidentally, virtually all Roman stages are dark on Mondays. Again, check the usual sources for your options.


English-language theatres
Teatro Olimpico

Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 17 tel 06.326.5991. Tram from Piazzale Flaminio.

Located well beyond Piazza del Popolo, this theatre tends to get Rome's best international dance and sometimes some important alternative performers of various stripes. Tickets generally cost L40,000 and up. There's a decent snack bar, where you can sometimes spy the performers taking a break during the interval.

Teatro Sistina

Via Sistina 129 tel 06.482.6841. Metro A Spagna or Barberini.

Every now and then an English-language (American, very off-Broadway) musical revue blows into town and it generally ends up here, just up from Piazza di Spagna. Expect to pay about L40,000 for a decent seat. Gershwin seems to be a perennial favourite, along with other jazzy-bluesy musical confections.


Other theatres
Teatro Agorà

Via della Penitenza 33 tel 06.687.4167. Bus #H or #75.

Once upon a time this Trastevere theatre sometimes produced English-language plays and other entertainments, and it could always happen again. Tickets start at L15,000.

Teatro Argentina

Largo Argentina 52 tel 06.6880.4601. Bus #64 or #492.

One of the city's most important theatres for dramatic works in Italian, and for dance. Quality varies widely. Tickets go for L20,000 and up.

Teatro Colosseo

Via Capo d'Africa 7 tel 06.700.4932. Metro B Colosseo or bus #75.

Just up from the Colosseum, this theatre presents new, usually vaguely underground plays by contemporary Italian playwrights or translations. Themes often centre around alternative sexuality. They have also been known to offer English-language one-acts in their small theatre downstairs. Tickets start at L12,000.

Teatro Eliseo

Via Nazionale 183e tel 06.4880.8311. Metro A Repubblica.

One of Rome's main theatres, hosting plays by Italian playwrights, and adaptations into Italian of foreign works, and featuring some of the top dramatic talent Italy has to offer. Tickets start at L15,000.

Teatro Flaiano

Via San Stefano del Cacco 15 tel 06.679.6496. Bus #64 or #492.

Located between the Pantheon and Piazza Venezia, this is a small theatre presenting experimental plays in Italian that often deal with what are -- for relatively conservative Rome -- controversial topics. Tickets start at L15,000.

Teatro Greco

Via Ruggero Leoncavallo 12 tel 06.860.7513. Bus #310, #63, #92 or #235.

Located well out of the centre, on the far side of Villa Ada, this theatre generally offers some of the best Italian dance, with tickets starting at L15,000. In October the Italian National Dance competition is often held here.

Teatro Prati

Via degli Scipione 98 tel 06.3974.0503. Metro A Ottaviano.

A few blocks away from St Peter's, another small space that often features Italian comic classics, such as works by Edoardo De Filippo. Tickets start at L20,000.

Teatro Romano di Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica. Information tel 06.6880.4601; box office daily 10am-2pm & 3-6pm. Ostia train from Piramide. Metro B Piramide, Tram #30 or bus #75.

In July and August specially scheduled performances of all kinds are offered in the restored ancient Roman theatre -- a spectacular, unforgettable setting, even if you don't speak Italian. Performances begin at 8.45pm. Go early for a chance to visit the ruins. Tickets cost L15,000--20,000. It's a twenty-minute train ride to Ostia Antica, then a short walk over the footbridge into the ruins.

Teatro Valle

Via del Teatro Valle 23a tel 06.6880.3794. Bus #64 or #492.

Between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, this theatre sometimes offers special works in English by visiting actors and companies. Tickets start at L15,000.

Teatro Vittoria

Piazza Santa Maria Liberatrice 8 tel 06.574.0598. Bus #75.

In Testaccio's main square, this large theatre sometimes books cabaret-like acts or dance-theatre companies that need no translation. Tickets start at about L20,000.


Film
There tends to be more and more English-language cinema on offer in Rome these days, partly due to foreign demand, but also because Italians are finally beginning to realize that they've been at a disadvantage culturally, linguistically and economically by being spoon-fed a steady diet of dubbed travesties. If you can manage with Italian, you'll naturally also find current Italian productions available all over town. There is really no Roman film festival as such, although each year, June 11--18, there's a rather half-hearted attempt to put together an event called the Fantafestival -- nothing to do with the orange-flavoured soda pop, but a series of science fiction and fantasy films shown in various centrally located cinemas. And each year some of the new films -- though rarely the most significant ones -- from Cannes and Venice are frequently given special viewings at Trastevere theatres a week or two after the festivals.

You'll find usually accurate listings in the English language section of Romac'è and in all the newspapers, which also include a section on "film clubs" or "cinema d'essai", a euphemism for stifling rooms where two or three aficionados sit on hard wooden chairs in front of a tiny, blurred screen watching films in their original language. Also, the "Italy Daily" supplement to the International Herald Tribune lists current English-language films; and if you speak Italian there's also Time Out Roma.

Alcazar

Via Merry del Val 14 tel 06.588.0099.

Trastevere cinema featuring mainstream American and English films, with the occasional weird one slipping in. You'll pay L8000 afternoons and L13,000 evenings.

Nuovo Olimpia

Via in Lucina 16 tel 06.686.1068. Bus #63 or #492.

Very central, just off Via del Corso, with two screens; tickets here cost L8000 afternoons and all day Wednesday, L12,000 evenings and weekends. They nowadays always feature at least one foreign film in the original language.

Nuovo Sacher

Largo Ascianghi 1 tel 06.581.8116. Bus #H or #75.

Again in Trastevere, this film theatre shows their current film in its original version, often in French, on Mondays. Tickets are L8000 afternoons, L10,000 evenings. Their choices tend toward independent, left-leaning works from Eastern Europe, France and Asia.

Pasquino

Piazza Sant'Egidio 10 tel 06.580.3622. Bus #H or #75.

Long-established in Trastevere as Rome's premier English-language cinema, with three screens showing recent general releases and the odd indie from Sundance, etc. The programme changes every Friday. Tickets for weekday evening and weekend showings cost L10,000, while afternoons from Monday to Friday cost L8000. For the two "Pasquino Club" screens you have to buy a L2000 pass first, valid for two months. A word of warning: expect problems with the projector, and avoid screen 3 unless you're really dying to see the film. The screen is terrible, the sound worse.

Quirinetta

Via M. Minghetti 4 tel 06.679.0012. Bus #63 or #64.

Centrally located, just off Via del Corso, near the Trevi Fountain, tickets here go for L8000 afternoons, L13,000 evenings and weekends. They always have films in the original language, 90 percent of the time first-run mainstream American fare. A huge screen and great Dolby surround-sound.

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