"The Milan Cortina Olympics ended Sunday with a closing ceremony paying tribute to Italian dance and music inside the ancient Verona Arena, roughly mid-distance between the far-flung mountain, valley and city venues that made these the most spread-out Winter Games in Olympic history. Some 1,500 Olympians filed into the stone arena waving small national flags to a rousing medley of Italian pop hits from the 20th century as the crowd sang along."
"On stage, Madama Butterfly in a bright pink and green costume and Aida in golden tiers were unpacked from mirrored crates while 17th-century musicians played the joyous Libiamo ne' lieti calici from La Traviata, a nod to the Arena's long history as the venue for a summer opera festival. The opera characters, led by the jester Rigoletto, spilled out into the piazza outside, mixing with the bemused athletes who were flag-bearers for their countries, some of whom pulled out their phones to film."
The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics concluded with a closing ceremony at Verona's ancient Arena celebrating Italian dance, music and lyric opera. About 1,500 Olympians entered the stone amphitheater waving small national flags while the crowd sang along to a medley of 20th-century Italian pop. The two-hour show opened with a whimsical operatic tribute featuring Achille Lauro and revived opera characters unpacked from mirrored crates as 17th-century musicians performed La Traviata. Opera figures spilled into the piazza and mingled with bemused athletes. The Olympic flame arrived in a Venetian glass vessel carried by 1994 Italian gold medalists and the flag was handed to France.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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