The Puppet Opera is a Sicilian tradition that is a must see! Even if you do not understand Italian, it is definitely worth it. The Opera is interesting and the puppets are beautifully made.
We had read about the puppet theatre in guidebooks, and were near the theatre, so decided to go. We received the last available reservations, as the show was sold out. We guessed that almost none of the audience spoke Italian, and did not know "when to laugh". However, the sword fights were fun, and the puppets spoke with great enthusiasm. A few days later we found an article that described the show, improving our understanding. We thought that a one or two minute introduction in English would have been helpful, but this was a minor criticism, as we were happy to attend this important part of Sicilian culture.
We managed to get tickets at the last minute through the hotel. It's a tiny little place. The show is adorable, the "libretto" is completely unfathomable, crazy, but you get the gist -the good guys win. Lots of wonderful battles and sword fights and heaps of puppets dying on the little stage. The puppets are beautiful and well managed and the show is just the right length. I'm glad we went.
We went there with our children (7 and 13) and it was a really enjoyable experience. We didn't understand much because it was in Italian but the puppets are great and it was not that hard to follow the plot. Overall a good experience.
You need to experience this traditional puppet show! All ages will absolutely love it!! We will definately go again and again when we return to Sicily!
We really enjoyed the play we saw. It does not matter at all that it is only in Italian, it is easy enough to follow and the puppets themselves and puppetry skills were excellent. This was one of the highlights of our trip.
We really enjoyed this traditional puppet show. The shows are in Italian, but you can read the story in English from a leaflet handed out before the performance. The puppets are beautifully crafted. Our 8 year old son loved all the fighting scenes.
Entertaining and enjoyable show for all ages. The dialog is in Italian, so be sure to read the synopses beforehand. Show lasts about 40 minutes.In my opinion, the theater should prohibit photography and video during the show. While sitting in the back row we had to watch half the audience holding up cameras and taking photos and videos the entire show. VERY distracting and inconsiderate. Possibly they could allow photos of the puppets after the show.
A unique experience, not to be missed. The traditional stories enacted by the puppets are very complicated because there are so many characters and it's hard to keep up but nobody minds and the excitement is palpable. It lasted about 30 mins and the good guys won. Fun for all the family. It's well worth going to the Puppet Museum too.
The show is fun to watch for the drama effects, beautiful marionnettes, quite lively and artistic performance! Synopses are given on paper beforehand, English version is poorly translated and a scramble of names, so you don't get more than who is the good and the bad guy. Still worth the experience, book in advance!