Thursday 17 December, just after half past six in the evening. You leave Follaky via Vico Monteroduni 16, walk for about eight minutes and reach Teatro di San Carlo with the doors already open: there is time to find your seats before Leonardo Sini takes the podium and the house waits for the voice of Plácido Domingo.
The Gala Domingo is on Thursday 17 December 2026, at 19:00, at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples: Plácido Domingo sings with soprano Sonya Yoncheva, and Leonardo Sini conducts the theatre's Orchestra. The evening marks 55 years since Domingo's debut at San Carlo and lasts about an hour and 45 minutes, with an interval. Full details are on the theatre's official page.
Plácido Domingo at San Carlo: the performers
On the theatre's page Plácido Domingo is listed as a baritone, alongside soprano Sonya Yoncheva; on the podium is Leonardo Sini, with the Orchestra of Teatro di San Carlo. The 2026/27 season announcement presents it as an opera gala, the moment given over to singing within the symphonic season, held to celebrate 55 years since his San Carlo debut.
As of 18 October the theatre has not yet published the pieces on the programme: it's worth checking the page again before you buy tickets. The gala is part of the S/P series of the concert subscriptions, but tickets can also be bought for the single evening.
Gala Domingo tickets: prices and how to buy
The evening is in price series V. An Orchestra Stalls seat costs €70, Orchestra Stalls GOLD and Top Orchestra Stalls €80, Top Orchestra Stalls GOLD €90; in the boxes prices range from €40 to €65, depending on tier and position, and the Royal Box costs €250. A seat in the V and VI tier balconies costs €35, a Listening Only seat €20. These are full prices: under-30s and over-65s on a minimum income get reduced rates in some sections, at the box office only.
Tickets can be bought online via Vivaticket, by credit card only and with a booking fee; through the Vivaticket call centre on 892.234, Monday to Friday 8:30–19:00 and Saturday 8:30–14:00, or from abroad on +39 041 2719035; or at the box office at Via San Carlo 98/f, every day from 10:00 to 18:00. The theatre advises against buying outside its authorised channels.
Doors open an hour before the start, and the theatre asks you to arrive at least 20 minutes early: latecomers are admitted to the auditorium only at the first interval. Wheelchair users can enter from Piazza Trieste e Trento and reach the stalls via ramps and lifts; each performance sets aside 4 seats, in rows 21 and 22 (tickets and accessibility).
Gala Domingo or Paolo Fresu, on the evening of 17 December?
The same evening, at 20:30, Paolo Fresu plays Christmas Songs at Teatro Acacia, in Vomero, with Daniele di Bonaventura and Leila Shirvani, in the Associazione Scarlatti season: the American songs of the holidays, alongside pieces from the European sacred tradition and from Sardinia, Fresu's homeland.
The two evenings overlap: the gala starts at 19:00 and lasts about an hour and 45 minutes, and by then the concert in Vomero has already begun. You have to choose. From Follaky, Teatro Acacia is about 35 minutes away with the Funicolare Centrale; the rest is in Christmas Songs with Paolo Fresu.
Three nights in Naples around 17 December
Arrive on Wednesday 16 December and check in between 15:00 and 20:00, in person with Monica or Fabio: let us know your time slot, ideally when you book. The first evening is for Chiaia, between Via Chiaia and Piazza dei Martiri, about a 3-minute walk away.
On Thursday 17, stay close to the theatre: Palazzo Reale is about a 7-minute walk, Galleria Umberto I about 8, Piazza del Plebiscito about 9. You can also visit San Carlo by day, on guided tours in Italian and English, Monday to Saturday from 10:30 to 12:30 and from 14:30 to 16:30; the theatre recommends booking, because tour times may change to suit the needs of the stage. Then head back to your suite to get ready; for dinner after the gala, see the restaurants page.
Friday 18 is the day for the historic centre: Santa Chiara is about a 24-minute walk, Via San Gregorio Armeno 32 minutes along Via Toledo. On that same Via Toledo, about 10 minutes from Follaky, the Gallerie d'Italia host the exhibition of the women painters Angelica and Élisabeth. On Saturday 19 you leave the suite by 10:00.
If you stay longer, the other evenings of the month are in Naples in December, and on Tuesday 22 at 20:00 The Nutcracker at San Carlo begins. If you leave on a Sunday, check-out is from Vico Monteroduni 16. To choose where to stay with the theatre in mind, there is also where to stay for San Carlo.
After the gala, a suite in Chiaia
Follaky Secret Garden is a boutique B&B in Palazzo Giovagnoni, inside a private residential park in Chiaia; Monica and Fabio welcome you in person. There are two entrances: Via Chiaia 149F on foot, with the park's private lift, and Vico Monteroduni 16, for taxis and luggage.
The Suite Chiaia Deluxe Garden View is the most intimate: olive green, wood, maiolica tiles and a picture window looking onto two adjoining private gardens. The Suite Toledo Deluxe Private Patio is larger and brighter, in white and turquoise maiolica, with a private patio. If you're going to the gala as a foursome, Double Suites – Exclusive Use brings the two suites together for exclusive use. Follaky Breakfast is included, with quality products.
Once the evening of the gala is set, all that's left is the suite you'll walk back to after the last ovation: check your nights and compare the suites.
