Ghemon in La prima volta, l’ultima volta, l’unica volta at Auditorium Parco della Musica, December 12, 2026

Ghemon brings to Rome his second stand-up comedy show, La prima volta, l'ultima volta, l'unica volta (The First Time, the Last Time, the Only Time), on Saturday, December 12, 2026 at 20:00 in Sala Petrassi of Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, at Viale Pietro de Coubertin 30 (00196 Rome). The Auditorium is reached by metro line A to Flaminio and then tram 2 (stops Flaminia/Reni or Apollodoro), or by bus 910 from Termini. Tickets start at 25 euros, according to the Auditorium's official page, and are bought from the venue's official website, which links to the presale network authorized by the organizers, or at the complex's ticket office.

Language: performed in Italian. No English version or English surtitles are announced.

After Una cosetta così, the show that passed 70 performances and opened a new phase of his career, the singer-songwriter and rapper from Avellino returns to the theater with a monologue about life, fears and the contradictions of everyday life. The Fondazione Musica per Roma places it in the complex's theater program, and the hall is the most intimate of Renzo Piano's three big halls.

Ghemon in Rome: date, time, hall and tickets

Ghemon's show is scheduled for Saturday, December 12, 2026 at 20:00 in Sala Petrassi, according to the official page of Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, with tickets starting at 25 euros.

When

Saturday, December 12, 2026, at 20:00. It's a single date. The same Saturday, at the same time, Teatro Studio hosts Chuck Ragan's concert: the Auditorium will be full of different audiences.

The price

The event page lists tickets starting at 25 euros. The higher tiers depend on the section of the hall and appear on the seat map at the time of purchase.

Where to buy

The purchase button on the Auditorium's official site leads to the authorized presale network. The complex's ticket office, at Viale Pietro de Coubertin 30, is open from October to March from 11:00 to 20:00, including Sundays and holidays.

La prima volta, l'ultima volta, l'unica volta: what you see

La prima volta, l'ultima volta, l'unica volta is Ghemon's second stand-up comedy show, according to the official presentation: a comic tale, direct but personal, of someone who jumps without a parachute and tries to live every experience as if it were the first, the last and the only one.

Life, fears, contradictions

The presentation speaks of a show about life, fears and the everyday contradictions. It's the classic territory of stand-up: personal experience turned into comic material, with the audience recognizing itself in the small absurdities told from the stage.

The title

The title lines up three ways of looking at an experience: the first time, with its awkwardness, the last, with its melancholy, the only, with its weight. It's an idea that suits an artist who, over his career, has changed skin several times, as the title of his first autobiography says.

The follow-up to Una cosetta così

The show comes after Una cosetta così, which according to the presentation passed 70 performances and opened a new artistic phase beyond the musical one. Those who saw it already know what to expect from the tone. Those who didn't find here the most mature form of the comic Ghemon.

Una cosetta così: from monologue to record

Since 2023 Ghemon has also presented himself as a stand-up comedian: his first show, Una cosetta così, is a monologue that mixes stand-up, theater and music and that, according to the official presentation, gathered over 74 performances across Italy, up to the final date on November 8, 2024 at Teatro Arcimboldi in Milan.

The comedy album

On January 10, 2025 Una cosetta così became a record, in the American tradition of comedy albums: the tracklist puts together the monologues of the live show and five pieces written specially, between hip hop, neo soul and contemporary jazz.

A rare format in Italy

In Italy the comedy album is a rarely practiced format. Taking it to the charts alongside song records is a choice that says a lot about an artist who considers music and comic speech part of the same trade.

What changes in the new show

The presentation of the second show doesn't speak of live music: at the center is the comic tale. The setlist and the running time aren't published.

Who Ghemon is: the biography

Ghemon, whose real name is Giovanni Luca Picariello, was born in Avellino on April 1, 1982: a singer-songwriter, rapper and comedian, he has released six solo studio albums between 2007 and 2021, has taken part twice in the Sanremo Festival and has written two books.

The name and the beginnings

His first encounter with hip hop culture comes in 1995, through graffiti. His stage name is inspired by Goemon Ishikawa XIII, the samurai of Lupin III. In 1997 he founds the Sangamaro project with his friend Domenico, and in 2000 he releases the demo Bloodstains, well received by the trade magazine Aelle.

Rome and Luiss

In 2002 he moves to Rome, where he graduates in law at Luiss Guido Carli. In 2005 he joins the Soulville project, tied to soul and conscious hip hop, and in 2006 he releases the EP Ufficio immaginazione as a free download.

The first records

In 2007 come the mixtape Qualcosa cambierà and the first album, La rivincita dei buoni. The same year Basement Magazine awards him Hip Hop Brand New Artist at the independent labels meeting in Faenza. In 2009 he releases with Ghemon and The Love 4tet the concept album E poi, all'improvviso, impazzire. In 2010 comes the EP Embrionale, a tribute to the American composer Jon Brion.

From Orchidee to Sanremo

On May 27, 2014 Orchidee comes out, preceded by Adesso sono qui, the piece later included in the international soundtrack of the video game NBA 2K. Mezzanotte follows in 2017, Scritto nelle stelle in 2020 and E vissero feriti e contenti in 2021. He takes part in the Sanremo Festival in 2019 with Rose viola and in 2021 with Momento perfetto.

Books, radio, marathons

He has done radio and podcasts, and has written two books: Io sono. Diario anticonformista di tutte le volte che ho cambiato pelle (HarperCollins, 2018) and Nessuno è una cosa sola (Rizzoli, April 15, 2025), halfway between a diary and a personal tale. A great fan of soccer and basketball, in recent years he has started running marathons.

Ghemon's sound: soul, jazz, rap and song

The official presentation describes Ghemon's style as a personal blend of soul, jazz, rap and Italian songwriting, renewed over the years until it became recognizable.

Beyond hip hop

As early as 2010 two tracks released for free, G-H-E-M-O-N and Traccia #2, were played entirely live, with no sampling. The second featured the trumpeter Luca Aquino. After 2012 Ghemon announced he wanted to leave rap in the strict sense, without leaving music.

The collaborations

Over the years he has worked with Neffa, Fabri Fibra, Mecna, Kiave, Bassi Maestro and the New York producer Marco Polo. In 2015 the MEI awarded him best independent hip hop artist.

From music to comedy

Anyone who knows his songs recognizes in the stand-up the same care for words and the same taste for self-irony. It's the thread that ties the rapper, the singer-songwriter and the comedian.

How to organize the evening at the Auditorium

An evening with Ghemon at the Auditorium is organized well by arriving at least half an hour before 20:00, also because the same Saturday the complex hosts several events at once.

Before the show

The Auditorium has a foyer shared by the halls, with a bar, a café and a large bookstore where you can browse records and books. Arriving an hour early you can take a turn around the cavea and the terrace, where you see the remains of the Roman villa discovered during the works.

The ticket

The ticket office rules are published on the venue's site: tickets must be bought through official channels, because those bought on unauthorized secondary platforms may not be valid. For a show in a hall of about 670 seats, on a December Saturday, it's best not to wait for the last weeks.

After the show

Tram 2 takes you back to Piazzale Flaminio, and from there metro A returns toward the center. Anyone who feels like walking can go down Via Flaminia to Piazza del Popolo, a half-hour stroll on December evenings.

Ghemon and the word: from rap to stand-up

Ghemon's move from music to comedy, according to the official presentation, is the natural consequence of his versatility: an artist who has always worked on the word, first in rhyme and then in prose.

The writing

Already at the start of his career critics praised his refined and original lyrics, written in a clear and precise style. In rap the word has to fit the rhythm. In stand-up it has to fit the timing of the laugh. It's a different craft, with the same raw material.

Telling himself

The two books, the comedy album and now the second show all tell the same thing: the personal story of an artist who has been through successes, crises and rebirths, as the presentation of Nessuno è una cosa sola puts it. On stage that story becomes funny without ceasing to be true.

A curiosity about Ghemon in La prima volta, l'ultima volta, l'unica volta at Auditorium Parco della Musica, December 12, 2026

The most surprising curiosity concerns a video game. Adesso sono qui, the single that in 2014 anticipated the album Orchidee, was chosen for the international soundtrack of NBA 2K, the best-selling basketball video game series in the world, as the show's presentation recalls. For an artist who declares himself a great basketball fan, it's hard to imagine a more fitting recognition: a song in Italian, written by a rapper from Irpinia, in a game played all over the world.

The second curiosity is a link with another event the same December. The violinist Rodrigo D'Erasmo, of Afterhours, played on the album Orchidee and in 2021 conducted the orchestra for Momento perfetto, Ghemon's piece at the Sanremo Festival. Nine days after Ghemon's show, on December 21, D'Erasmo will be on stage in Sala Santa Cecilia, in the same complex, to play live the music of Democrazia, Antonio Scurati's show.

The third concerns the name. Ghemon comes from Goemon Ishikawa XIII, the silent samurai of Lupin III, the one who cuts everything with his sword. For an artist who went from graffiti to rap, from soul to stand-up, a name taken from a Japanese cartoon is already a declaration of freedom.

Sala Petrassi, where the show takes place

Sala Petrassi is the most intimate of the three big halls of Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, with about 670 seats, and was inaugurated on April 21, 2002 together with Sala Sinopoli.

The name

The hall bears the name of Goffredo Petrassi, one of the great Italian composers of the 20th century. Like the other halls, named after Giuseppe Sinopoli and the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, it pays homage to Rome's musical history.

Wood and scale

The walls are covered in cherry wood, the same as Teatro Studio. For a spoken show the size matters: in a hall under 700 seats the voice carries without effort and the audience's reactions are heard, which is essential for stand-up.

Where to sit

In a hall of this size almost every seat has a good view. The central orchestra gives the most balanced listening. The first rows give direct contact with the comedian, which in stand-up is part of the evening.

Something nobody tells you about Ghemon in La prima volta, l'ultima volta, l'unica volta at Auditorium Parco della Musica, December 12, 2026

What few people say is that Ghemon's show is not a concert. The Auditorium lists it among the theater events, and the presentation speaks of stand-up comedy: anyone who buys a ticket hoping to hear Rose viola or Momento perfetto risks being surprised. It's a comic tale, built on the artist's life. The advice is to arrive knowing it, and to enjoy a Ghemon different from the one on the radio.

Second thing rarely said: December 12 is a Saturday on which the Auditorium has several events at the same time. The halls are separate buildings arranged in a fan around the cavea, and anyone who takes the wrong entrance loses a few minutes. The rules allow entry up to five minutes before the start. Once the show has begun, staff may seat latecomers in seats different from the ones purchased. In a comedy show, walking in midway through a joke in front of 600 people is the thing to avoid.

Third: Ghemon in Rome is not a passing guest. He studied and lived here from 2002, and in an interview he told how hard it was to adapt to such a big and sprawling city, building a circle of friends from scratch. A Roman evening, for him, has a particular flavor.

The advice I give you for visiting Ghemon in La prima volta, l'ultima volta, l'unica volta at Auditorium Parco della Musica, December 12, 2026

The advice is to prepare with the right record. Una cosetta così, released on January 10, 2025, contains the monologues of the first show and five pieces written specially: listening to it in the preceding days gives the measure of Ghemon's comic tone and lets you catch the echoes, if there are any, between the first and the second show. For those who prefer to read, Nessuno è una cosa sola, the 2025 book, tells the same personal story in diary form.

The second piece of advice concerns the seat. In stand-up, closeness matters more than at a concert: the first rows of Sala Petrassi's orchestra are the ones where you catch every expression, and where the comedian can address the audience directly. Anyone who prefers not to be called out should choose a central row, a little farther back.

The third concerns the time. The show starts at 20:00 on a December Saturday: in our judgment it's best to arrive around 19:15, get something at the foyer bar and take a turn around the cavea. After the show, Milvian Bridge is a few minutes away for dinner.

How to get to the Auditorium for Ghemon

Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone is reached by tram 2, stops Flaminia/Reni or Apollodoro, and by buses 910, 53, 982 and 168. The nearest metro station is Flaminio, on line A.

From Flaminio by tram

From Piazzale Flaminio, tram 2 climbs Via Flaminia toward Piazza Mancini. Once off at Flaminia/Reni or Apollodoro, you walk through the Villaggio Olimpico to Viale Pietro de Coubertin in a few minutes.

From Termini with no changes

Bus 910 leaves from Piazza dei Cinquecento, in front of Termini station, and reaches the Auditorium. It's the simplest solution for those arriving by train.

Other lines and the railway

The 53, the 982 and the 168 also pass through the area. The Roma Nord railway reaches Piazza Euclide. For the evening return it's best to check the Atac route planner.

By car

The Auditorium has paid internal car parks, with limited spaces. A Saturday night with several halls full is the day when there are fewest spaces.

Another well-known fact, and yet rarely mentioned

It's well known that Ghemon has taken part twice in the Sanremo Festival: in 2019 with Rose viola, which placed 12th, and in 2021 with Momento perfetto. Less often remembered is how long the road was that led him to the Ariston. In 2000, with the duo Sangamaro, he released a demo on cassette, Bloodstains. The same year, after attending the Maurizio Costanzo Show with his schoolmates, he gave a copy of that cassette to the Matia Bazar. 19 years later he was competing at the Festival.

The second little-cited fact concerns his education. The rapper from Irpinia graduated in law at Luiss Guido Carli in Rome: a course of study far from music, which however helps explain the precision of his writing and his attention to words.

The third is radio. In 2010 he hosted a weekly program, Radio Fantasma, and from November 2020 he was the narrating voice of the second season of the podcast Certified Classics. The show's presentation recalls exactly this versatility: music, radio, podcasts, books and now theater.

The right photo to take at Ghemon in La prima volta, l'ultima volta, l'unica volta at Auditorium Parco della Musica, December 12, 2026

During a stand-up show, taking photos in the hall is not a good idea: jokes live on timing, and a lit screen in an intimate hall is seen from every row. The right photo is taken outside, before or after.

The subject is Renzo Piano's Auditorium lit up on a December evening, with the lead shells of the three big halls arranged around the cavea. The best spot is the cavea itself, the open-air amphitheater named after Luciano Berio. From there the roofs are seen together, and at 19:00 it's already dark.

Another frame is from the terrace between the halls, where the remains of the Roman villa uncovered during the excavations come into the foreground. Inside the hall, at most, one shot of the empty stage before the start, with the microphone already ready. For a stand-up show it's the most eloquent image.

Some important events that happened here in history

The ground on which the Auditorium stands was inhabited already in antiquity. During the works, the remains of a Roman villa of the 3rd century BC emerged, built on the site of an archaic farm of the 6th century BC. The discovery forced Renzo Piano to redraw the project, and the finds are displayed in a small museum under the cavea.

The modern story starts with a loss. In 1936 the Augusteo, the Roman concert hall built over the Mausoleum of Augustus, was demolished, and for 60 years the city was left without a suitable auditorium. The new complex was designed by Piano after an international competition. In July 1999 the city founded the company Musica per Roma, transformed in 2004 into the foundation that still runs the complex today.

On April 21, 2002, the birthday of Rome, Sala Petrassi, where Ghemon performs, and Sala Sinopoli were inaugurated. On December 21 of the same year came Sala Santa Cecilia, with the Academy's Orchestra conducted by Myung-whun Chung. Since 2003 the Auditorium has been home to the season of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, since 2006 it has hosted the Rome Film Festival, and in 2020 it was named after Ennio Morricone. 2002 is also the year Ghemon arrived in Rome to study: his Roman life and the complex's begin together.

Who has passed through Ghemon in La prima volta, l'ultima volta, l'unica volta at Auditorium Parco della Musica, December 12, 2026

First of all, through the Auditorium passed Renzo Piano, who designed it. Its halls bear the names of Goffredo Petrassi and Giuseppe Sinopoli, the cavea that of Luciano Berio, the whole complex that of Ennio Morricone. On December 21, 2002 Myung-whun Chung conducted the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in the inaugural concert of the biggest hall. In over 20 years the Fondazione Musica per Roma's programming has brought here classical music, jazz, rock, the singer-songwriter tradition and, more and more often, spoken theater.

Through Ghemon's career, instead, pass many names from Italian music: Neffa, with whom he recorded an alternative version of Dove sei in 2013. Fabri Fibra and Mecna, with the remix of Teoria e pratica. Kiave, Hyst and the others of the Blue Nox collective. Bassi Maestro and Marco Polo for the EP Per la mia gente. Syria, with whom he sang a duet in 2012. Fid Mella, DJ Tsura and Macro Marco among the producers. Rodrigo D'Erasmo on violin.

In the following weeks, in the Auditorium's theater program, come La rivolta della gioia by Silvia Gallerano and Cristian Ceresoli at Teatro Studio and Antonio Scurati in Sala Santa Cecilia. At the end of December Max Gazzè returns with his concerts.

The neighborhood around the Auditorium

The Auditorium is located between the Villaggio Olimpico, Villa Glori and the Corso di Francia viaduct, on an area of about 55,000 square meters: a piece of modern Rome, with contemporary architecture and a lot of greenery.

MAXXI

Near the Flaminia/Reni stop is MAXXI, the national museum of 21st-century arts. Toward the Tiber is Teatro Olimpico. The history of Piano's complex and all its halls is collected in the listing on Auditorium Parco della Musica.

The Tiber and the Foro Italico

Going down toward the river you reach the Ponte della Musica, the pedestrian footbridge that leads to the Foro Italico. Farther north, beyond Piazza Mancini, is Ponte Milvio.

Toward the center

Tram 2 takes you back to Piazzale Flaminio and Piazza del Popolo, the gateway to the historic center and the starting point for Villa Borghese.

Where to eat before or after the show

Inside the Auditorium there are a bar and a café in the foyer and a bar restaurant with street access too: for those who arrive in a rush from work it's the most convenient solution.

In the neighborhood

The Villaggio Olimpico and the area around Viale XVII Olimpiade have neighborhood pizzerias and trattorias. Via Flaminia, toward Piazza Mancini, offers restaurants and bars along the tram route.

After the show

Ponte Milvio, to the north, is the liveliest area on Saturday night, with many places open late. In the holiday period booking is almost a must.

With little time

Anyone who gets out of work late and arrives in a rush finds in the Auditorium foyer enough for a snack before the show. The real dinner, in this case, is best moved to afterward, when the places at Ponte Milvio are still open.

Accessibility, age and practical information

The Auditorium is a modern complex with routes between the halls that are also outdoors, around the cavea. For accessibility needs in Sala Petrassi it's best to write in advance to the Fondazione Musica per Roma, at the address info@musicaperroma.it published on the official site.

Parking

The complex's paid car parks have spaces reserved for people with disabilities.

Kids

The venue's rules provide that minors under 16 enter with an adult holding a ticket, at a ratio of one adult per two minors. The show is designed for an adult audience. For kids who know Ghemon from his music it can be a discovery, but the themes are those of grown-up life.

A mid-December evening

On December 12 Rome is already in the thick of the holidays, with the center lit up and a dense calendar of indoor shows. For the season's other events there's the listing on Christmas in Rome.

Weather

December evenings are cool and often damp, and the stretch between the tram and the Auditorium is outdoors. A coat to leave at the coat check and a folding umbrella are enough.

An idea for the day

Anyone coming from outside can spend the afternoon at MAXXI or between Piazza del Popolo and the Pincio, and then take the tram to the Auditorium at an easy pace.

Frequently asked questions about Ghemon at the Auditorium

When is Ghemon's show in Rome?

Ghemon's show La prima volta, l'ultima volta, l'unica volta takes place in Rome on Saturday, December 12, 2026 at 20:00, in Sala Petrassi of Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, at Viale Pietro de Coubertin 30. It's a single date.

How much do tickets for Ghemon at the Auditorium cost?

Tickets for Ghemon at Auditorium Parco della Musica start at 25 euros, according to the official event page. They are bought from the venue's site, which links to the authorized presale network, or at the complex's ticket office, open from October to March from 11:00 to 20:00.

Does Ghemon sing in the show?

La prima volta, l'ultima volta, l'unica volta is presented as Ghemon's second stand-up comedy show, a comic tale about life, fears and everyday contradictions. The official presentation doesn't speak of a concert. The detailed program isn't published.

What was Una cosetta così?

Una cosetta così is Ghemon's first stand-up show, a monologue between comedy, theater and music with over 74 performances, closed on November 8, 2024 at Teatro Arcimboldi in Milan. On January 10, 2025 it became a comedy album with monologues and five new pieces.

Who is Ghemon?

Ghemon, whose real name is Giovanni Luca Picariello, is a singer-songwriter, rapper and comedian born in Avellino in 1982. He has released albums such as Orchidee, Mezzanotte and Scritto nelle stelle, took part in Sanremo in 2019 and 2021 and has written two books for HarperCollins and Rizzoli.

How many seats does Sala Petrassi have?

Sala Petrassi at Auditorium Parco della Musica has about 670 seats and is the most intimate of the three big halls of Renzo Piano's complex. It bears the name of the composer Goffredo Petrassi and was inaugurated on April 21, 2002.

How do you get to Auditorium Parco della Musica?

Auditorium Parco della Musica is reached by metro A to Flaminio and then tram 2, stops Flaminia/Reni or Apollodoro. From Termini there is bus 910, with no changes. Lines 53, 982 and 168 also pass nearby.

The final advice on Ghemon at the Auditorium

A rapper turned singer-songwriter, a singer-songwriter turned comedian, in a hall of 670 seats in the city where he studied: in our judgment La prima volta, l'ultima volta, l'unica volta is the right evening for those who have followed Ghemon for years and for those who love stand-up made with care for words. The advice is to listen to Una cosetta così before going out, buy early a seat in the central rows of the orchestra and arrive at the Auditorium half an hour early, because that Saturday the complex will be crowded.

Article written by the editorial team of Tour Leader Pro, contact them for Private/Corporate/V.I.P. Tours and Experiences.

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