The Queen of Rock, A tribute to Tina Turner at Teatro Olimpico, March 18 to 21, 2027

The Queen of Rock, A tribute to Tina Turner, the musical show with Roberta Bonanno in the role of Tina, plays at Teatro Olimpico in Rome, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 17 (00196 Rome), from Thursday, March 18 to Sunday, March 21, 2027: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 20:30, Sunday at 17:30. You get there by Metro Line A to Flaminio and then tram 2 to the terminus at Piazza Mancini, from which it's about 500 meters on foot along Viale del Pinturicchio. Alternatively, take bus 910 from Termini to the Pannini stop. The prices published by the theater range from €29 to €45 plus presale fee, depending on the section, with an online fee of €2 per ticket. Tickets are bought on the official website of Teatro Olimpico, from the show page, or at the box office at Piazza Gentile da Fabriano.

Four evenings, a live band, three backing singers, four dancers and a singer with the hardest job of all: bringing back Tina Turner's voice without imitating it. The tribute coming to the Olimpico in March doesn't just string the songs together: it uses them to tell a life. Our verdict is clear: among the many musical tributes of the Roman season, it's the one with the strongest story behind it, and the tale of a rebirth suits the theater better than any set list.

The Queen of Rock at Teatro Olimpico: dates, times, prices

The Queen of Rock, A tribute to Tina Turner plays at Teatro Olimpico from March 18 to 21, 2027, with tickets from €29 to €45 plus presale fee according to the theater's official website.

Four performances

The official page lists four performances: Thursday the 18th, Friday the 19th and Saturday the 20th of March at 20:30, Sunday, March 21 at 17:30. Thursday and Friday are the evenings for those leaving work, Saturday for groups, and Sunday afternoon is best for those coming from outside Rome or bringing kids and parents.

Prices by section

The theater publishes seven sections. Poltronissima gold: €45 plus €6.80 presale fee. Side poltronissima: €40 plus €6. Poltrona: €35 plus €5.30. Balcony: €35 plus €5.30. Balcony with railing: €34 plus €5.10. Side balcony: €30 plus €4.50. Side balcony with railing: €29 plus €4.40. The presale fee is always charged when the ticket is issued, and buying online adds €2 per ticket.

Where to buy tickets

Tickets are bought on the official website of Teatro Olimpico, from the show page, or at the theater's box office. For information the theater gives the address biglietti@teatroolimpico.it.

In the Olimpico season

The Queen of Rock is part of the 2026/2027 season of Teatro Olimpico. In the theater's calendar it comes after PanPers with Terapia di coppia and before Io e Gianlu, the show by Marta and Gianluca. In the same season the Olimpico already hosted Queen at the Opera in January: two rock queens in the same winter, for different reasons.

The Queen of Rock: what you will see

The Queen of Rock weaves Tina Turner's most famous songs into the key moments of her private life, starting from the People Magazine interview in which the singer revealed for the first time the abuse she suffered from her ex-husband Ike Turner.

The thread of the story

The official presentation starts from a question and an answer attributed to Tina Turner: what do you do when everything is against you? You keep going, without stopping. This is the message the show puts at its center, the strength to get back up by turning pain into energy and hope. The songs become chapters of a biography, and the concert takes the form of a story.

On stage

Accompanying Roberta Bonanno, who according to the theater gives voice, body and soul to Tina, are a band of musicians, three backing singers and four dancers. The theater stresses the grit, the energy and the unmistakable vocal timbre that the lead manages to bring back. Music, lights and dance are the three elements with which the show builds its scenes.

A tribute, not an impersonation

The formula is that of the tribute: no pretense of replacing the original, a declared homage to an artist the theater calls immortal, able to leave a lasting mark on rock. For those who saw Tina Turner live it will be an exercise in memory. For those who knew her only from records and videos, the closest way to hear those songs with a real band in a real hall.

A serious theme

The show doesn't avoid the hardest part of the story. The tale starts from the public confession of the abuse suffered in the marriage to Ike Turner and follows the path that led the singer to rebuild a career and a life. Anyone bringing kids to the theater should know it: it's a theme that lends itself to a conversation after the show.

Roberta Bonanno, the voice of Tina

Roberta Bonanno is a singer born in Milan on May 22, 1985, who became known by taking part in the seventh edition of Maria De Filippi's Amici, where she placed second behind Marco Carta.

Amici and the record deal

After the Canale 5 talent show she got a record deal with Sony BMG, which in July 2008 released her first EP, Non ho più paura. Second place behind Marco Carta, in a widely followed edition, immediately gave her a national audience.

A powerful voice

The press that has followed her career describes her as a singer with a powerful voice, who over the years has alternated recording work with television and theater experiences. It's exactly the profile needed for Tina Turner: a repertoire that demands range, stamina and above all stage presence, because Tina's songs are sung with the body too.

The role

Playing Tina Turner means tackling songs born for a raspy, gritty voice, and sustaining them for a whole evening while dancing. The theater speaks of an extraordinary Roberta Bonanno: the final judgment belongs to the audience, but the choice of a performer with a long record of live work behind her says a lot about the seriousness of the project.

Who was Tina Turner: the queen of rock

Tina Turner, stage name of Anna Mae Bullock, was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, on November 26, 1939 and died in Küsnacht, Switzerland, on May 24, 2023. She was one of the most famous female performers in rock, called the queen of rock and roll.

Nutbush and Saint Louis

The daughter of sharecroppers, she grew up in the village of Nutbush and at 10 was already singing in the Baptist church choir. After her parents separated she lived with her grandparents and then with her maternal grandmother in Saint Louis. In 1956, almost by chance, she sang during the intermission of a Kings of Rhythm concert at the Club Manhattan: the leader of the group, Ike Turner, noticed her. Years later she would dedicate to her childhood village Nutbush City Limits, written by her.

Ike and Tina Turner

With Ike Turner she formed the duo Ike and Tina Turner: the first song signed with the stage name Tina Turner was A Fool in Love, in 1960. Hits followed such as It's Gonna Work Out Fine, River Deep, Mountain High, Nutbush City Limits and the cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary. The duo performed at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and opened the Rolling Stones' concerts in Europe.

The escape and the divorce

The marriage was marked by Ike's violence. On the night of July 7, 1975, in Dallas, Tina fled the hotel where the couple was staying, with a few coins in her pocket. The divorce was pronounced on March 29, 1978: she gave up almost everything, asking only to keep her stage name. In those years she acted in Ken Russell's Tommy as the Acid Queen.

Private Dancer

The rebirth came with manager Roger Davies and with the support of David Bowie, who insisted that she get a record deal. In 1984 Private Dancer came out, over 12 million copies sold worldwide, with What's Love Got to Do with It, her only number one on the American singles chart. Break Every Rule followed in 1986 and, in Rio de Janeiro, a concert in front of 180,000 people that entered the Guinness World Records.

The Best and the 1990s

In 1989 the album Foreign Affair contained The Best, her most famous song. In 1993 the biopic about her life came out, with Angela Bassett. In 1995 she sang GoldenEye, written for her by Bono and The Edge for the James Bond film. In 1985 she had been in the cast of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, singing its theme We Don't Need Another Hero.

The farewell and the legacy

The Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour of 2008 and 2009 was her farewell to the stage. In 2013 she married Erwin Bach and took Swiss citizenship. In 2018 Tina, the musical about her life, debuted in London, then was revived on Broadway in 2019. She won 12 Grammys and sold over 100 million records. She was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Ike in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021.

Tina Turner's songs

Tina Turner's repertoire covers half a century, from the 1960s of the duo with Ike to the big solo hits of the 1980s and 1990s, and the show draws on her most famous songs.

The years with Ike

River Deep, Mountain High, Proud Mary, Nutbush City Limits: these are the songs of the period with Ike, those of pure energy on stage, of the Ikettes, of the choreographies. In the show they belong to the first part of the story, the hardest.

The rebirth

What's Love Got to Do with It, Private Dancer, Let's Stay Together, Better Be Good to Me, We Don't Need Another Hero, Typical Male: this is the repertoire of the 1980s, that of the reconquest of the worldwide audience. Many know it by heart without realizing it.

The songs of maturity

The Best, I Don't Wanna Fight, GoldenEye, Whatever You Want: the 1990s are the years of the big stadium tours. The show's set list is not published, and the theater speaks only generically of the most famous songs. Anyone who knows Tina's career already knows which ones to expect.

Tina Turner and Italy

Tina Turner had a long relationship with Italy: in 1979 she was a regular guest on Rai 1's Saturday-night variety show Luna Park, hosted by Pippo Baudo, and the same year a guest at the Sanremo Festival.

1979

It was the hardest period of her career, after the divorce and before Private Dancer. Italian television offered her a weekly showcase when at home her records weren't charting. It's an episode many Italian viewers still remember, and one that the show, telling of the years in the dark, touches closely.

The Italian duets

In 1998 she sang a duet with Eros Ramazzotti on Cose della vita. In 2006 she sang with Elisa on Teach Me Again, a song from the collective film All the Invisible Children, whose proceeds went to UNICEF projects against child malnutrition in Africa. The posthumous collection Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, released in 2023, includes both duets.

Teatro Olimpico, the hall for The Queen of Rock

Teatro Olimpico in Piazza Gentile da Fabriano was born as a movie theater in 1936 and has been a theater since 1981. It has 1,410 seats, 966 in the orchestra and 444 in the gallery. The venue profile is Teatro Olimpico.

A 1930s cinema

The building was constructed between 1935 and 1936 for the Società Generale Immobiliare, in the same years as the Foro Italico. Until the 1950s it worked mainly as a cinema, with vaudeville in the intervals: music, dance and variety have always been in its code.

The amphitheater orchestra

The 966 orchestra seats are sloped, amphitheater style: from the back rows you see over the heads of those in front. For a show with four dancers and a lead who moves a lot, it's a concrete advantage. The gallery, which at the box office corresponds to the balcony, is horseshoe-shaped.

The stage

The stage measures about 10 meters deep by 12 wide: a space that comfortably holds a band, three backing singers and a dance troupe. The structure is reinforced concrete, with travertine in the base and the frames, returned to its original look by a recent restoration. The theater reports a judgment attributed to Orson Welles, according to whom the Olimpico would be the only place in Rome able to recall the atmosphere of Broadway theaters.

Where to sit for The Queen of Rock

For The Queen of Rock the best seats are in the central orchestra or the front balcony: in a music and dance show what matters is seeing the whole scene, more than being right up against the stage.

Poltronissima gold

At €45 plus presale fee it's the section closest to the stage. For a rock concert it's the choice of those who want to feel the band's energy on them and see the lead up close. The overall price, with presale fee and online fee, is over €53.

Poltrona and balcony

Poltrona and balcony cost the same, €35 plus €5.30 presale fee. The preference, for a show with choreographies, goes to the central balcony: from above you can read the dancers' patterns on stage. If you prefer the full sound of the band, choose the poltrona.

The side sections

The side sections and those with a railing cost from €29 to €34. For a concert the side view penalizes less than for a play, and the saving over the poltronissima is considerable: for a large group it's a sensible choice.

How to get to Teatro Olimpico for The Queen of Rock

Teatro Olimpico is reached by Metro Line A to Flaminio and tram 2 to the terminus at Piazza Mancini, from which it's about 500 meters on foot: it's the route indicated by the theater.

Metro Line A and tram 2

From Flaminio station you take tram 2 to Piazza Mancini, then follow Viale del Pinturicchio to Piazza Gentile da Fabriano, five minutes on foot. From Termini the route is identical: Metro Line A, change at Flaminio.

Buses

The lines with a stop near the theater are 220, 232, 233, 280, 301, 446, 48, 910 and 911. The 910 leaves from Termini: get off at the Pannini stop and walk about 300 meters. Lines 200, 201, 53 and the night line n24, useful for the ride home, also arrive at Piazza Mancini. For the Sunday afternoon it's best to check frequencies on the transit agency's route planner.

By car

From the center take Viale del Muro Torto toward Piazzale Flaminio and then the Tiber embankments. From the north you go over Ponte Duca d'Aosta. Flaminio is a residential neighborhood and on Friday and Saturday evenings finding a spot is hard: arrive with half an hour of margin.

Flaminio around Teatro Olimpico

Teatro Olimpico is in the Flaminio neighborhood, at the height of the Ponte della Musica, in an area that also hosts the Auditorium Parco della Musica and the MAXXI.

The Ponte della Musica and the Foro Italico

In front of the theater the Ponte della Musica spans the Tiber and leads to the Foro Italico, built in the same years as the Olimpico.

Milvian Bridge

Going up the river you reach Milvian Bridge, with the square full of venues: it's the most convenient choice for after the theater, especially on Friday and Saturday.

A week of music in Flaminio

In the same days, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, a few minutes by tram, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra plays with Charles Dutoit and Martha Argerich, on March 18, 19 and 20. Two queens of music, in two different worlds, in the same neighborhood.

Where to eat before or after The Queen of Rock

Around Teatro Olimpico, between Piazza Mancini, Via Flaminia and Piazza Gentile da Fabriano, there are pizzerias, trattorias and bars frequented by the audiences of the theater and the Auditorium.

With the start at 20:30 from Thursday to Saturday, the choice is between a quick dinner around 19:00 and a dinner after the show. On Sunday, with the start at 17:30, you get out in time for a normal dinner: it's the performance I recommend to anyone who wants to make the evening a complete outing. Ponte Milvio, a few minutes away, has the widest offer. On Saturday night, book.

Accessibility and kids at Teatro Olimpico

Anyone with reduced mobility who wants to see The Queen of Rock at Teatro Olimpico should contact the box office before buying, at biglietti@teatroolimpico.it, to learn about suitable seats and how to get in.

The layout of the hall

The orchestra is sloped and the gallery is on the upper floor: these are things to consider when choosing the section, especially for those who have difficulty with stairs.

With kids

The theater gives no age limits. Tina Turner's music appeals to every generation, but the story starts from domestic violence: for a teenager it can be an occasion to talk about it, for a small child it's a theme to explain beforehand. The Sunday afternoon performance is the best suited to families.

A curiosity about The Queen of Rock, A tribute to Tina Turner at Teatro Olimpico, March 18 to 21, 2027

The most surprising curiosity is about the name. When in 1976 she asked for a divorce from Ike Turner, Tina gave up any financial claim and her share of the royalties. She asked the judge for one thing only: to keep the stage name Tina Turner, which Ike had registered. The judge granted it. The name you read today on the Olimpico poster is, in a sense, the only thing she took away from that marriage.

The second curiosity is about the show's title. The Queen of Rock recalls the definition with which Tina Turner was celebrated for decades, the queen of rock and roll, and the same formula gives the title to the first posthumous collection, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, a box set of 55 singles released in 2023. In 1967 she had also been the first African American artist and the first woman on the cover of Rolling Stone.

The third is a record. In 2020, with Kygo's remix of What's Love Got to Do with It, Tina Turner became the only artist with a hit in the UK top 40 in seven consecutive decades. Anyone who thinks of her as a singer of the past is wrong: her songs keep circulating, and the show proves it.

Something nobody tells you about The Queen of Rock, A tribute to Tina Turner at Teatro Olimpico, March 18 to 21, 2027

What almost nobody remembers is that Tina Turner's rebirth went through Italy too. In 1979, when her solo records weren't charting anywhere and in the United States she was performing in Las Vegas cabaret clubs, Rai wanted her as a regular guest on Luna Park, Pippo Baudo's Saturday-night variety show, and the same year she was a guest at Sanremo. Five years before Private Dancer, the Italian audience saw her every week in prime time.

The second thing is about David Bowie. When in the early 1980s the record label hesitated to sign her, it was the insistence of Bowie, her friend and longtime admirer, that convinced the executives. Without that gesture there might have been no Private Dancer, and without Private Dancer there would be no show today telling of a rebirth.

The third: the theater lists a different time for Sunday, 17:30. Anyone buying a weekend date on instinct should check the time printed on the ticket carefully.

My advice for visiting The Queen of Rock, A tribute to Tina Turner at Teatro Olimpico, March 18 to 21, 2027

The first piece of advice is to choose the central balcony, at €35 plus €5.30 presale fee. In a show with four dancers and a band on stage, from above you see the whole design of the stage, and the sound in a hall of 1,410 seats reaches well there too. The poltronissima makes sense only for those who want to feel the band on them.

Second piece of advice: do the full math. With presale fee and online fee, a poltrona or balcony ticket costs €42.30 in all, a poltronissima gold €53.80. At the box office you avoid the online fee, and for a group the saving counts.

Third: review the story before going in. The show starts from the People Magazine interview and follows Tina's life through the songs: anyone who knows the main stages, from the Dallas escape in 1975 to Private Dancer in 1984, catches every passage.

Finally, get ready to sing. A rock tribute in a full hall works when the audience takes part, and with The Best or Proud Mary, if they make the set list, it's hard to resist.

Another well-known fact, yet rarely cited

Teatro Olimpico doesn't belong to a public body or a big group: it belongs to a joint-stock company born in 1980 from a subscription by citizens. Many people in Rome know it, but it's rarely recalled.

At the end of the 1970s the hall risked disappearing: the owning company and the film agency that ran it had gone bankrupt, and the building was for sale. Adriana Panni, president of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana, promoted a fundraising among professionals, entrepreneurs, intellectuals and enthusiasts. Teatro Olimpico spa was born, which in 1980 bought the building from the Società Generale Immobiliare. Panni was its president until 1994.

The consequence can be read in the program. A private theater that has to support itself needs full houses, and this explains the opening, from 1981, to big-draw comedy, international dance and pop music, alongside the Filarmonica concerts. In the 2009/2010 season, according to Agis rankings, the Olimpico was the second theater in Rome and the seventh in Italy by audience. A hall saved by citizens that hosts the story of a woman able to start over from zero: the coincidence has a logic of its own.

The right photo to take at The Queen of Rock, A tribute to Tina Turner at Teatro Olimpico, March 18 to 21, 2027

The right photo is taken outside, in Piazza Gentile da Fabriano, with the Olimpico facade lit up and the show's title on the poster. The 1930s building, with its tall travertine base brought back to light by the restoration, has a rationalist sobriety that looks good in the evening even with a phone.

For the Sunday, March 21 performance at 17:30 there is one more opportunity: you arrive at Flaminio in the afternoon, and before going in you can climb onto the Ponte della Musica, a few steps away, to frame the river, the Lungotevere Flaminio and the Foro Italico.

Another shot should be taken in the round foyer, before going into the hall: it's the space that best preserves the air of the 1930s movie theater. During the show, instead, the phone stays in your pocket. The theater sets the rules, and common sense says no flash and no video: the final applause, when the hall is on its feet, is the right moment for a souvenir shot.

Some important events that happened here in history

On March 4, 1965, Pierre Boulez conducted at Teatro Olimpico a concert with the Italian premiere of Igor Stravinsky's Abraham and Isaac and the European premiere of his Elegy for J.F.K. It is perhaps the most important date in the hall's musical history, and it says what weight the Accademia Filarmonica Romana had in the cultural life of those years.

In the following years the Olimpico hosted productions in which art and music met: Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat in October 1966, with the backdrop by Giacomo Manzù. Niccolò Castiglioni's Tre misteri in 1968, with Mirko's sculpture. Stravinsky's Mass in 1975, with Corrado Cagli's golden forms.

1980 is the turning-point year: Teatro Olimpico spa is born, buys the building, and from 1981 the hall changes name and vocation. Moses Pendleton's Momix debut at the Olimpico in April 1982 and become regular guests, up to Botanica in the 2026/2027 season. Mikhail Baryshnikov arrives with the White Oak Dance Project in 1995, the Bolshoi Ballet in 1996. In May 1996 Gigi Proietti brings here A me gli occhi, one of the monologues that made Italian theater history.

Who has performed at The Queen of Rock, A tribute to Tina Turner at Teatro Olimpico, March 18 to 21, 2027

On the stage of Teatro Olimpico have appeared musicians such as Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Jessye Norman, Zubin Mehta, Giuseppe Sinopoli and Pierre Boulez, tied to the Accademia Filarmonica Romana season. The dance of Baryshnikov, Joaquín Cortés, Lindsay Kemp, Maurice Béjart, the Bolshoi and the Momix. The song of Lucio Dalla, the Pooh, Giorgio Gaber. Among the protagonists of its history the theater also cites Dario Fo and Nicola Piovani.

Then comedy: Gigi Proietti, Enrico Brignano, Vincenzo Salemme, Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo, Neri Marcorè, Ale e Franz, Lillo e Greg, Max Giusti, Maurizio Battista, who returns to the Olimpico this season with Se non vinco... imparo, and Raul Cremona with Bravissssssimo!.

In this list the big musical tributes have found a place in recent years alongside dance and drama: the hall is the right size for a rock concert with choreographies, big enough to hold the energy, intimate enough to keep contact with the audience. In March it's Tina Turner's turn, through the voice of Roberta Bonanno.

March in Rome, an evening at the Olimpico

In mid-March Rome is still in the thick of the theater season and begins to fill with the first spring visitors. The evenings are cool, the Tiber embankment as you leave the theater is breezy: a heavy jacket is still needed.

The plan for the evening

An hour and a half before, arrive at Flaminio and have a quick dinner between Piazza Mancini and Via Flaminia. Half an hour before, enter the theater, coat check and restrooms. After the show, a short stroll on the Ponte della Musica and then tram 2 or the night line n24 to get home.

For those coming from out of town

The Sunday performance at 17:30 lets people arriving by train from outside Rome head home the same day: from Piazza Mancini tram 2 takes you back to Flaminio and from there Metro Line A takes you to Termini with no other changes.

Frequently asked questions about The Queen of Rock at Teatro Olimpico

When is The Queen of Rock at Teatro Olimpico?

The Queen of Rock, A tribute to Tina Turner plays at Teatro Olimpico in Rome from Thursday, March 18 to Sunday, March 21, 2027: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 20:30, Sunday at 17:30. The theater is at Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 17, in the Flaminio neighborhood.

How much do tickets for the Tina Turner tribute cost?

Tickets for The Queen of Rock at Teatro Olimpico cost from €29 to €45 plus presale fee: €45 in poltronissima gold, €40 in side poltronissima, €35 in poltrona and balcony, €29 to €34 in the side and railing sections. Online, a €2 fee is added.

Who plays Tina Turner in the show?

In The Queen of Rock, Tina Turner is played by Roberta Bonanno, a singer from Milan known for placing second in the seventh edition of Maria De Filippi's Amici. On stage with her are a band, three backing singers and four dancers.

What is The Queen of Rock about?

The Queen of Rock tells the life of Tina Turner through her most famous songs, starting from the People Magazine interview in which she revealed the abuse she suffered from her ex-husband Ike Turner and following the path of her artistic and personal rebirth, between music, lights and dance.

Where do you buy tickets for The Queen of Rock in Rome?

Tickets for The Queen of Rock at Teatro Olimpico are bought on the theater's official website, from the show page, or at the box office at Piazza Gentile da Fabriano. For information the theater gives the address biglietti@teatroolimpico.it.

How do you get to Teatro Olimpico?

Teatro Olimpico, at Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 17, is reached by Metro Line A to Flaminio and tram 2 to Piazza Mancini, then about 500 meters on foot. Alternatively there is bus 910 from Termini to the Pannini stop.

Is the Tina Turner show suitable for kids?

For The Queen of Rock, Teatro Olimpico gives no age limits. The music appeals to all ages, but the story deals with the domestic violence Tina Turner suffered: with kids it's best to talk about it beforehand. The Sunday performance at 17:30 is the most convenient for families.

Final advice on The Queen of Rock at Teatro Olimpico

Choose the central balcony, buy at the box office if you're a group and go on Sunday afternoon if you want to turn the show into a day at Flaminio. The Queen of Rock tells one of the strongest stories in 20th-century music, that of a woman who at 35 fled with a few coins in her pocket, started over from zero and became the queen of rock. You'll leave the Olimpico humming The Best: for a Thursday or a Sunday in March, that's not bad.

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

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