The 47th edition of the Rossini Opera Festival will be held in Pesaro from 11 to 23 August 2026.
The Festival opens with a new production of Le Siège de Corinthe, conducted by Carlo Rizzi and directed by Davide Livermore. There will be two revivals of important productions: L’occasione fa il ladro, the only but unforgettable appearance at the ROF by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, one of the masters of 20th-century opera direction, conducted by Alessandro Bonato; and La scala di seta, staged by Damiano Michieletto, one of the most significant contemporary directors who made his international debut in Pesaro, conducted by Iván López-Reynoso.
Il viaggio a Reims also returns in the version created by Emilio Sagi for the 2001 ROF and performed by the students of the Accademia Rossiniana “Alberto Zedda”. The concert programme includes the Flórez 30 concert, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Juan Diego Flórez’s debut at the ROF, the classic Bel canto Concerts, the return of Rossinimania and, finally, the Stabat Mater conducted by Domingo Hindoyan, which will close the 2026 edition.
The Festival will open on 11 August at the Auditorium Scavolini with Le Siège de Corinthe, conducted by Carlo Rizzi with the Orchestra del Comunale di Bologna and the Coro del Teatro Ventidio Basso. The cast includes Adrian Sâmpetrean (Mahomet), Matteo Roma (Cléomène), Vasilisa Berzhanskaya (Pamyra), Maxim Mironov (Néoclès), Simón Orfila (Hièros), Tianxuefei Sun (Adraste), Giuseppe De Luca (Omar) and Anna-Doris Capitelli (Ismène). Director Davide Livermore will also design the sets together with Eleonora Peronetti and Paolo Gep Cucco, while the costumes will be designed by Gianluca Falaschi and the lighting by Nicolas Bovey. The three other performances will take place on 14, 17 and 21 August.
This will be followed on 12 August at the Teatro Rossini by the premiere of L’occasione fa il ladro, conducted by Alessandro Bonato with the Orchestra G. Rossini. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s production, first staged at the ROF in 1987, will be revived by Sonja Frisell, with lighting by Fabio Rossi. The cast includes Manuel Amati (Don Eusebio), Damiana Mizzi (Berenice), Dave Monaco (Conte Alberto), Matteo Mancini (Don Parmenione), Martiniana Antonie (Ernestina) and Giuseppe Toia (Martino). The other performances will take place on 15, 18 and 20 August.
Also at the Teatro Rossini, on 13 August, it will be the turn of La scala di seta. Iván López-Reynoso will conduct the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Damiano Michieletto’s production, with sets and costumes by Paolo Fantin and lighting by Alessandro Carletti, premiered at the ROF in 2009 and will be revived next summer by Eleonora Gravagnola. The cast includes Enrico Iviglia (Dormont), Hasmik Torosyan (Giulia), Mara Gaudenzi (Lucilla), Alasdair Kent (Dorvil), Iurii Samoilov (Blansac) and Paolo Bordogna (Germano). Repeat performances are scheduled for 16th, 19th and 22nd August.
The fourth production on the programme is Il viaggio a Reims by the young singers of the Accademia Rossiniana ‘Alberto Zedda’, scheduled at the Teatro Rossini on 16 and 19 August in a production conceived by Emilio Sagi and revived by Matteo Anselmi, with costumes by Pepa Ojanguren and lighting by Fabio Rossi. The cast will be conducted by Sieva Borzak, on the podium of the Filarmonica Gioachino Rossini.
Among the concerts, Flórez 30 stands out, scheduled at the Auditorium Scavolini on 18 August. Guillermo García Calvo will conduct the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the Coro del Teatro Ventidio Basso. Four Bel canto Concerts will be held at the Teatro Rossini, entrusted to Matteo Mancini and Giuseppe Toia (14 August), Dave Monaco (17 August), Adrian Sâmpetrean (20 August) and Simón Orfila (22 August). Also at the Teatro Rossini, Rossinimania returns on 15 August, featuring guitarist Eugenio Della Chiara in a concert entitled Rossini à Paris.
The ROF 2026 will close on 23 August at the Auditorium Scavolini with a performance of Stabat Mater. Domingo Hindoyan will conduct the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the Coro del Teatro Ventidio Basso, as well as a cast composed of Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Anna-Doris Capitelli, Dmitry Korchak and Adrian Sâmpetrean.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.