Director Emma Dante has been named the recipient of the 2026 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

The decision was made by the Board of Directors of La Biennale di Venezia at the recommendation of Willem Dafoe, Director of the Theatre Department. The awards ceremony will take place during the 54th International Theatre Festival alongside Dante’s world premiere of “I fantasmi di Basile.”

Dante studied at the Accademia Silvio d’Amico in Rome. Shortly after graduating she founded the Sud Costa Occidentale company in Palermo. She has been invited to work in the major theatres of the world including Opéra Comique in Paris, Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Teatro San Carlo, and Teatro alla Scala where she directed Bizet’s “Carmen,” conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

In 2014, Dante was appointed artistic director for the 67th cycle of classical theatre at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. In the same year she won the De Sica Prize for theatre and the Ipazia Prize for female excellence.

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