Silvia Colasanti, Artistic Director of Festival della Valle d’Itria, announced that the Festival’s theme for 2026 is “Mediterranean.”

Concluding her first edition of the Festival, Colasanti gave audiences a preview of next year’s Festival by saying, “Seen as the cradle of myth, a crossroads of cultures, a welcoming sea, this theme will provide food for thought on our history and raise profound questions about our present.” The theme will unite new productions of Bizet’s “Carmen,” Casella’s “La favola di Orfeo,” and Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella” and “Il schiavo di suo moglie.”

The 2025 season titled “Wars and Peace,” also featured three new productions. Michele Punzi, president of the Paolo Grassi Foundation of Martina Franca and organizer of the Festival, said in a press release, “With this 51st edition, we wanted to project the Itria Valley Festival into the future, charting the course for an event that must continually renew itself in the coming years while remaining faithful to its history. The program proposed by artistic director Silvia Colasanti, in consultation with musical director Fabio Luisi, demonstrates this Festival’s willingness to take on the cultural risk that is embedded in our DNA and is an essential goal for us. We can undoubtedly say that the challenge we faced with a complex and high-quality program, with a profound social impact, has been brilliantly met, as evidenced by the unanimous acclaim it has received from audiences and critics both nationally and internationally.”

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