OperaWire: Tell me about the importance of the annual IFFV spring gala?

Brian Dore: The IFFV Spring Gala serves as the US (and by extension International) announcement for Festival Verdi 26. Every year Teatro Regio di Parma announces the full schedule of events, including casting both in Italy and at the IFFV Gala in New York. The program for Festival Verdi 26 was initially presented in Italy at the Ministero della Cultura in Rome in November. Now, IFFV and the leadership team at Teatro Regio di Parma will present it in New York to emphasize the growing importance of the Festival Verdi to the international opera traveling public. The identity of Festival Verdi and Verdi’s legacy are also so intricately connected to the city of Parma and the region of Emilia-Romagna that it is also an important event to promote the gastronomic and cultural assets of the region. In addition to the full leadership team from Teatro Regio—Superintendent Luciano Messi and Artistic Director Alessio Vlad—we will host Michele Guerra, Mayor of Parma, and Stefano Nevicati, Mayor of Busseto.

OW: Do you find that people become more interested in the festival and by extension opera when they attend this gala?

BD: Of course! One main reason for the Gala is to expand the audience. Festival Verdi and the Teatro Regio di Parma are great venues for the art form. Opera in Parma is alive and well and we hope to instill some of that enthusiasm into an audience discovering opera for the first time. Many past attendees at our Spring Gala were unfamiliar with Teatro Regio, the Festival, or opera in general.

OW: Tell me about the mission of the IFFV and what are the plans for this year’s festival?

BD: IFFV’s mission is to provide essential financial support to Teatro Regio di Parma’s annual Festival Verdi, Verdi Off, and Accademia Verdiana, It also celebrates the enduring legacy of Giuseppe Verdi and seeks to foster robust cultural exchange between Festival Verdi and its supporters around the world. This year’s IFFV Weekend will take place between October 8-12. This weekend at Festival Verdi is dedicated to its international audience. IFFV will host a group attending Alzira, Aida, Nabucco, and the Gala Verdiano, which IFFV is sponsoring this year. In addition to the performances, we have included a visit to Cremona to learn about its instrument-making traditions, along with our usual visits to some of Parma’s historical sites and the exclusive backstage tour of Teatro Regio di Parma. The IFFV Weekend also highlights Parma’s gastronomic traditions with numerous receptions and parties including the much anticipated after-party following the Gala Verdiano (last year they transformed the Café del Teatro into an exclusive speakeasy with musical performances and a fortune teller).

OW: For someone who has not attended an opera, why do you think the Festival Verdi is the perfect place to discover this art form?

BD: I have always thought of Festival Verdi as a great place to experience opera for the first time. Teatro Regio is beautiful and intimate. You get to see Verdi and even if it is obscure Verdi like “Alzira” this year for example it still has the Maestro’s touch for expressing emotions and storytelling through music. The audience in Parma is fully engaged and invested in the performance. They are vocal about what they like and dislike, and it is wonderful to see a public care so deeply about the performances.

OW: What are some of the surprises for this year’s spring gala?

BD: One of the highlights of our Galas is the food. We will once again treated to the cuisine of Enrico Bergonzi of “Al Vedel” and Filippo Cavalli of “Osteria dei Malscalzoni” both of the Parma Quality Restaurants association. We have also invited the Sartoria of Teatro Regio di Parma to participate and they will bring six costumes from the Teatro Regio’s historic collection to the Gala for display. We have commissioned Parma born choreographer Marco Pelle to create “Buonasera, Maestro!” an immersive dance performance set to Giuseppe Verdi’s musical themes featuring American Ballet Theater dancers Luigi Crispino and Kanon Kimura. The presentation of the 2026 Fortunino Award to Mezzosoprano Teresa Iervolino, whom we loved as Mistress Quickly and Maddalena in last year’s festival and who is cast to sing Amneris in the revival of Zefferelli’s “Aida” in Busseto at this year’s festival. And, finally, since we have a dance floor for the ballet dancers, we’ve hired a DJ to close out the evening on a festive note. Overall, it should be an entertaining evening!