This year’s Monteverdi Festival showcased a special performance in the heart of Mantua, Italy, in the 18th-century Teatro Bibiena di Mantova (Scientific Theater of Mantua), where a (nearly) 14-year-old Mozart gave his first Italian concert (alongside his father). The theater’s bell-shaped layout and ornate tiers of wooden boxes with painted frescos were designed by Antonio Galli da Bibiena to host {…}
(Photo: Lorenzo Gorini) Claudio Monteverdi’s “L’incoronazione di Poppea” (first performed in 1643) was the composer’s last opera to have survived into the modern day. His works’ left a lasting impression on the Baroque period that continues to resonate today. Monteverdi’s music in “L’incoronazione di Poppea” is a palette of emotional expression, evolving and expanding into worlds of heightened complexity. Monteverdi {…}
(Photo: Antonio Dimondo) Monteverdi Festival Cremona featured Francesco Cavalli’s “Le Nozze di Teti e Peleo” with libretto by Orazio Persiani as a world premiere in modern times: a major experiment in textual reconstruction and innovative staging at Teatro Ponchielli on June 19, 2026. Cavalli was one of Monteverdi’s favorite students. He was a Venetian composer, organist, and singer of the {…}
Monteverdi Festival Cremona hosted “La Dea Delle Scene,” (The Goddess of the Scene) at the Museo del Violino’s Giovanni Arvedi Auditorium, featuring Italian soprano Silvia Frigato and director Andrea De Carlo with Ensemble Mare Nostrum performing works by Stradella, Pasquini, and Monteverdi. Museo del Violino’s Giovanni Arvedi Auditorium For five centuries Cremona has been renowned as the world capital for making {…}
(Credit: Fabrice Demessence) The Monteverdi Festival announces its 2026 programming. This article only features vocal concerts. Cecilia Bartoli opens the Festival in a gala concert with Les Musiciens du Prince conducted by Gianluca Capuano. Performance Date: May 28, 2026 The Monteverdi Festival opens with “Vespers Of The Blessed Virgin” under the baton of Leonardo García-Alarcón. Performance Date: June 7, 2026 {…}
The Monteverdi Festival has announced its 2025 edition. First up is “Madrigali allo Specchio,” featuring music by Monteverdi, Stradella, and Marini. Antonio Greco conducts the Soloists and Orchestra Monteverdi Festival – Cremona Antiqua. The showcase is presented in collaovration with the Trame Sonore and Chamber Music Festival in Mantua. Performance Date: June 1, 2025 Next up is “Vespro della Beata Vergine” {…}
(Photo: Studio B12) The advertising poster for the Cremona Monteverdi Festival’s production of “L’Orfeo” included the picture “Happy Hours” by Jean Lecointre. It depicts a woman with continuous streams of tears pouring from her eyes into a glass of wine, or does it? Could it be the reverse situation? Maybe the streams are moving in the opposite direction from the {…}
(Photo: Francesca Faelutti) After hotfooting it across the city, the enthusiastic audience members from the festival’s first concert of the evening arrived at the Museo del Violino for concert number two, starring male soprano Samuel Mariño and the Concerto De’ Cavalieri, directed by Marcello di Lisa. Entitled “When Farinelli met Monteverdi,” the concert was described as an “imaginary but impossible {…}
(Photo: Paolo Cisi) For what was the third presentation in a crowded evening of events, Cremona’s Monteverdi Festival scheduled a performance of a selection of the composer’s madrigals, culminating with “Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda.” It was, however, not presented as a concert but as a staged performance in the form of an opera, entitled “Polittico Monteverdiano,” put together {…}
There was plenty going on at this summer’s Monteverdi festival in Cremona. On the first Saturday evening, along with a staged production of a selection of Monteverdi’s madrigals, entitled “Polittico Monteverdiano,” visitors had the opportunity to experience two concerts, each featuring a male soprano. The performances took place at different venues, with just enough time for the keener members of {…}
The Monteverdi Festival in Cremona has unveiled its 2024 edition. Here is a rundown of the vocal performances on offer. First is “Vespro della Beata Vergine” with the Accademia Bizantina and Coro Ghislieri under conductor Ottavio Dantone. Performance Date: May 29, 2024 The festival will present “L’Orfeo” in a production directed by Olivier Fredj. Francesco Corti conducts Il Pomo d’Oro. Performance {…}