Juan Diego Flórez, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Maxim Mironov, Adrian Sâmpetrean, Dave Monaco & Alasdair Kent Lead Rossini Opera Festival’s 2026 Season

The Rossini Opera Festival has announced the 2026 edition, which will celebrate its 47th edition. The festival will take place between August 11 and 23, 2026. The festival will open with a new production of “Le Siège de Corinthe” conducted by Carlo Rizzi and directed by Davide Livermore. The production will star Adrian Sâmpetrean, Matteo Roma, Maxim Mironov, Simon Orfila, {…}

Sep 7, 2025

Rossini Opera Festival 2025 Review: Zelmira

(Photo: Amati Bacciardi) In 1822, Rossini’s opera “Zelmira” premiered at Naples’ Teatro San Carlo to widespread acclaim and was quickly taken up by theaters across Europe, including Vienna, London and Paris. However, like most of the composer’s works, it quickly fell by the wayside and had to wait for over 100 years to be revived, with a performance in 1965 {…}

Sep 1, 2025

Rossini Opera Festival 2025 Review: L’Italiana In Algeri

(Photo: Amati Bacciardi) This summer’s Rossini Opera Festival’s imaginative and fast-moving production of the composer’s 1813 comic opera, “L’Italiana in Algeri,” hit the mark in so many ways: it was funny, colorful and energetic; the cast were fully engaged with their characters, which they hammed up brilliantly for laughs; the underlying dynamics of the narrative were expertly handled by the {…}

Aug 26, 2025

Rossini Opera Festival 2025 Review: Cantatas for Soloist, Choir & Orchestra

(Photo: Amati Bacciardi / ROF 2025) Only at the Rossini Opera Festival can one experience the performance of a true, unpublished jewel by the Swan of Pesaro. Since its founding in 1980, the Festival is held annually in Rossini’s hometown and has played a crucial role in the philological reexamination of many of his works, most of them rarely performed {…}

Aug 25, 2025

Rossini Opera Festival 2025 Review: Soirées musicales / La cambiale di matrimonio

(Photo: Amati Bacciardi / ROF 2025) Soirées musicales After the triumph of his last opera, “Guillaume Tell,” Gioachino Rossini decided to abandon theatrical composition and retire to his home in Paris to recover from nervous exhaustion. Even so, he never stopped writing music: he composed for himself, for Olympe Pélissier–whom he married in 1846 after the death of Isabella Colbran–and {…}

Aug 24, 2025

Rossini Opera Festival 2025 Review: Il viaggio a Reims

(Photo: Amati Bacciardi / ROF 2025) Although conceived as a one-act opera, “Il viaggio a Reims” has monumental proportions: it lasts nearly three hours and was therefore divided into three parts at its premiere. It is Rossini’s last opera in Italian, before he devoted himself exclusively to French. Its initial success was remarkable, fueled both by the high expectations surrounding {…}

Mar 20, 2025

Q & A: Artistic Director Rosetta Cucchi on This Year’s Wexford Festival & Productions for the Händel Festival in Göttingen & the Rossini Festival in Pesaro

(Photo: Armati Bacciardi) Over the next few months, OperaWire will be reviewing a number of productions at a variety of festivals across the globe. One name that keeps cropping up, at least in Europe, is that of Rosetta Cucchi. Blessed with a never-ending supply of energy and ideas, she always has one project on the go with others in the {…}

Feb 10, 2025

Rossini Opera Festival Announces Cast Change for ‘Zelmira’

The Rossini Opera Festival has announced a cast change for its production of “Zelmira.” The company revealed that Pretty Yende will no longer perform the title role and will therefore be replaced by Anastasia Bartoli. Bartoli has performed at the festival in productions of “Eduardo e Cristina” and “Ermione.” She has also performed in a Concerto di Belcanto with the {…}

Dec 11, 2024

Pretty Yende, Lawrence Brownlee, Daniela Barcellona & Vasilisa Berzhanskaya Lead Rossini Opera Festival’s 2025 Season

The Rossini Opera Festival has announced its 2025 season. The 46th edition of the event will take place from August 10 to 22, 2025. Operas The festival will open with a new production of “Zelmira,” conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti. The production will be directed by Spanish director Calixto Bieito, making his debut in Pesaro. Pretty Yende stars in the title {…}

Nov 22, 2024

Obituary: Rossini Opera Festival Founder Gianfranco Mariotti Dies at 91

Rossini Opera Festival Gianfranco Mariotti has died at the age of 91. The festival took to social media to announce the news stating, “Gianfranco has left us. There is no saying how lonely we feel right now: there will be time for words and actions to honor and tribute to our founder… Now we just want to hold ourselves in {…}

Nov 1, 2024

Rossini Opera Festival Announces Change to 2025 Season

The Rossini Opera Festival has announced changes to its 2025 festival. The company said David Livermore’s production of “Il Turco in Italia” has been postponed until 2026. The production was expected to be conducted by Diego Ceretta making his operatic debut. Instead, the company will perform “Soirées musicales” under the direction of Christopher Franklin alongside the new productions “Zelmira” and {…}