About
The Rossini Opera Festival 2026 invites audiences to Pesaro, the birthplace of Gioachino Rossini, for a unique celebration of bel canto, virtuosity, and theatrical discovery. From 11 to 23 August 2026, the festival presents its 47th edition, continuing its internationally acclaimed mission: to rediscover, restore, and reimagine the extraordinary operatic world of Rossini.
For more than four decades, the Rossini Opera Festival has been one of the most important destinations for lovers of Italian opera, known for historically informed performances, prestigious casts, and productions that reveal the brilliance of Rossini’s musical language. The 2026 edition brings together major operatic titles, rare repertoire, and artists celebrated for their mastery of bel canto style.
The festival opens with a new production of Le Siège de Corinthe, Rossini’s dramatic masterpiece inspired by the conflict between love, duty, and sacrifice. The production is conducted by Carlo Rizzi and directed by Davide Livermore, with a cast including Adrian Sâmpetrean, Matteo Roma, Maxim Mironov, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, and Simón Orfila. Their interpretation brings together vocal power, expressive depth, and the dramatic intensity of Rossini’s grand opera style.
Another highlight of the season is L’occasione fa il ladro, a brilliant comic opera filled with mistaken identities, elegance, and Rossinian wit. This revival of a historic festival production is conducted by Alessandro Bonato and features Manuel Amati, Damiana Mizzi, Dave Monaco, Matteo Mancini, Martiniana Antonie, and Giuseppe Toia.
The programme continues with La scala di seta, one of Rossini’s most sparkling early comedies. The production by Damiano Michieletto returns to the festival stage, conducted by Iván López Reynoso, with a cast including Enrico Iviglia, Hasmik Torosyan, Mara Gaudenzi, Alasdair Kent, Iurii Samoilov, and Paolo Bordogna.
The festival also celebrates Rossini’s vocal legacy through the Concerti di Belcanto, the Festival Giovane events, and special projects dedicated to the composer’s music. A highly anticipated highlight is “Flórez 30”, a special celebration featuring tenor Juan Diego Flórez, one of the most admired Rossini interpreters of his generation, marking three decades of his international career.
The Rossini Opera Festival 2026 is more than an opera festival — it is a journey into the elegance, energy, and endless imagination of bel canto, where forgotten treasures and beloved masterpieces come alive once again.
About the Rossini Opera Festival
Rossini Opera Festival is one of the most elite summer Italian festivals. The festival annually attracts fans to Pesaro Rossini's works from around the world. It has been held since 1980 on the birthplace of Rossini, in the small resort town of Pesaro on the Adriatic coast.
The festival is usually held in August and lasts 2–3 weeks.
The program of the Rossini Opera Festival, as a rule, includes 3 opera performances, each of which is repeated alternating 3-4 times, which is convenient for those who do not attend the whole festival, but only come for a few days.
The festival program is constantly replenished with rarely performed productions of Rossini's works, which are nowhere practically, except at the festival in Pesaro hear.
In addition, the festival hosts vocal evenings (concerti di belcanto). In recent years, masterpieces of sacred music such as “Little solemn mass”, “Stabat Mater”, “Messa di Gloria”.
Since its inception, the artistic direction of the Festival has been carried out by Alberto Dzedda, a worldwide recognized specialist in Rossini. Sometimes the maestro Alberto Dzedda himself stands behind the orchestra console.
The main attraction of the city is the house in which Gioacchino Rossini was born on February 29, 1792. Now there is a museum dedicated to life and work composer.
The first festival venues in Pesaro were the small cozy Rossini Theater (Teatro Rossini with 850 seats) and the Conservatorio di musica G. Rossini ”(Auditorium Pedrotti for 500 seats). Later they were joined by the Palafestival sports complex (1,500 seats), specially converted for conducting opera performances. The Palafestival complex has excellent acoustics.
Since 2006, festival performances have also been held in conjunction with the romantic name Adriatic Arena. In recent years, Teatro Rossini and Adriatic Arena are the main theater venues, and on the stage of Auditorium Pedrotti there are solo concerts.
The festival traditionally presents new vocalists and conductors.
There has been a summer school at the festival for many years, the Accademia Rossiniana, in which Alberto Dzedda himself and the festival superintendent Gianfranco Mariotti, a great connoisseur of Rossini's art, take part. From 2001 to The results of the final concert, in which Alberto Dzedda's school participates, form a lineup of singers for the performance of Rossini's opera Journey to Reims.
Over the past 3 decades of its existence, such famous singers as: Moncerat Caballe, Cecilia Gasdia, performed at the Rossiniev Festival Marilyn Horn, Michele Pertuzi, Joyce Di Donato, Darina Such, June Anderson and Eva Podles, Gregory Kunde, Luciano Pavarotti, Patricia Ciofi, Juan Diego Flores, Cecilia Bartoli and others. By the way, Juan Diego Flores came to world fame in 1996 in Pesaro, when the singer replaced the ill performer of the main part in Rossini's opera Matilda di Shabran.
At the Rossini Opera Festival, in addition to Alberto Dzedda, in different years they conducted: Gianandrea Gavazzeni (maestro of the very first festival play “The Thief-Thief” in 1980), Claudio Abbado, Daniele Gatti, Riccardo Chai, Roberto Abbado, Guberstavo, Gubersto Renato Palumbo, Claudio Chimone, Gabriele Ferro, Donato Renzetti, Jesus Lopez Cobos, Vladimir Yurovsky, Denis Vlasenko.
Over the past few years, the Bologna Opera Orchestra and the Prague Chamber Choir have become regular participants in the Rossiniev Festival.
The Rossini Opera Festival, according to the overall musical rating, takes almost the first place among all Italian festivals held in the summer.
