text Teresa Favi
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Theatre: the season program
The best operas and concerts to mark in your diary until January 2026
Here is the season for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, featuring must-see operas and excellent symphonic concerts through March 2026. All the events to mark on your calendar.
Operas
2026
Following the interlude of the 88th Maggio Musicale Festival (between April and July 2026), the summer program opens with Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, directed by Damiano Michieletto, on stage on July 11, 14, and 18. This production, which dates back to 2005, is characterized by freshness, irony, and modernity.
In September, the opera season resumes with Alban Berg’s Wozzeck conducted by Thomas Guggeis in a production by the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, directed by Deborah Warner. The premiere is scheduled for Sunday, September 27, followed by two additional performances.
Next on the program, starting on October 23 with three consecutive performances, is a major commission by the Teatro del Maggio and Musica per Roma: Romanzo criminale, based on the best-selling novel by Giancarlo de Cataldo. The score was composed by Nicola Piovani, who will also conduct the opera; the libretto is by Giancarlo De Cataldo; the director is Massimo Popolizio (who played one of the roles in the film, portraying “Il Terribile”); set design is by Margherita Palli; costumes are by Silvia Aymonino; and lighting design is by Pasquale Mari.
Sunday, November 15 marks the premiere, followed by three additional performances, of the season’s second Verdi opera after “Un ballo in maschera”: Simon Boccanegra. It is a new production by the Maggio Fiorentino; James Conlonconducts, and the direction is by Alex Ollé (of La Fura dels Baus).
The final production of the 2026 opera season is Les contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, which opens on Sunday, December 20, with three subsequent performances on December 27 and 30, and the final performance on January 2, 2027.
2027
The season begins on January 15, 2027 at 8:00 p.m. (with additional performances on January 17 at 3:30 p.m., and on January 20 and 22 at 8:00 p.m.) with a revival of La Traviata by Verdi, in the production directed by Stefania Graziolithat premiered in 2024, featuring the return to the podium of Alessandro Bonato. Notable in the cast is the Florence debut of Kristina Mkhitaryan as Violetta, a highly acclaimed soprano on the rise. The role of Giorgio Germot is played by the exceptional Luca Salsi in the first two performances (in the last two, the role will be played by Min Kim).
The second opera will be staged at the Teatro Goldoni: Il mondo a la roversa, ossia le donne che comandano by Baldassarre Galuppi. A brilliant and refined opera never before performed at the Maggio, it will be staged on Saturday, January 30, at 5:00 p.m., with two additional performances on Sunday, January 31, at 3:30 p.m., and on February 2 at 8:00 p.m. Conducting the Orchestra dell’Academia Montis Regalis is Chiara Cattani, with direction by Paola Rota
On February 23 at 8:00 p.m., with repeat performances on the 26th at 8:00 p.m., Sunday the 28th at 3:30 p.m., and March 2 at 8:00 p.m., the new production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore will take the stage, directed by Leo Muscato and conducted by Daniele Gatti. Maestro Gatti’s vision is to offer a “romantic” and youthful interpretation of the characters in Verdi’s masterpiece, who are, in fact, in their twenties in the story. This Trovatore will break away from the “high-drama” performances to which a certain vocal interpretive tradition has accustomed us.
Following the 89th Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Festival, the summer season will feature a concert performance of Puccini’s Tosca on July 22 at 9:00 p.m. Notable among the vocalists is an almost iconic “duo” of artists in the roles of Cavaradossi and Scarpia: Francesco Meli and Luca Salsi. Conducting the Maggio Orchestra and Chorus will be Riccardo Frizza.
On Sunday, September 12 at 5:00 p.m., another work will be presented in concert form: Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth. Nicola Luisotti will conduct, and in the role of Macbeth will be one of the most celebrated baritones on the international scene, Ludovic Tézier, who takes over the role from the renowned Luca Salsi; while the Lady will be superstar AnnaNetrebko.
On September 16 at 8:00 p.m., with repeat performances on Sunday, September 19 at 3:30 p.m., then on September 22 at 8:00 p.m., and Saturday, September 25 at 6:00 p.m., the Maggio will present Bellini’s Norma in the 2025 production directed by Andrea De Rosa. Stefano Montanari will conduct.
On October 10 at 5:00 p.m., the curtain rises on Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, in a production coming from Liège, presented by Opera Wallonie. Additional performances are scheduled for Thursday, the 14th, at 8:00 p.m., followed by Sunday, the 17th, at 3:30 p.m., and the 19th at 8:00 p.m. Francesco Lanzillotta will conduct. Directed by Arnaud Bernard. An interesting fact—a musicological “gem”—about this production is that Francesco Lanzillotta will reorchestrate and restore to the score the short aria of the Prince of Bouillon (Nicola Ulivieri), which was omitted and subsequently lost during the opera’s premiere in Milan in 1902.
On November 7 at 5:00 p.m. (with repeat performances on the 9th and 12th at 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday the 14th at 3:30 p.m.), Anna Bolena—a magnificent showcase of bel canto and one of the pinnacles of Donizetti’s operatic output—will take the stage in a new production co-produced with the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari.
At the podium is Michele Spotti, and returning as director is Andrea Bernard, whom we welcome back to the Maggio after his direction of Borgia. The role of Anna Bolena, the ill-fated queen, will be sung by soprano Jessica Pratt.
The opera season concludes with one of the most beloved titles in the repertoire: the new production of Mozart’s masterpiece Don Giovanni. The premiere is scheduled for December 3 at 8:00 p.m., followed by four additional performances: December 5 at 3:30 p.m., December 7 at 8:00 p.m., December 9 at 8:00 p.m., and Saturday, December 11, at 6:00 p.m. Daniele Gatti will conduct, marking his third opera performance. The production is directed by Daniele Menghini. A particularly interesting aspect of this production—almost a theatrical game of mirrors—is the casting of the two performers in the roles of Don Giovanni and Leporello: Alex Esposito and Luca Micheletti, respectively. Esposito has typically played the faithful Leporello, while Micheletti has usually portrayed the great seducer Don Giovanni; now, for the first time, they find themselves in each other’s roles—a true double debut. Donna Anna is Mariangela Sicilia, Don Ottavio is Dave Monaco, a former student of the Accademia del Maggio who is now an internationally acclaimed artist. Donna Elvira is Michèle Losier. The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Chorus is conducted by Maestro Lorenzo Fratini.
Concerts
2026
Following the intermission (between April and July 2026) of the 88th Maggio Musicale Festival, a double bill featuring Stefano Massini returns with Liberamente…sotto le stelle on July 13 and 25, the result of his collaboration with the Scuola Popolare di Scrittura. The focus is on the encounter between words and music in the Maggio’s Cavea. The theme is “happiness”—and new imaginaries.
On July 16, a special concert based on Puccini’s La bohème is scheduled—an original project conceived by Paolo Fresu together with his Devil Quartet, which includes, in addition to Fresu (trumpet and flugelhorn), Bebo Ferra (guitar), Paolino Dalla Porta (double bass), and Stefano Bagnoli (drums). They will perform with the Maggio Orchestra, conducted by Paolo Silvestri, who also arranged the music.
On July 23, the summer season closes with a screening of Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars, featuring the soundtrack—composed by Ennio Morricone—performed live by the Maggio Orchestra and Chorus.
In September, the symphonic program resumes with two concerts featuring Drusilla Foer: the first, dedicated to musical entertainment, is scheduled for September 10, in which Foer will serve as the narrator in Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf; Salvatore Percacciolo will take the podium to conduct, in keeping with the theme, Rossini’s Symphony from L’italiana in Algeri and Haydn’s Symphony No. 94, La sorpresa.
The second concert, dedicated to Hollywood soundtracks, is scheduled for September 13; this time, Timothy Brocktakes the podium to conduct excerpts from King Kong, On the Waterfront, Sunset Boulevard, and songs by Kurt Weill performed by Drusilla Foer.
On November 28, Christophe Rousset, featuring soloists Marie-Eve Munger, Beth Taylor, Sebastian Kohlhepp, and Luca Tittoto, with Riccardo Donati on double bass, will present a program of Mozart rarities ranging from concert arias to overtures
A symphonic series dedicated to Felix Mendelssohn is also scheduled for this period; the first concert is scheduled for November 21 with Symphony No. 2, “Lobgesang” (soloists: Rosalia Cid, Elizaveta Shuvalova, Yijie Shi; the Maggio Choir is conducted by Lorenzo Fratini), on December 9 with Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4 (“Italian”), and on December 13 with Symphonies Nos. 3 (“Scottish”) and 5 (“Reformation”). On December 19, the final event of the series features the oratorio *Elias*, with soloists Sara Blanch, Michèle Losier, Danil Behle, and Jordan Shanahan, and the Maggio Choir conducted by Lorenzo Fratini.
The 2026 symphonic program concludes on December 23 in the Christmas spirit with a concert conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, featuring a complete concert performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker with the Maggio Orchestra and the Maggio Academy Children’s Choir, conducted by Sara Matteucci.
2027
The 2027 concert season kicks off on Saturday, January 9, at 4:00 p.m. with pianist Beatrice Rana in a concert co-produced with the Amici della Musica di Firenze. She will be followed by Yunchan Lim on May 7 (with an all-Mozart program), and then, on May 10, it will be Grigory Sokolov’s turn. But the symphonic concerts will also feature Francesco Piemontesi at the keyboard on February 27 in concert with Daniele Gatti; Martha Argerich in concert with the Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne conducted by Renaud Capuçon on April 7; Mao Fujita with Pietari Inkinenon May 28; and finally, Andrea Lucchesini with Daniele Gatti on November 19.
The season features three recitals with renowned singers performing opera arias and duets: on January 10, soprano Pretty Yende and baritone Ludovic Tézier, with Alessandro Praticò at the piano; on October 1, soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan and mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina, with Pavel Nebolsin at the piano; and on October 24, soprano Marina Rebeka and tenor Jonas Kaufmann with the Maggio Orchestra conducted by Jochen Rieder.
On the symphonic front, the first concert will be led by the Maggio’s conductor emeritus, Zubin Mehta, who will take the podium on January 23 at 8:00 p.m. for a program featuring works by Haydn and Schubert.
On February 7, Music Director Daniele Gatti will inaugurate the cycle dedicated to Anton Bruckner’s nine symphonies, which will be completed by 2028. The program features Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1, Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder, and Alban Berg’s Lieder. Mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča will make her debut at the Maggio.
On February 27, Daniele Gatti continues the Bruckner Cycle with Bruckner’s Symphony No. 2 and Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2, featuring Francesco Piemontesi on piano. The cycle will continue in 2027 with concerts on November 19 and December 4.
On March 5, James Conlon conducts a program dedicated to Viennese Classicism featuring Haydn’s Symphony No. 104, Mozart’s Symphony No. 32, K. 318, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2.
On March 26, Giulio Prandi will conduct Mozart’s Requiem, K. 626, in a symphonic-choral concert scheduled for Good Friday and the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death. He will be joined by the Maggio Choir, prepared by Lorenzo Fratini, and soloists Gesua Gallifoco, Margherita Sala, Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani, and Alessandro Ravasio.
Ballet
Roberto Bolle & Friends returns from December 10–12.
Starting Sunday, March 14, 2027, at 5:00 p.m., the Maggio’s Sala Grande will host the world premiere of a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, in co-production with The New Generation Foundation. The roles in this world-famous ballet will be performed by some of the most celebrated dancers on the international scene. In the orchestra pit will be the Maggio Orchestra; James Conlon will conduct; and the choreography is by Xander Parish. Performances following the premiere are scheduled for March 17 at 8:00 p.m. (a performance reserved for schools), March 18 and 19 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 20 at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 21 at 3:30 p.m.
The Third Cycle of C’è Musica and Musica 3.0
This fresh, lively, and above all entertaining initiative—designed to bring families, young people, and schools closer to the theater—features six performances as part of the new “C’è Musica and Musica 3.0” cycle, running through November 14: four shows on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. and two on Saturdays at 4 p.m.
On Sunday, October 11, at 11:00 a.m., and Saturday, October 24, at 4:00 p.m., there will be two performances featuring Lorenzo Baglioni, who will present works by Ludwig van Beethoven (in anticipation of the 2027 bicentennial), conducted by Rotem Nir, followed by Giuseppe Verdi, “The Swan of Busseto,” on October 24, conducted by Jacopo Brusa.
The final event is scheduled for Saturday, November 14, at 4:00 p.m., featuring the traditional concert dedicated to the instrumentalists of our orchestra; this year, it is dedicated to the Maggio percussionists with the performance *The Five Elements*.
To view the program for the 2027 Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Festival, click here.
