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DONIZETTI OFF.:
THE PALINSESTO OF DONIZETTI OPERA TO EMBRACE BERGAMO WITH DOZENS OF SIDE EVENTS
A festival within a festival with concerts, open rehearsals, conversations, book presentations, guided tours,
participatory performances and activities for children, exhibitions and breakfasts between the Donizetti Theater and Casa Natale:
the Donizetti Opera offers a busy schedule of more than 30 initiatives
from World Opera Day on October 25 through November 30, 2025
Exhibitions, concerts, conversations, open rehearsals, figure theater, walks on the Walls, and even breakfast with Gaetano at Casa Natale or brunch at the Theater: Donizetti Opera 2025 is not limited to major productions on stage, but involves the city of Bergamo with “Donizetti Off,” a busy schedule of events, many of them free, which after the recently concluded CineDOperameetings and the opening at the Donizetti Studio of the widespread exhibition Caterina Cornaro Experience. A Queen to Remember , continues from Oct. 25, World Opera Day, until Nov. 30 to tell the story of Donizetti in every form.
Between music, art and speech, audiences of all ages are involved, from the youngest children with their families to the largest business professionals: a festival that becomes, in this way, a collective experience, capable of bringing opera into dialogue with the city, tradition and history with actuality and contemporaneity, thanks to the will of the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti.
In this regard, Sergio Gandi, Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Bergamo, states, “With the Donizetti Off, the Donizetti Opera festival takes an important step this year, gathering and expanding in an organic review the collateral events that animate Bergamo. It is confirmation of a mature cultural project, capable of networking the city’s major cultural institutions, as well as artists and citizens around the name of Donizetti and the value of shared culture.”
Giorgio Berta, President of the Donizetti Theater Foundation, continues, “The schedule of side events was created to give recognition and continuity to a set of initiatives that knows how to bring alive the relationship between the festival and the city. This new review represents a natural evolution of the mission of the Donizetti Theatre Foundation: to spread musical and theatrical culture in all its forms. And the achievement of that goal is also made possible thanks to the invaluable support of the many supporters of our theater to whom we renew our gratitude.”
Massimo Boffelli, General Director of the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti, specifies, “Gathering the festival’s collateral events into a single review means enhancing the choral work of so many parties that contribute to the growth of Donizetti Opera. But it is also a sign of a theater that opens its doors wide to the city, in a continuous osmosis between the halls and the squares. The Donizetti Off is the result of a concrete collaboration between institutions, partners and city realities, a sign of a community that invests with conviction in culture, involving several generations in a single project.”
And he specifies M° Riccardo Frizza, Artistic and Musical Director of the Donizetti Opera Festival: “The Donizetti Off represents the other side of our festival: the more open, curious, experimental and dialoguing side. It is the space to engage and educate, to intrigue and approach even those who are less accustomed to attending opera and theater. It is also the space to look beyond boundaries, both geographical and musical genres, and break down the fourth wall. It is a place where Donizetti’s music and thought meet new languages, different audiences and, above all, young people, consolidating that living and contemporary link between opera and our time.”
#WORLDOPERADAY
The Teatro Donizetti Foundation on Saturday, October 25, celebrates World Opera Day, the World Opera Day promoted by Opera Europa and World Opera Forum, with an afternoon of initiatives dedicated to audiences of all ages. For the occasion, Teatro Donizetti opens its doors for a journey of discovery of the theater and its repertoire. It begins with I’ll introduce you to the Donizetti, two rounds of guided tours curated by Clelia Epis at 3 p.m. and 3:45 p.m., which starting from the Donizetti Studio and the exhibition dedicated to Caterina Cornaro, the inaugural title of the 2025 festival, will lead participants through the stages and historic halls to tell the story of the theater’s life and its rebirth after restoration.
At 3:30 p.m. in Riccardi Hall, little ones with their families can take part in the workshop DO Family Lab – Let’s sing with Gaetano, led by Mariagrazia Mercaldo, a participatory experience between voice, play and music, with a final performance in front of the Theater doors dedicated to citizenship.
At 4:30 p.m. in the Music Room “M. Tremaglia” space for the first in-depth look at the titles on the bill, with Opera Unplugged: Il furioso in the island of St. Domingo. Musicologist Candida Mantica will introduce the Donizetti title and then go down to the Theater Hall to meet director Manuel Renga and attend a dress rehearsal open to the public.
All events are free while seats last, with reservations required at donizettiopera.org
In addition, to celebrate World Opera Day, a special promotion will be in effect for 48 hours that will allow people to purchase Donizetti Opera 2025 festival tickets for 50 euros in certain sectors.
CATERINA CORNARO EXPERIENCE. A queen to remember
Continues through Nov. 30 Caterina Cornaro Experience. A Queen to Remember , the diffuse historical-theatrical exhibition promoted by the Donizetti Theater Foundation as part of the Donizetti Opera 2025 festival, in collaboration with the Carrara Academy, Angelo Mai Civic Library, Lisio Silk Art Foundation and Bergamo Museum of Histories.
The exhibition at the Donizetti Studio of the Donizetti Theater in Bergamo, which can be visited free of charge on Friday and Saturday afternoons and on the dates of performances during the festival, recounts the figure of the character Caterina Cornaro between history and melodrama through costumes, sketches and archival materials, including, made for the first time, faithful reconstructions by the Fondazione Arte della Seta Lisio of the original costumes from the opera’s Neapolitan premiere in 1844, to which is added the reconstruction of the sumptuous gown the queen wears in the famous painting by Francesco Hayez kept at the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo. Also on display is the stage costume, granted by Casa d’Arte Fiore, worn by soprano Denia Mazzola, who starred in the
OPERA UNPLUGGED
Opera Unplugged is Donizetti Opera’s format that opens the directing rehearsals of scheduled operas to the public, offering the opportunity for a never-before-seen glimpse into the backstage, to discover firsthand the birth of an opera production. Three appointments, between October and November, with introductions by musicologists from the Donizetti Study Center and interventions by the directors of the performances.
It starts with the aforementioned appointment on Saturday, October 25 at 4:30 p.m. in the “M. Tremaglia” Music Room of the Donizetti Theater, dedicated to the opera Il furioso in the island of S. Domingo: before entering the rehearsal, musicologist Candida Mantica will introduce the opera, and then dialogue with director Manuel Renga.
On Sunday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m., the meeting moves to Città Alta at the Angelo Mai Civic Library for the diptych The Bell / Deux hommes et une femme, with an introduction by Paolo Fabbri, scientific director of the Centro Studi donizettiani, followed by a talk by director Stefania Bonfadelli.
Closing the cycle is the appointment on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 3 p.m., again in the“M. Tremaglia” Music Room of the Donizetti Theater, dedicated to Caterina Cornaro, with a talk by Livio Aragona and the participation of director Francesco Micheli.
Opera Unplugged appointments are free with reservations required at donizettiopera.org
OPERA STORIES
Space is also given to literary insights and meetings with authors and scholars around opera theater and music with Opera Stories, a series of five events in which books dedicated to opera will be presented in collaboration with Librerie Feltrinelli.
On Saturday , Nov. 15 at 5:30 p.m. at Gaetano Donizetti’s Birthplace in Città Alta, we begin with Il loggionista impenitente (Garzanti) by Alberto Mattioli, who will be in conversation with Fabio Larovere. On Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 6 p.m., Alessandra Talamo will present the volume Lo yoga e l’arte della performance (LIM) at the Feltrinelli bookstore on Via XX Settembre, in downtown Bergamo, where, on Friday, Nov. 21, at 6 p.m., Alberto Maria Banti will talk about his book The Beatles. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. (Carocci) and, on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m., Luca Zoppelli will tell the audience about his latest book titled Richard Wagner. The Ring of the Nibelung (Carocci).
At the Donizetti Theater, a conversation between law and opera entitled Caterina Corner. Cyprus between Byzantium and Venice , with Valerio Massimo Minale, legal historian at the University of Naples Federico II, and Paolo Fabbri, scientific director of the Centro Studi donizettiani. The event, also linked to the Caterina Cornaro experience initiatives, will reflect on the new constitutional order imposed on Cyprus by Venice, reading between the lines – and between the musical lines – in the pages of Sacchero, author of the libretto of Caterina Cornaro, and Donizetti.
Opera Stories meetings are also free with reservations required at donizettiopera.org
DIES NATALIS AND OPERA FAMILY
The Donizetti Off program is rounded off with the big celebration on the occasion of the Dies natalis of Gaetano Donizetti on Saturday, November 29, which will involve the city from Upper Town to Lower Bergamo. Special programming for an equally special day under the banner of Best wishes Gaetano!, which will begin in the morning with theMusical Elevation in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore by the Bergamo Polytechnic Arts Ensemble (free admission), followed by Our Letter for Gaetano, a public reading of letters resulting from the creative writing workshop of Bergamo high school children, and then concluding with an 8 p.m. performance at the Donizetti Theater of the opera Il furioso on the island of S. Domingo .
It enriches theextraordinary opening of Gaetano Donizetti’s Birthplace, with guided tours by Clelia Epis, in the morning reserved for schools (from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at hourly intervals) and in the afternoon open to the public at 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., as well as the possibility of individual visits with entrances at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. (entrances from €2.00 to €3.00).
In the afternoon, the Donizetti Theater will be festively invaded by family audiences thanks to the programming Opera Family, supported by Stucchi – a company that has been part of the Donizetti Ambassadors project for many years -, which presents an activity for young and old every Saturday of the festival . On the composer’s birthday, people will be able to watch and interact with the participatory opera taken precisely from Il furioso on the island of St. Domingo: a new production of the Donizetti Theater Foundation proposed under the title The furious Gaetano on the island of St. Domingo. Or rather the astonishing memoirs of a visionary musician. , with direction and dramaturgy by Manuel Renga, sets and costumes by Aurelio Colombo, lighting design by Emanuele Agliati, musical dramaturgy by Alberto Zanardi in collaboration with Mariagrazia Mercaldo, and music by Gaetano Donizetti conducted by Giulio Arnofi. Performing the score will be theDonizetti Opera Ensemble , which will harness the instruments of theOrchestra del Mare, made by the Opera Prison Liuteria from the wood of migrant boats, as a sign of the festival’s focus on crucial issues of our contemporary times. Performing Gaetano Donizetti will be Lorenzo Gatto, with Michelangelo Canzi as Sancho, his special assistant. Matteo Mollica will play the role of Cardenio, Erika Artina as Eleonora, Camilla Vitaletti as Marcella, Lorenzo Liberali as Kaidamà and Bartolomeo, while Manuel Caputo will be Fernando. The play, recommended for ages 8 and up, will also be open to school audiences with double performances on Nov. 26 and 27 at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., and Nov. 28 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
But Opera Family proposals do not end there. They will begin, in fact, already on Saturday, November 15 at 3 p.m. with the workshop Here Lucia, held by Clelia Epis, which will give the opportunity to immerse oneself among the treasures of the iconographic archive of the Donizetti Theater Foundation’s productions of Lucia di Lammermoor and the monumental ones of the Donizetti Theater to be discovered with an interactive tour, recommended for ages 8 and up (admission €5.00).
For boys and girls ages 3 and up, Saturday, Nov. 22 at 4 p.m. at the Ridotto Gavazzeni of the Donizetti Theater will be staged Little Mr. Noise, the story-play by Enrico Gabrielli among drawings, noises and music, preceded by a creative workshop at 3 p.m. With Esecutori di Metallo su Carta ensemble formed by Gabrielli himself on piano, Sebastiano De Gennaro on percussion and noises and Marcello Corti on brass and narrator.
Sunday will then be a special day. In the morning, on
New from Donizetti Opera 2025 is. Puppets at the Opera: Sunday afternoons on Nov. 16 and Nov. 30 from 2:30 p.m., thanks to the collaboration with the Ravasio Foundation, it will be possible for children to participate in creative workshops on Figure Theater inspired by Caterina Cornaro and The Furious on the Island of St. Domingo at the nearby Puppet Museum. Meanwhile, parents will be able to watch the respective plays at the Donizetti Theater.
UNDER30 PREVIEWS
In addition, Donizetti Opera’s focus on young audiences is completed with the Under30 Previews. Once again for this edition of the festival, in fact, the three previews of the operas on the program are dedicated to young people under 30 , all at 5 p.m. (single seat €10.00). On Tuesday, November 11 at Teatro Donizetti, Caterina Cornaro opens, followed on Wednesday, November 12 at Teatro Sociale by the diptych Il campanello / Deux hommes et une femme, while on Thursday, November 13 it’s back to Teatro Donizetti for Il furioso nell’isola di S. Domingo.
THE DONIZETTI BRUNCH and the new collaboration with Opera Rara
Donizetti Opera’s international collaborations extend to Donizetti Off programming this year, thanks to a new agreement with Opera Rara, a British cultural institution whose aim is to rediscover, study and popularize with recordings and live performances little-performed or forgotten compositions. These include the hundreds of songs, arias, barcarole, and cantatas for voice and piano composed by Gaetano Donizetti that Opera Rara has been bringing to light since 2023. At the festival, among better-known pieces and some precious unpublished ones, as well as premieres in modern times, Donizetti’s vocal chamber repertoire will find its place, performed by the performers of the Bottega Donizetti – sopranos Lucrezia Tacchi and Cristina De Carolis, tenor Cristóbal Campos Marín, mezzo-soprano Eleonora de Prez and baritones Francesco Bossi and Pierpaolo Martella – accompanied on piano by Giulio Zappa, coordinator of the project.
The two concerts on Sunday, Nov. 16 , and Sunday, Nov. 30, at 11 a.m. make up the new event The Donizetti Brunch at the Ridotto Gavazzeni of the Donizetti Theater, a review that combines the desire to listen to Donizetti rarities with the possibility of an exclusive brunch in the theater’s scenic Sala Allianz after the concert, curated by Tassino Eventi. Added to these is the Sunday, Nov. 23, event, also at 11 a.m. with the possibility of brunch at 12:30 p.m., with the duo composed of violinist Enrico Casazza and pianist Andrea Bacchetti, engaged in music by Donizetti and his teacher Mayr, side by side with that of Schumann and Brahms.
Single seat with brunch € 28.00, concert only € 15.00.
HARMONIC LEADERSHIP
Finally, completing the Donizetti Off schedule, on Thursday, November 27 at 8:30 p.m. at the Donizetti Theater, the evening Harmonic Leadership. Experiential concert for a new concept of leadership : an event combining music and business to explore the link between the figure of Gaetano Donizetti and the contemporary entrepreneur, sponsored by Confindustria Bergamo and with the collaboration of Federmanager.
From conductor to manager, from theater workers to human resources, the evening offers a reflection on theater as a metaphor for the company, where collaboration and listening become tools for growth. The event aims to spread a new paradigm of “harmonic leadership,” based on empathy, trust and valuing people, through experiences of listening, conscious breathing and gentle communication. Protagonists of the journey between music, gesture and speech will be Gloria Campaner, pianist and performing coach; Alberto Zanardi, conductor, who will take the podium of theDonizetti Opera Orchestra for the occasion; and Daniel Lumera, wildlife biologist and bestselling author, an international expert on well-being and quality of life. An evening for the leaders of today and tomorrow, and for those who wish to rediscover in the language of music a path to awareness and cooperation (tickets from €10.00 to €15.00).
A schedule with more than thirty appointments that of Donizetti Off for Donizetti Opera 2025, which takes us to the festival’s opening night, Friday, November 14, with Caterina Cornaro in its first performance according to the composer’s wishes, with conducting by Riccardo Frizza and direction by Francesco Micheli. And to best celebrate the premiere, a special audiovisual installation will accompany the beginning of the evening, starting at about 6:30 p.m., at the entrance of the Donizetti Theater, on the Sentierone, among lights and music inspired by Donizetti’s opera, thanks to the collaboration with Claypaky, which has supported the Donizetti Theater Foundation for years, and the new Xtylos Aqua and Arolla Aqua LT laser projectors.
