News

A project of Fondazione Teatro Donizetti with Donizetti Opera Festival, Vittorio Polli and Anna Maria Stoppani Foundation with Victor de Sabata and Aldo Ceccato Music Library, and International Piano Festival of Brescia and Bergamo A concert series, lecture series, scholarship and exhibition in memory of the great master from Bergamo on the 30th anniversary of his death Bergamo, January 31 to November 29, 2026   Bergamo, city of the Thousand, but also and above all the city of Gaetano Donizetti. And it is precisely in the city that gave him birth that we want to remember thirty years after his death the Maestro Gianandrea Gavazzeni (July 25, 1909 - Feb. 5, 1996), conductor, composer and writer, among the most dazzling protagonists of twentieth-century music, to whom much is owed in the rediscovery of Donizetti's legacy and the redefinition of Bergamo's role on the international musical map. That is why the Donizetti Theater Foundation with the Donizetti Opera Festival, the Vittorio Polli and Anna Maria Stoppani Foundation with the Victor de Sabata and Aldo Ceccato Music Library, and the International Piano Festival of Brescia and Bergamo intend to celebrate this legacy, paying tribute to the man and the artist through a rich program of events spanning the entire year 2026, from January 31 to November 29. The project, which networks institutions, archives, theaters, scholars, established performers and new promises, weaves music, critical reflection, exhibition activities, training and the development of young performers into a concert series, a lecture series, a scholarship and a documentary exhibition, to restore the multifaceted figure of Maestro Gavazzeni. The program aims to delineate both the figure of the artist, writer and intellectual, as well as that of the popularizer and pedagogue, who conceived of music-making as an opportunity to educate the public to listen, as well as a common heritage for the cultural growth of the individual and society. States Sergio Gandi, Councillor for Culture of the City of Bergamo: "Cultivating the memory of those who have carried the name of Bergamo outside its walls is one of the main duties of a public administration. It is all the more so for figures like Maestro Gianandrea Gavazzeni, whose dutiful homage is deeply intertwined with the memory and rediscovery of Donizetti. To him we owe an important action in consolidating the Bergamo composer's fame on the world opera scene, through the direction of little-known operas, the revival of forgotten titles and a tireless enhancement of Donizetti's heritage. I sincerely thank the Donizetti Theater Foundation, which has become the interpreter of a collective need, and the valuable network of collaborations created around it, which once again shows the richness of our city's musical landscape: the International Piano Festival of Brescia and Bergamo, the driving force behind so many prestigious musical initiatives, and the Polli Stoppani Foundation, which in recent years has been increasingly integrating itself into the city's cultural offerings. From this valuable participation has emerged an intense and varied program, which will animate the whole of 2026

For the Opera&Concerts section of the Donizetti Theater Foundation's Season of Theaters, Sunday, Dec. 21 at the Teatro Sociale (3:30 p.m.) is scheduled the usual Christmas Concert of the vocal ensemble I Piccoli Musici directed by Mario Mora. The concert has special significance this year, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the founding of the I Piccoli Musici Music School and Choir. Founded forty years ago as an educational and musical reality dedicated to the youngest children, the School has been able to grow over time, becoming a point of reference in the Italian choral scene. After the first years of training and comparison with other children's choirs, since the 1990s I Piccoli Musici have embarked on a path full of exciting experiences: participation in competitions, concerts, national and international festivals. To celebrate this important milestone, several commemorative events and concerts are planned. In particular, the Christmas Concert for the City of Bergamo will feature a choir composed of current treble voices and female voices: former choristers from the 1990s and 2000s, who, with enthusiasm and gratitude, will return to sing in the choir that made them grow, artistically and humanly. The choir will be accompanied by a string quintet and will perform the most beautiful Christmas melodies written for this ensemble. The concert will be enriched, moreover, by the presence of two talented pianists, Martina Mora and Elisa Arminio, graduates of the "Luca Marenzio" Conservatory of Brescia, who will perform a refined excerpt from the four-hand transcription for two pianos of Tchaikovsky's famous Nutcracker . The famous ballet, set precisely on Christmas night, has over the years become one of the musical symbols of the holidays thanks to its fairy-tale atmosphere and enchanting melodies that evoke magic, wonder and Christmas spirit.

The Opera&Concerts section of the Donizetti Theater Foundation's Theater Season continues on Saturday, Dec. 20, at the Teatro Sociale (8:30 p.m.) with a concert by theLocatelli Ensemble featuring the complete performance of one of the greatest masterpieces of Johann Sebastian Bach and all classical music: The Brandenburg Concertos. During the first part of the evening the first, fifth and sixth concertos will be heard, while in the second part the second, fourth and third. The Brandenburg Concertos are considered one of the most representative compositional cycles of the Baroque era, testimony to the composer's extraordinary ability to innovate within the musical forms of his time. Composed in 1721 and dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg Christian Ludwig, these six concertos offer an extraordinary variety of instrumental and structural combinations, embodying a perfect balance between compositional complexity and expressive clarity. Each concerto is a world unto itself, characterized by a singular choice of timbre and skillfully interwoven dialogues between the soloists and the ensemble, in which virtuosity and inventiveness blend harmoniously. Through this cycle, Bach demonstrates a unique ability to enhance the peculiarities of each instrument, bringing them to interact in novel and surprising ways. The freshness and energy that pervade these works, combined with their profound technical sophistication, make them a landmark not only for the Baroque repertoire, but for the entire history of music. Listening to the Brandenburg Concertos is a journey through a soundscape of extraordinary beauty and variety, a perfect example of Bach's mastery of combining artistic invention and formal rigor, offering an experience that continues to excite and inspire centuries later.

Donizetti Theatre Foundation The Theater Season 2025-2026 Other Pathways The ghost songwriter by and with Ivan Talarico Thursday, Dec. 18 at the Social Theater   Begun with Natale in casa Cupiello, a classic by Eduardo De Filippo re-proposed in an original way by Luca Saccoia, the Donizetti Theater Foundation's Altri Percorsi review, dedicated to Benvenuto Cuminetti, continues Thursday, Dec. 18 at the Teatro Sociale (8:30 p.m.) with The Phantom Singer, a theater-song performance written and performed by Ivan Talarico. Duration 1 hour and 5 minutes without intermission. Ticket prices: 20 euros, reduced 16 euros. The Ghost Songwriter is a journey into the world of Italian songwriting but also a reflection on authorship in art. At a time in history such as the present, when the use of artificial intelligence has opened a wide discussion on the role of authorship and creativity, the show is a pataphysical investigation of authorship through the biography of singer-songwriter A. F.. The show's presentation notes state that A.F. was a singer-songwriter from Veneto, born in 1923 and disappeared from the scene in 1969. Her artistic journey was unfortunate: all the songwriters she met liked her songs and many plagiarized them. From those plagiarisms were born great masterpieces of Italian music and beyond; from Domenico Modugno to Lucio Battisti, from Luigi Tenco to Patti Smith, everything was written by A. F., but no one knows and she remained a ghost. This amazing and incredible story starts from a rare book found by chance: a long interview with an unknown singer-songwriter who is the real author of hugely successful songs. Through the interview, Talarico traces her history, her movements between Rome, Genoa and Milan, her relationship with many famous songwriters, her retirement from the stage and the disappearance of this giant but forgotten figure. How was his disappearance possible? And more: how do creative mechanisms work, what is an idea, who can truly call themselves the author of something? Ivan Talarico is a singer-songwriter, author and thespian. In 1999 he founded the theater company DoppioSenso Unico together with Luca Ruocco, with whom he writes and performs shows between the absurd and black comedy (among others La variante E.K., gU.F.O., Operamolla and Il successo non è successo). Since 2003 he has been writing and producing stage music for shows and soundtracks for short films. In 2009 he resumed writing songs and performing in concert. From 2013 he began a collaboration with writer Claudio Morici; over the years they will stage a series of readings with songs.With Gorilla Sapiens Editions he publishes two books of poems, Ogni giorno di felicità è una poesia che muore (2014) and Non spiegatemi le poesie che devono rimanere piegate (2016).He is among the eight winners and prize for Best Lyrics at Musicultura 2015 and is called as a guest, at the Ariston Theater, of the 2016 Tenco Prize. He is among the founders of the variety show Sgombro, since 2016 among the most followed in the Roman underground, in which he plays the

Benvenuto Cuminetti Archive 323 films of performances from 1983 to 2001 in digitized edition Twenty-five years ago, on September 6, 2020, Benvenuto Cuminetti, a fundamental figure in the theatrical, and more generally cultural, life of the City of Bergamo during his years as Artistic Director of the Prose Season of the Donizetti Theater, as well as creator of the Altri Percorsi review, left us. Today, the Donizetti Theater Foundation remembers his work by dedicating to him the Prose Season and Altri Percorsi 2025/2026 and with the establishment of theBenvenuto Cuminetti Archive which, over the course of three years, will lead to the digitization of the films, now preserved in analog format, of 323 performances staged at the Donizetti Theater from 1983 to 2001, totaling more than 700 hours of footage. The digitization of such impressive material, edited by Gianfranco Rota, will form a valuable documentation available for consultation at the Donizetti Theater Foundation Study Center. Among the many materials that theBenvenuto Cuminetti Archive will make available for viewing in digital format will be titles that remain in the collective memory, such as Six Characters in Search of an Author e Murder in the Cathedral, plays that, directed by Patroni Griffi and starring Giulio Bosetti, debuted in Bergamo and whose open rehearsals allowed a behind-the-scenes look at a production. Also available will be works with the marvelous set designs of Lele Luzzati, to whom Cuminetti also dedicated an exhibition, and performances by actors of the caliber of Vittorio Gassman, Aroldo Tieri, Lina Volonghi, Paola Borboni, Valeria Valeri, Tino Carraro, Anna Proclemer, Salvo Randone, Franco Parenti, Lucia Morlacchi, Corrado Pani, Turi Ferro, Alberto Lionello, and Carmelo Bene will be on view. But also artists who were beginning their journey in the 1980s and 1990s: this is the case of companies such as Ravenna's Teatro delle Albe or Laboratorio Teatro Settimo. For some of these shows, the footage in the Foundation's archive is the only existing copy, which makes it even more valuable. "We are particularly pleased to be able to announce the creation of theBenvenuto Cuminetti Archive, a fitting tribute to the man who made our theater grow to become one of the most important theatrical performance venues nationwide," comments Massimo Boffelli, General Director of the Donizetti Theater Foundation, "As part of our activities, scientific research and historical documentation play a role of absolute importance: the archive dedicated to Benvenuto Cuminetti fits right into this vein, underscoring the value of a legacy that we want to share with our audiences and with theater scholars." Maria Grazia Panigada, Artistic Director of the Prose Season and Other Paths, remembers the man who can be considered his elective teacher this way: "I believe that our theater owes Cuminetti in so many ways: it is as if he was the founder of the Donizetti Theater as far as prose is concerned. Not because it wasn't being done before, but because Cuminetti set a precise cultural policy and carried it out: convinced that a civic theater

Alessandro Barbero presents St. Francis December 15, 2025 - 6:30 p.m. at the Donizetti Theater Alessandro Barbero returns Monday, Dec. 15, to the Donizetti Theater in Bergamo (6:30 p.m.; tickets sold out) to present his new book dedicated to St. Francis, which was released last September and immediately entered the bestseller lists. The special event is organized by the Donizetti Theater Foundation in collaboration with Editori Laterza and is supported by Intesa Sanpaolo, BCC Oglio e Serio and Sitip Spa. Max Pavan, head of news services for Bergamo TV, will introduce. At the end of the meeting Alessandro Barbero will be available for signacopies in the "Gavazzeni" Ridotto of the Donizetti Theater. "We are delighted to welcome the return to our theater of Alessandro Barbero, one of the most revealing figures in Italian culture in recent years, a scholar and popularizer who knows how to communicate great events and historical figures like no other."-comments Massimo Boffelli, general director of the Donizetti Theater Foundation - "Barbero was the protagonist, with great success, of the first edition of Lezioni di Storia in 2024 and having him back with us for a special event, thanks to the now well-established partnership with Editori Laterza and the sponsors supporting us on the occasion, has a special significance in reaffirming the importance and value of our cultural proposals." "Intesa Sanpaolo is pleased to support an initiative capable of enhancing the dissemination of culture and knowledge, values that are central to the growth of the communities in which we operate. The collaboration with the Donizetti Theater Foundation confirms our commitment to fostering cultural projects that enrich the territory and help make it more attractive and inclusive," says Daniele Pastore, Regional Director Lombardy North Banca dei Territori of Intesa Sanpaolo. "Supporting initiatives that promote knowledge, in-depth study and cultural dialogue is an integral part of the mission of our bank, which has always been close to the growth of the territory and the enhancement of its best energies. The meeting with Professor Barbero represents an extraordinary opportunity because it offers an original and rigorous look at a central figure of our tradition such as St. Francis. We are therefore particularly proud to support the Donizetti Theater Foundation in such a high-profile cultural project, which confirms the theater's role as a point of reference for the cultural life of the city and province," says Andrea Corti, Head of the Bergamo Micromarket of Bcc Oglio e Serio. "We are pleased to support a cultural event of such great appeal, capable of bringing history, popularization and civic participation into dialogue. The presence of Professor Alessandro Barbero at the Donizetti Theater represents a valuable opportunity for the city and for all enthusiasts. We deeply believe in the value of culture as an engine of growth and sharing, which is why we are proud to contribute to the realization of such high-level initiatives," comments Silvana Pezzoli, vice president and commercial director of Sitip Spa. During the “meeting, Alessandro Barbero will explore the many

For the Opera&Concerts section of the Donizetti Theater Foundation's Theater Season, a concert with the emblematic title of Disney In Concert is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Teatro Sociale (3:30 p.m.). On the occasion, soloists of the Italian Philharmonic Orchestra will perform some of the most famous melodies from the most beautiful animated films created by Walt Disney: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mary Poppins, Cinderella, The Charge of the 101, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Coco, Oceania. Piano and concertmaster Domenico Clapassaon. Soloist voice Giorgia Semeraro. Tickets. Full 20 euros, reduced 15 euros. It was October 16, 1923 when the Walt Disney Company was born. Disney in Concert reintroduces the magic that has been making children and adults dream for more than a century with its fabulous and now classic film creations. Revised in the refined and captivating arrangements of Domenico Clapasson, some unforgettable melodies from Disney's most successful productions satisfy the taste of audiences of all ages, pleasing both the most demanding connoisseurs and those who simply love to be caught up in the phantasmagorical atmospheres of the most beloved fairy tales ever. Disney in Concert is a show under the banner of fun, poetry and magic, where candor and virtuosity come together in a single musical language that is homogeneous yet engaging, simple yet refined, easy yet complex. In each case so immediate and fresh as to bring back to each of us that joy of life that has always animated all the characters that came out of Walt Disney's inexhaustible imagination.

With three weekends of performances and more than thirty initiatives for all audiences, the 2025 edition of the festival dedicated to the great Bergamo composer once again confirms itself as an unmissable event for international audiences and for the city of Bergamo The 2025 edition of the Donizetti Opera festival-organized in Bergamo by the Donizetti Theater Foundation chaired by Giorgio Berta, with the general direction of Massimo Boffelli and the support of the City of Bergamo-has just concluded, with Riccardo Frizza serving for the first time in the dual role of artistic and musical director. From mid-October to Nov. 30, the international festival dedicated to the famous Bergamo composer was at the center of the city's cultural life and a major tourist attraction, as well as in the spotlight of national and international music critics with 94 publications present, including 42 foreign ones. Fundamental to the realization of Donizetti Opera, in addition to institutional partners such as the Ministry of Culture, the Region of Lombardy and the Bergamo Chamber of Commerce, has been the support of private individuals, starting with Allianz, Main Partner of the Donizetti Theater Foundation, Intesa Sanpaolo, SIAD and the growing number of companies and entities adhering to the Donizetti Ambassadors project that support the festival and the Foundation's activities through Art Bonus. The 2025 edition confirms the consolidation of the event, with total attendance at the shows exceeding 12,200. This also translates in terms of takings, which exceed 20 percent over 2023, the year of Bergamo-Brescia Capital of Culture, broadly comparable in type of proposals to this year's festival. Added to these figures is the participation of the public in the rich off schedule, which with more than 30 activities, many of them free, including meetings, concerts, presentations, convivial moments, guided tours and open rehearsals, involved about 1,800 people. And particularly high is the attention paid to the younger generation: the Donizetti Education section alone during the festival period saw the involvement of more than 6,000 children and young people from schools in the Bergamo area with teachers and families, including theater and classroom activities, plus another 3,000 attendees over the calendar year. "This edition of Donizetti Opera represented a significant step for me, having taken over the artistic direction, as well as the musical one, at the beginning of the year," declares Maestro Riccardo Frizza, at the head of the event. "Although the programming was not entirely concerted by me, I wanted to make the most of each title and each artist involved, following the guidelines declared from the beginning of my mandate. I am, therefore, happy with the outcome of the Festival and with the vocal and musical level proposed, thanks to very talented performers, to the young conductors on the podium and to the artistic groups, the Donizetti Opera Orchestra, Gli Originali and the Accademia Teatro alla Scala Chorus, which guaranteed high professionalism. The response of the public and national and international critics also confirms the artistic maturity of the event and

Last performances of the operas Caterina Cornaro, Il furioso on the island of St. Domingo and the diptych Il campanello and Deux hommes et une femme along with the concluding events of the Donizetti OFF, including presentations, the debut of the family opera "Il furioso Gaetano" and the Donizetti Brunch   Donizetti Opera 2025 is heading into its final days with the third weekend featuring as its central day the celebration of Gaetano Donizetti' sDies Natalis , Saturday, Nov. 29, with a program spread among Bergamo's Donizetti theaters and venues, with performances, meetings and music for all ages around the last three performances of the scheduled operas. Friday, Nov. 28, the day is dedicated to appointments outside the theater of the widespread exhibition Caterina Cornaro experience. A queen to remember: at 4 p.m., at the Gaetano Donizetti Music Library (Via Arena 9), which holds the composer's precious musical and documentary collection, Fabrizio Capitanio, curator of the Donizetti Music Library, and Paolo Fabbri, director of the Centro Studi Donizettiani, will lead the public on a special tour, Caterina Cornaro in the Library, to discover the materials on display among the autograph sources and the history of the opera's reception. Admission is free and free of charge. At 5 p.m., in the nearby Donizettiano Museum, also located at 9 Arena Street, the public will be able to participate in the visit Donizetti, standing portrait, curated by Paolo Fabbri, to explore the figure of Donizetti through autograph scores, musical instruments, paintings, statues and personal objects. A journey that brings out the man and the artist in his most intimate and human dimension (guided tour €5.00, reservations required on Ticketlandia and for information info@museodellestorie.bergamo.it). Finally, at 8 p.m., the diptych formed by The Bell and Deux hommes et une femme at the Social Theater. On Saturday, November 29, Dies Natalis day, the city pays tribute to Donizetti with a full day of events that will open, as per tradition, in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore at 11:15 a.m. with Best Wishes Gaetano!, musical elevation by the ensemble of the Politecnico delle Arti of Bergamo interspersed with Our Letter for Gaetano, public reading of letters from high school children in Bergamo, the result of the creative writing workshop held by trainer Maria Teresa Galati (free admission). In addition, from the morning Donizetti's Birthplace will be extraordinarily open to the public for individual tours from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., with guided tours by Clelia Epis at 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. (tickets on sale at donizettiopera.org). At 3:30 p.m., the Donizetti Theater will host theparticipatory opera for families The furious Gaetano on the island of St. Domingo. Or rather the astonishing memoirs of a visionary musician. , preceded by a musical workshop at 2:30 p.m. Direction and dramaturgy are by Manuel Renga, musical dramaturgy by Alberto Zanardi created in collaboration with Mariagrazia Mercaldo, conducting by Giulio Arnofi, sets and costumes by Aurelio Colombo. In the pit the Ensemble

The handover ceremony was attended by Donizetti Theater Foundation President Giorgio Berta, Bottega Donizetti coordinator Giulio Zappa and Rotary Club Bergamo Terra di San Marco and Carlo and Claudio Curnis, supporters of the project   They are one of the revelations of Donizetti Opera 2025 and have received wide and unanimous acclaim from music critics and audiences: we are talking about the students of Bottega Donizetti, young professionals who have tackled in recent months an in-depth work on Donizetti's vocality and who, last night, following the second performance of the diptych The bell e Deux Hommes Et Une Femme at the Social Theater, received certificates of participation from Julius Zappa, coordinator of Bottega Donizetti, in the presence of. George Berta, president of the Donizetti Theater Foundation, and supporters of the project: the Rotary Club of Bergamo Terra di San Marco, represented by the president Gisella Inverardi and by Vilse Crippa, e Charles Curnis Who, together with his father, Claudio, supports Bottega Donizetti. The ceremony involved the six artists of Bottega Donizetti 2025, sopranos Lucrezia Tacchi e Cristina De Carolis, the tenor Cristóbal Campos Marín, the mezzo-soprano Eleanor de Prez and baritones Francesco Bossi e Pierpaolo Martella, and took place under the satisfied gaze of some of the coaches of this edition: the director Stefania Bonfandelli, who signed the staging of the Donizetti diptych, the baritone Alexander Corbelli, on-stage mentor of young talent and starring in Deux hommes et une femme, and the conductor Henry Pagan. The project, now in its fifth year, is part of the Donizetti Theatre Foundation's desire to support young artists and training within the Donizetti repertoire, a line widely shared and promoted by Donizetti Opera's artistic and musical director, Riccardo Frizza, which aims at the growth of a new generation of bel canto artists. This year the level of participants was recognized as very high, in line with the aim of assigning the leading roles in the two one-acts staged at the Teatro Sociale. In recent years the Bottega Donizetti has trained many voices that have refined the art of belcanto, and many of them have received engagements in Italian and European theaters. This year, another stage has, moreover, been added, that of the Ridotto Gavazzeni of the Donizetti Theater, for Donizetti Songs, a project in collaboration with Opera Rara - a British cultural institution whose aim is to rediscover, study and popularize little-performed compositions - aimed at the live performance of romanze, arias, barcarole, composed by Gaetano Donizetti, some of them in world premiere. The artists of the Bottega Donizetti can be heard live again on Friday, Nov. 28, at 8 p.m. at the Teatro Sociale for the last repeat of the diptych The Bell e Deux hommes et une femme and on Sunday, November 30 at 11 a.m. at the Ridotto Gavazzeni of the Donizetti Theater for the second date with Donizetti Songs as part of The Donizetti Brunch cycle.   For the full program and more information: donizettiopera.org