Three new productions, three Donizetti rarities, artists from across the globe: the 2026 Festival opens at the Teatro Donizetti with L’esule di Roma (Friday 13, Saturday 21 and Sunday 29 November), the heroic melodrama composed by Gaetano Donizetti in 1828. Conducted by Antonino Fogliani and directed by Katharina Thoma, the production features soprano Lidia Fridman, tenor Sergey Romanovsky and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni in the leading roles.
At the Teatro Sociale in Città Alta (Saturday 14, Sunday 22 and Friday 27 November), Alahor in Granata returns to the stage in a landmark revival: presented for the first time in modern times in its original 1826 version, made possible by the new critical edition of the autograph score rediscovered in Palermo in 2023. On the podium Chiara Cattani, with direction by Benedetto Sicca. The cast includes baritone Grisha Martirosyan, tenor Dave Monaco and soprano Mira Alkhovik.
The trilogy concludes back at the Teatro Donizetti with Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali (Sunday 15, Friday 20 and Saturday 28 November), a sparkling musical comedy featuring bass-baritone Paolo Bordogna as Mamma Agata en travesti, alongside the talents of the Bottega Donizetti 2026. Conducted by Alberto Zanardi and directed by Silvia Paoli.
Alongside the main programme, Opera Family returns every Saturday with workshops and performances for children and their parents, while Colazioni con Gaetano comes back on Sunday mornings (15 and 22 November), this year set in the historic rooms of the Teatro Donizetti.
In the lead-up to the Festival, from May onwards, the monthly CINEDOPERA screenings resume in the Sala della Musica “M. Tremaglia”, launching the rich Donizetti Off programme — a season designed for every taste, ready to be discovered.
