Donizetti Opera Festival

Bergamo: Capital of Bel Canto

The Donizetti Opera Festival is the grand celebration that Bergamo dedicates each November to Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), one of the greatest 19th-century opera composers and a pride of the city. Promoted by the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti, the festival has in a few years become a benchmark event for opera lovers worldwide, thanks to the scholarly rediscovery of rare works by the Bergamo-born composer.

Riccardo Frizza's Direction

Musical and artistic direction is entrusted to Riccardo Frizza, one of the most authoritative Donizetti interpreters. The 12th edition is dedicated to the memory of Gianandrea Gavazzeni, a great conductor from Bergamo. The festival is distinguished by the rigor of its critical editions and its international cast.

Titles of the 12th Edition

Three productions are scheduled for 2026. L'esule di Roma opens the festival at the Donizetti Theatre, conducted by Antonino Fogliani and directed by Katharina Thoma. Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali, a brilliant farce about the world of theatre, is also staged at the Donizetti. Alahor in Granata, an opera composed by Donizetti exactly two hundred years ago, in 1826, for the Teatro Carolino in Palermo, is presented at the Teatro Sociale in Città Alta in a new critical edition curated by Edoardo Cavalli, made possible by the discovery of the autograph manuscript in 2023.

Donizetti Off and Previews

Alongside the main performances, the festival offers Donizetti Off, a rich collateral program of concerts, meetings, conferences, and initiatives spread throughout the city, and Under-30 previews (November 10-12), designed to introduce younger audiences to opera. Bergamo, with its historic theatres and the atmosphere of the Città Alta, provides the ideal setting for a total immersion in bel canto.