Opera de Mari Festival New Year's Concert

A New Year's celebration dedicated to great music

The Opera de Mari Festival New Year's Concert has become one of the most anticipated musical traditions in Acquaviva delle Fonti, a town in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Puglia. Every year, in early January, the Teatro Sebastiano Arturo Luciani, located in the heart of the historic center overlooking Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, fills with audiences to welcome the new year with a grand symphonic concert that evokes the romantic spirit of the most famous European New Year's concerts.

The Opera de Mari Festival

The festival was born from a socio-artistic and cultural project conceived by soprano Natalizia Carone, Maestro Giuseppe Bini—pianist, composer, and conductor—and entrepreneur Giuseppe Solazzo. The name "Opera de Mari" recalls the historical roots of Acquaviva, linked to the de Mari family, and the image of the seas surrounding Puglia and Italy. The festival is promoted by the MUSInCanto ETS Socio-Artistic Cultural Music Association and complements its concert program with FestivalLab, a hub for seminars and workshops open to all ages, including paths dedicated to the inclusion of people with disabilities.

The Evening

The program alternates between pages of the romantic symphonic repertoire, opera arias, dance moments, and beloved film scores. Maestro Giuseppe Bini takes the podium, while soprano Natalizia Carone guides the audience through the most famous pieces. To make the evening accessible even to those approaching classical music for the first time, the event is presented by young hosts Paola Scalera and Carlo Milano. During the evening, the Opera de Mari Prize is also awarded.

Music and Solidarity

A distinctive feature of the event is its charitable vocation: the proceeds from the concert and the accompanying charity raffle are donated every year to local social organizations, ranging from family homes to support projects for women victims of violence. The Opera de Mari Festival New Year's Concert thus combines great music with civic engagement, confirming Acquaviva delle Fonti as a cultural landmark in the Bari province.

Acquaviva delle Fonti

Known as the "city of the red onion" and for its imposing Cathedral, Acquaviva delle Fonti is a town in the Murgia hinterland, just a few kilometers from Bari. The Teatro Luciani, named after the local musicologist Sebastiano Arturo Luciani, offers the ideal setting for an evening that has become an unmissable appointment to start the year.