Trieste Operetta Festival

Trieste, capital of operetta

Few cities in Italy can boast a connection to operetta as strong as that of Trieste, long considered the Italian capital of the genre. A Mitteleuropean crossroads between the Italian, Austrian, and Slavic worlds, the city has breathed for generations the Viennese and Hungarian melodies that made this light and refined musical theatre so successful. The Operetta Festival was created precisely to revive this iconic tradition, bringing it back to the city's grand stages.

The grand productions

The heart of the festival lies in the productions of the classics of the repertoire. The 2026 edition stages "Ballo al Savoy" by Paul Abraham, a 1932 masterpiece rich in fox-trot rhythms and dances inspired by Latin America, at the Politeama Rossetti; and "La Bajadera" by Emmerich Kálmán, an operetta that premiered triumphantly in Vienna in 1921 with 353 consecutive performances, staged at the Teatro Verdi. Both are entrusted to the adaptation and direction of Andrea Binetti, with musical direction by Andrea Albertin and Romolo Gessi.

Operetta in the city

In addition to the theatre performances, the festival brings operetta to the people with a series of summer concerts in the city's public spaces, from Piazza Verdi to the gardens of the Museo Sartorio. A way to revive famous arias and melodies in the open air, in a festive and popular atmosphere that is part of Trieste's very identity.

A collaborative project

The Operetta Festival is the result of collaboration between the Municipality of Trieste (as part of Trieste Estate), the International Operetta Association FVG, the Giuseppe Verdi Theatre Foundation, and the Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia, with the support of the Region. An alliance of institutions that returns a musical heritage to Trieste to be preserved and passed down.