Eight hundred years after the death of Francis of Assisi, Ravenna Festival dedicates the title of its 37th edition to the patron saint of Italy, borrowing Dante’s verse Nacque al mondo un sole (Par. XI, v. 50). The program opens on May 21 with a concert by Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Vasily Petrenko, and continues until July 11. The Franciscan thread also runs through the concert in which Riccardo Muti conducts Hindemith’s Nobilissima visione, followed by a conversation with Massimo Cacciari on the influence of Saint Francis on Dante and Giotto; Muti will also appear on June 1 and 2, leading choir singers from across Italy in two days of lessons and rehearsals for the second edition of Cantare amantis est. Guests include Kent Nagano, Nicola Piovani and Toni Servillo, the Münchener Kammerorchester with Enrico Onofri, Stefano Bollani, Enrico Rava, Pat Metheny, Jeff Mills, Emma Nolde, Sadeck Berrabah, Yoann Bourgeois… More than one hundred performances and over one thousand artists will take part in Ravenna Festival 2026, made possible by the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Municipality of Ravenna, the main partner Eni, and the sponsors.
Cum tucte le tue creature (With all Your creatures)
If Giotto’s frescoes on the life of Saint Francis inspired Hindemith’s Nobilissima visione – conducted by Riccardo Muti with the Cherubini Orchestra before his conversation with Massimo Cacciari – the words of Saint Augustine, Cantare amantis est, shape the open call for choir singers of all ages and backgrounds, invited to two days of lessons and rehearsals with Muti. Speaking of singing, Ensemble Micrologus offers a musical reconstruction of the Canticle of the Creatures in the Basilica of San Francesco, which also hosts the premiere of Il Santo folle, by Guido Barbieri and Marcello Fera on Francis’s encounter with the Sultan, and a conversation with medieval historian Franco Cardini accompanied by laReverdie. Francis’s belief that a craft is not only an economic resource but also an inner one resonates with OperaPaese per Ravenna by Giorgio Battistelli, a bold musical-theatre project placing local artisans at centre stage. Saint Francis is recalled as the creator of the Nativity scene tradition in the two-part programme From Greccio to the Neapolitan Nativity Scene, also paying tribute to Roberto De Simone. Francis’s thought lies at the heart of Nessun cielo è senza luce, an audio-visual performance by Luca Maria Baldini and Salvatore Insana, as well as the talk along the Viae Sancti Romualdi. Francis’s famous encounter with the Wolf of Gubbio inspires the Opera da quartiere by Orchestra La Corelli in Ravenna’s neighbourhoods, while harmonious coexistence with creation is celebrated by the eco-sustainable events of Romagna in fiore (May 1–24).
Literatures, Explorations
If Sophocles and Euripides guide the dialogue with the Archaeological Site of Pompeii through a “revived” Antigone and Micha van Hoecke’s Bacchae, the Grande Teatro di Lido Adriano explores the Chinese classic Viaggio in Occidente. Fanny & Alexander engage with Elena Ferrante’s Storia del nuovo cognome, while Elena Bucci and Paolo Baioni present La bambina inglese, dedicated to Lord Byron’s daughter. It is the vocation of Trebbo in musica in Cervia-Milano Marittima to unite music and words: for its seventh edition, the special program draws inspiration from Stefano Benni (La misteriosa scomparsa di W performed by Ambra Angiolini), Truman Capote in podcaster Pablo Trincia’s reinterpretation of the non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, Pier Paolo Pasolini as seen by Massimo Zamboni of CCCP, Russian literature with Paolo Nori, Grazia Deledda in the tribute by Paolo Fresu and Mariangela Gualtieri, and Andersen with Il brutto anatroccolo featuring Fabio Canino. The narrative thread continues with Jacopo Veneziani and L’enigma del Mausoleo di Teodorico, explorer Alex Bellini, and the testimony of Fra Alberto Pari from the Magnificat Institute in Jerusalem.
Music
For the opening concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko, Anne-Sophie Mutter chooses Beethoven, with the program completed by Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. Riccardo Muti leads his Cherubini Orchestra in two concerts: one dedicated to Nobilissima visione, followed by a conversation with Massimo Cacciari, and another featuring music by Verdi, De Falla, and Ravel. An all-Italian program shapes Muti’s collaboration with The Philharmonic Brass. The symphonic section also welcomes the return of Kent Nagano, on the podium of the Cherubini. Led by Enrico Onofri, the Münchener Kammerorchester performs in two concerts, one with pianist Arsenii Moon playing Chopin. The ArteMandoline Baroque Ensemble explores art and folk music between Naples and Spain, while violinist Giuseppe Gibboni and pianist Pietro Fresa tackle Beethoven and Prokof’ev. The Alinde Quintet from the Czech Republic features an all-wind line-up. The Cherubini Orchestra also performs under Nicola Piovani in his Padre Cicogna, based on a poem by De Filippo with Toni Servillo as the narrator; Daniele di Bonaventura for a tribute to Ravenna Jazz 1986 (preceded by a talk with psychoanalyst Massimo Recalcati); and Thiago Tiberio for Fantasia in Concert Live to Film. Cinema meets live music as well in screenings of Murnau’s The Last Laugh (1924) and Elvira Notari’s È piccerella (1922). The rich program at the Rocca includes jazz events with Stefano Bollani All Stars, Pat Metheny and, in a single evening, Matteo Mancuso and Nik West; jazz also travels beyond the city, to Brisighella with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and to Russi with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and Uli Plettendorff for Swing Forever. Palazzo San Giacomo also hosts Rap-Union in collaboration with the underground hip hop festival Under Fest. Back at the Rocca, appearances include Portuguese singer-songwriter Dulce Pontes and the San Francisco vocal ensemble The Chanticleer. At the Pavaglione in Lugo, another two concerts alongside Padre Cicogna: Emma Nolde’s with Orchestra La Corelli, and Detroit techno legend Jeff Mills’s.
In the Basilicas
Alongside the events dedicated to Saint Francis in the church that bears his name, the Festival once again visits the UNESCO-listed Byzantine basilicas. At San Vitale, the Estonian Vox Clamantis, a leading ensemble for Arvo Pärt, and Constantinople, the ensemble founded by Iranian musician Kiya Tabassian. At Sant’Apollinare in Classe, La Cappella Neapolitana presents the first part of the programme Da Greccio al presepe napoletano (completed at the Alighieri with Cantata dei pastori by and with Peppe Barra); in Classe, also Le Poème Harmonique and the Chamber Choir of the Ljubljana Conservatoire. The latter, along with Vox Clamantis, chamber choir Vikra and Ravenna’s Cappella Musicale di San Francesco, also takes part in In templo Domini, the traditional Sunday liturgies.
In Residence
Artists in residence at the Festival include pianist Filippo Gorini, with recitals, masterclasses and events in care and community facilities; Giovanna Baviera with Soloindue, a tribute to the forgotten art of ‘singing with the viola’, alongside two encounters in dialogue with writer Matteo Cavezzali and lawyer-activist Cathy La Torre; and the chamber choir Vikra led by Petra Grassi, presenting songs from a wide range of traditions and geographical backgrounds.
A Festival that Dances
Alongside the Italian premiere of Murmuration Level2 by visionary choreographer Sadeck Berrabah and the revival of Bacchae by Micha van Hoecke, the dance section features The Infinite Approach by Yoann Bourgeois – a dramaturgy of suspensions, falls and new beginnings in search of the perfect circus act; an evening with the Sergio Bernal Dance Company and the choreographies Rango and Boléro by Rafael Aguilar; the gruppo nanou with goldroom, the second chapter of the Overlook Hotel project; and the closing gala of the Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP) masterclasses from New York, with star teachers and top students.
The Theatre, Mirror of the World
After its premiere in Pompeii, Marco Martinelli and teenagers from the Neapolitan area “bring back to life” Sophocles’ Antigone, while Viaggio in Occidente by the Grande Teatro di Lido Adriano reimagines one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature, involving young people and adults from the cosmopolitan seaside town. Storia del nuovo cognome by Fanny & Alexander is the second chapter reinterpreting the acclaimed bestseller through theatre, music, and comics, while in collaboration with Le belle bandiere, La bambina inglese is a performance by Elena Bucci—who also signs the libretto, dramaturgy and direction—and countertenor Helmar Hauser, with music by Paolo Baioni. Albe / Ravenna Teatro presents LUṢ, based on the poem by Nevio Spadoni, featuring the voice of Ermanna Montanari and the double bass of Daniele Roccato.
Autumn Trilogy
The Festival returns from November 13 to 17 with the Autumn Trilogy, titled Mozart 1791 – directed by Chiara Muti, with Ottavio Dantone conducting the Cherubini Orchestra and the Coro della Cattedrale di Siena Guido Chigi Saracini prepared by Lorenzo Donati — featuring a new production of La clemenza di Tito, the original creation L’ultimo incanto (based on Die Zauberflöte and Mozart’s final compositions), and the Requiem.
Presales from Thu 12 February
Under 18: 5 Euro if applicable
Carnet Open (min. 4 events) 15% discount
Alighieri Theatre Ticket Office ph. +39 (0)544 249244 www.ravennafestival.org
