Gallery
About
Monteverdi Festival 2027 is the main event of the year with the participation of world classical music stars.
If you are interested in this schedule leave a request. As soon as the playbill is announced, we will let you know immediately, and you will be the first to get the tickets.
In each section, you will get the best seats for the same price - centrally located and in front rows.
We provide seats with the best acoustics only.
Even in the world's best concert halls and opera houses, the listening conditions can vary greatly, and some seats are better than others. Sometimes nearby seats have very different viewing and listening conditions.
Usually, these seats are sold out soon and available for early bookers only. We guarantee that you will receive full-view seats only.
Detailed information about the 2026 Festival will be added later.
From 7 to 21 June 2026, Cremona hosted the 43rd edition of the Monteverdi Festival, an international celebration of early opera and Baroque music in the birthplace of Claudio Monteverdi. With the theme Cantami, o Diva! (Sing to me, O Goddess!), the programme explored powerful and complex female figures whose actions shaped the course of history. More than 30 events brought together opera, sacred music, madrigals, concerts and educational projects. The festival opened with a special gala on 28 May featuring internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, conductor Gianluca Capuano and Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco.
Four operatic productions formed the centrepiece of the season. Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea received a new staging directed by Roberto Catalano, with Paul Agnew conducting Les Arts Florissants. Soprano Benedetta Torre appeared as Poppea, opposite countertenor Maayan Licht as Nerone. Performances took place on 13 and 20 June at the Teatro Ponchielli.
A major historical rediscovery was Francesco Cavalli’s Le nozze di Teti e Peleo, presented for the first time in modern times to mark the 350th anniversary of the composer's death. The new production was directed by Chiara d’Anna, conducted by Antonio Greco and performed by Cremona Antiqua, with Valentina Ferrarese as Teti and Ferran Albrich as Peleo.
The programme also included Henry Purcell’s Dido and Æneas, conducted by Michele Pasotti and performed by La Fonte Musica, with Luciana Mancini as Dido and Mauro Borgioni as Aeneas. The fourth production, ** Teodora Imperatrice **, was a new festival commission by contemporary composer Mauro Montalbetti. Directed by Barbara Roganti and conducted by Antonio Greco, it featured soprano Roberta Mameli in the title role.
The concert programme brought together distinguished early-music performers, including tenor Ian Bostridge in a tribute to John Dowland, soprano Carmela Remigio, and countertenor Carlo Vistoli, who appeared in the closing concert Amor Tiranno, devoted to love stories in 17th-century opera. Leonardo García-Alarcón and Cappella Mediterranea performed Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine, while Raffaele Pe and La Lira di Orfeo brought madrigals into Cremona’s historic courtyards and palaces.
Performances took place at the Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli, historic churches and palaces, and the Auditorium Arvedi at the Violin Museum, extending the festival throughout a city celebrated for its musical heritage. The Monteverdi Festival 2026 offered a rich encounter with the origins of opera, combining landmark Baroque works, rare repertoire and contemporary creation.
About the Monteverdi Festival
The Monteverdi Festival is an international celebration of early music held in Cremona, Italy, the birthplace of the great composer Claudio Monteverdi. Founded more than four decades ago, the festival is dedicated to exploring his extraordinary musical legacy and the wider repertoire of the 16th and 17th centuries, bringing the sounds of the Baroque era to life through opera, sacred music, madrigals and instrumental performances.
At the heart of the festival is the work of Monteverdi, widely regarded as one of the most influential innovators in music history and a founding figure of Italian opera. His revolutionary approach to musical drama, expressive vocal writing and the relationship between words and music continues to inspire performers and audiences alike. The festival places his masterpieces in their historical context while highlighting their enduring relevance and dramatic power.
Opera productions form a major part of the programme, often featuring rarely performed works by Monteverdi and his contemporaries, including Francesco Cavalli and other composers of the early Baroque. Historically informed interpretations are central to the festival's artistic philosophy: specialist ensembles and performers use period instruments and research-based performance practices to recreate the distinctive sound world of the era. Concerts of sacred and secular music, chamber performances, recitals, lectures and educational events further enrich the programme.
The festival is organised by the Fondazione Teatro Ponchielli and takes place across Cremona's historic venues. The magnificent Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli serves as its principal stage, while churches, palaces and other atmospheric locations throughout the city provide settings for concerts and special performances. This connection between music and heritage is particularly meaningful in Cremona, a city internationally renowned for its violin-making tradition.
The Monteverdi Festival regularly welcomes internationally acclaimed singers, conductors and early-music specialists alongside emerging artists. Its programmes combine new productions, modern-era revivals of forgotten works and imaginative musical encounters, making it an important meeting point for the international early-music community.
More than a tribute to one composer, the Monteverdi Festival offers an opportunity to discover the origins and evolution of opera and Baroque music in the very city where Monteverdi was born. Its blend of historical scholarship, artistic innovation and exceptional musical performances makes it a distinctive destination for lovers of early music.
