TEATRO VERDI TRIESTE, 2025-2026 OPERA AND BALLET SEASON
28, 30 November and 5, 7, 11, 13 December 2025
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA (THE BARBER OF SEVILLE)
by Gioachino Rossini
Concertmaster and Conductor ENRICO CALESSO
Director, set and costume designer PIER LUIGI PIZZI
NEW PRODUCTION BY FONDAZIONE TEATRO LIRICO GIUSEPPE VERDI DI TRIESTE
Main characters and performers
Figaro ALESSANDRO LUONGO
Rosina ANNALISA STROPPA
Count Almaviva MARCO CIAPONI
Bartolo MARCO FILIPPO ROMANO
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29 November, 4, 6, 10, 12, 14 December 2025
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO)
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Concertmaster and Conductor ENRICO CALESSO
Director, set and costume designer PIER LUIGI PIZZI
NEW PRODUCTION BY FONDAZIONE TEATRO LIRICO GIUSEPPE VERDI DI TRIESTE
Main characters and performers
Figaro SIMONE ALBERGHINI
Susanna CAROLINA LIPPO
Count Almaviva GIORGIO CAODURO
Countess Rosina Almaviva EKATERINA BAKANOVA
Marcellina ANNA MARIA CHIURI
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9, 10, 11, 13 January 2026
PETIT / WHEELDON / PASTOR EVENING
BALLET
LA ROSE MALADE
Music by Gustav Mahler
Choreography by ROLAND PETIT
WITHIN THE GOLDEN HOUR
Music by Ezio Bosso, Antonio Vivaldi
Choreography by CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
PROUST, OU LES INTERMITTENCES DU CŒUR – PAS DE DEUX LE COMBAT DES ANGES
Music by Gabriel Fauré
Choreography by ROLAND PETIT
BOLERO
Music by Maurice Ravel
Choreography by KRZYSZTOF PASTOR
Étoile and Artistic Director of Ballet in La Rose Malade ELEONORA ABBAGNATO
Étoiles, Principal Dancers, Soloists and Corps de Ballet of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
Production by Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
ORCHESTRA AND TECHNICIANS BY FONDAZIONE TEATRO LIRICO GIUSEPPE VERDI DI TRIESTE
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30, 31 January, 1, 6, 7, 8 February 2026
AUFSTIEG UND FALL DER STADT MAHAGONNY
(Rise and fall of the city of Mahagonny)
by Kurt Weill
Concertmaster and Conductor BEATRICE VENEZI
Director HENNING BROCKHAUS
Set designer MARGHERITA PALLI
Costume designer GIANCARLO COLIS
Chorus master PAOLO LONGO
CO-PRODUCTION BETWEEN FONDAZIONE TEATRO REGIO DI PARMA AND FONDAZIONE I TEATRI DI REGGIO EMILIA
Main characters and performers
Leokadja Begbick ALISA KOLOSOVA
Fatty der Prokurist CHRIS MERRITT
Dreieinigkeitsmoses RUBEN AMORETTI
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27, 28 February, 1, 6, 7, 8 March 2026
IL TROVATORE (THE TROUBADOUR)
by Giuseppe Verdi
Concertmaster and Conductor RENATO PALUMBO
Director LOUIS DÉSIRÉ
Set and Costume designer DIEGO MÉNDEZ CASARIEGO
CO-PRODUCTION BETWEEN OPÉRA DE SAINT-ÉTIENNE AND OPÉRA DE MARSEILLE
Main characters and performers
Manrico YUSIF EYVAZOV
Leonora ANNA PIROZZI
Count di Luna ARIUNBAATAR GANBAATAR
Ferrando CARLO LEPORE
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2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12 April 2026
MADAMA BUTTERFLY
by Giacomo Puccini
Concertmaster and Conductor GIULIO PRANDI
Director ALBERTO TRIOLA
Set designers EMANUELE GENUIZZI and STEFANO ZULLO
PRODUCTION BY FONDAZIONE TEATRO LIRICO GIUSEPPE VERDI DI TRIESTE
Main characters and performers
Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio-San) OLGA MASLOVA
F.B. Pinkerton ANTONIO POLI
Sharpless AMBROGIO MAESTRI
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8, 10, 14, 16, 22, 24 May 2026
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE
by Charles Gounod
Concertmaster and Conductor LEONARDO SINI
Director PAOLO VALERIO
NEW CO-PRODUCTION BETWEEN FONDAZIONE TEATRO LIRICO GIUSEPPE VERDI DI TRIESTE AND TEATRO STABILE DEL FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA – IL ROSSETTI
Main characters and performers
Juliette NINA MINASYAN
Roméo GALEANO SALAS
Mercutio CHRISTIAN FEDERICI
Tybald PIERLUIGI D’ALOIA
Frère Laurent LUCA DALL’AMICO
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19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 June 2026
ELEKTRA
by Richard Strauss
Concertmaster and Conductor ENRICO CALESSO
NEW PRODUCTION BY FONDAZIONE TEATRO LIRICO GIUSEPPE VERDI DI TRIESTE
Main characters and performers
Elektra ELENA BATOUKOVA-KERL
Chrysothemis SIMONE SCHNEIDER
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Chorus master PAOLO LONGO
ORCHESTRA, CHORUS AND TECHNICIANS BY FONDAZIONE TEATRO LIRICO GIUSEPPE VERDI DI TRIESTE
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Seven opera titles, including four new Trieste-based productions – a new collaboration with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma for ballet; the co-production with the Teatro Stabile Il Rossetti; and the arrival of internationally acclaimed stars such as Anna Pirozzi and Yusif Eyvazov. Above all, the season opens with a unique double production dedicated to opera’s most celebrated barber – Figaro – directed by the undisputed master of contemporary European opera staging, Pier Luigi Pizzi, whose elegance and creativity remain unparalleled. Three weekends between Mozart and Rossini, in true festival format, will offer audiences a rare opportunity to enjoy two outstanding new stagings of beloved masterpieces in just a few days.
Tradition and innovation, support for regional talent and an increasingly international outlook, broadening collaborations with major institutions such as the Opera di Roma, the Teatro Regio di Parma and the Opéra de Marseille, alongside world-class voices and rising stars: these are the hallmarks of Teatro Verdi’s renewed identity under the direction of Giuliano Polo and the artistic leadership of Paolo Rodda.
The season opens with Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini and Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart, offering audiences an ambitious and innovative experience: in the three weekends between 28 November and 14 December, both operas will be presented in new and distinctive productions under the baton of Music Director Enrico Calesso, widely acclaimed for his interpretations both in the symphonic repertoire and in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer. The stagings are both signed by Pier Luigi Pizzi, making his true debut in Trieste after an unrivalled career, bringing his refined, sophisticated vision to two of opera’s best-loved works. The outstanding cast features Trieste-born star Giorgio Caoduro in one of the roles that brought him international acclaim, alongside the radiant Ekaterina Bakanova, currently one of the most sought-after sopranos on the global stage.
Following this operatic marathon through the dazzling worlds of Rossini and Mozart, January 2026 will see one of the season’s first new additions: a prestigious collaboration with the Ballet Company of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. The PETIT / WHEELDON / PASTOR Evening will present three choreographic masterpieces by legends of the dance world – Roland Petit, Christopher Wheeldon and Krzysztof Pastor – set to music by Mahler, Ezio Bosso, Vivaldi, Fauré, and culminating in Ravel’s iconic Boléro. Taking the stage for the opening of the triple bill with La Rose Malade will be Eleonora Abbagnato, Ballet Director and Étoile – a well-known figure in Italian cultural life.
From 30 January 2026, opera returns with a rarely performed title that has recently been enjoying a renaissance in Italy: Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny by Kurt Weill, in the acclaimed production by Teatro Regio di Parma, directed by Henning Brockhaus with set design by Margherita Palli. The production will be conducted by Beatrice Venezi and features a distinguished cast led by bel canto veteran Chris Merritt, bringing new life to Weill’s repertoire.
February brings a star-studded Trovatore, featuring world-class voices in each of the leading roles: Anna Pirozzi as Leonora, Yusif Eyvazov as Manrico, Carlo Lepore as Ferrando and baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar as Count di Luna. The production is conducted by esteemed Verdi specialist Renato Palumbo and directed by Louis Désiré in a celebrated French co-production between Opéra de Saint-Étienne and Opéra de Marseille.
With a new Trieste production directed by Alberto Triola, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly returns to the stage in April 2026, marking the Puccini debut of esteemed conductor Giulio Prandi, until now renowned for his excellence in the sacred and early music repertoire. The cast features three exceptional voices: Olga Maslova, Antonio Poli and Ambrogio Maestri.
From 8 May, a new production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, co-produced with the Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia – Il Rossetti, will mark an important milestone for Teatro Verdi in its ongoing role as a cultural production hub for the Friuli Venezia Giulia region and a catalyst for its most vibrant creative forces. The production is directed by Paolo Valerio, a widely respected figure on the international scene and a leading name in the region, having previously served as Director of the Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia. On the podium will be young conductor Leonardo Sini, a true revelation in recent years, from Berlin and Dresden to Tokyo. The cast is led by two outstanding vocal talents: Armenian soprano Nina Minasyan and Galeano Salas. The same staging, again under Paolo Valerio’s direction, will also form the basis for a new prose production of Shakespeare’s tragedy – presented for the first time at Teatro Verdi – offering the city a month-long celebration of this timeless drama in its many artistic interpretations.
In June, the season will conclude with a new production of Richard Strauss’s Elektra, the fourth staging to emerge from the Noghere workshops, conducted by Enrico Calesso. As with Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer, Calesso has spent two symphonic seasons working with the Verdi orchestra on the German repertoire in preparation for this event – a must-see for both opera lovers and the young, loyal audience of Verdi’s symphonic seasons. The stage direction will be announced later in the year. The artistic team, led by Paolo Rodda, is currently seeking a creative proposal that will resonate with Calesso’s intense Strauss interpretation, aiming to produce a truly unmissable and innovative performance. The Treviso-born conductor will personally oversee the orchestral version of Elektra, building on the edition he prepared in Germany in 2023 and restoring nearly all of the special instruments included in Strauss’s original score, while reinforcing the woodwinds and strings. The vocal cast will be led by renowned specialist Elena Batoukova-Kerl, already well known to Trieste audiences for her Holländer, alongside another leading figure in the German operatic repertoire, Simone Schneider.
The three weekends dedicated to Figaro will feature carefully staggered subscription schedules, ensuring a festival-like experience for visitors from outside Trieste, while maintaining a regular pace for local subscribers.
The subscription campaign will begin on Tuesday 3 June and close on Saturday 13 December. Current subscribers will have until 13 September to renew, while new subscriptions will be available from 16 September. The sale of single tickets for individual performances will begin on Tuesday, 16 September.