The award celebrates innovation and musical rediscovery at the Valle d’Itria Festival
2025 was an extraordinary year for the Valle d’Itria Festival in Martina Franca, marked by major achievements and culturally significant moments. Among the most notable news is the prestigious recognition awarded to Silvia Colasanti, composer and Artistic Director of the Valle d’Itria Festival, included among the Persons of the Year 2025 by Classic Voice.
The magazine’s editorial team highlighted the impact of her first edition leading the historic festival:
“Among the ‘musical managers’ who marked the past year, almost all opinions collected by the editorial staff converge on the name of 𝙎𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞, a composer making her debut as artistic director, with the mission of giving a new soul to the Valle d’Itria Festival in Martina Franca[..]. Her first edition immediately prompted a rethinking of the historic festival, which in the past focused primarily on Belcanto. Colasanti implemented a program more attentive to the great figures of the twentieth century[…]: within this framework, the Italian premiere of a major twentieth-century work, Britten’s Owen Wingrave, was particularly significant, the composer’s last opera which had never before crossed Italian borders. A rediscovery not aimed at simply filling the catalog, but at providing keys to understanding the contemporary world: in an international scenario torn by nearby wars and apocalyptic presages, the ‘conscious’ pacifism of Wingrave was a message of great power. In parallel, Colasanti also left her mark in her main activity, bringing a work to La Scala, Anna A., based on the biographical and political life of Anna Akhmatova drawn from Paolo Nori’s novel, who also wrote the libretto. Here too, the dichotomy between art and power, historical memory, repression, and the survival of poetry placed theatre at the center of reflection on contemporary issues[…]. For the annals of Milanese theatre, Anna A. will also be remembered as the first opera commissioned by La Scala to the composer.”
The recognition of Silvia Colasanti as Person of the Year 2025 celebrates the Artistic Director’s ability to redefine the Valle d’Itria Festival, highlighting twentieth-century works and musical rarities, while maintaining a strong dialogue with contemporary issues and social-cultural themes. The Italian premiere of Owen Wingrave by Britten and the production of Anna A. at La Scala are tangible examples of an artistic vision that combines courage, depth, and historical awareness.
With this prestigious award, the Valle d’Itria Festival confirms its commitment to promoting musical innovation and cultural rediscovery, solidifying its position as a key reference in the national and international music scene.
