As the 50th edition of the Festival closes, we are getting back to work to prepare for the next edition in 2025, and we do so with a special announcement!
For the 2025-2027 triennium, Silvia Colasanti will be the new Artistic Director of the Festival della Valle d’Itria and the Accademia del Belcanto “Rodolfo Celletti.” She has enthusiastically accepted this position and the challenges that will come with it:
“I take on the artistic direction of the Festival della Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca and the Accademia di Belcanto ‘Rodolfo Celletti’ with the awareness of receiving an important and precious legacy, continuously nourished by the passion and intelligence of those who preceded me, and by the many skills of those who, year after year, have contributed to the realization of the performances. Exploring new territories, bringing lesser-known works back to the stage, rediscovering neglected compositional paths, engaging with the local area, and promoting young artists: this is the soul of the Festival, to which I would like to bring the powerful lessons of the 20th century, the evolution of musical theater, the promotion of creativity and contemporary languages, and the ability to communicate today’s complexities with genuine expressive energy. The aim is to encourage historical reflection and highlight how today’s aesthetic diversity is the result of different ways of reinterpreting tradition, in continuity and dialogue with the past.”
This news follows the success of the past edition of the Festival, which took place from July 17 to August 6, 2024, and saw record attendance (+20% compared to 2023, with over 12,000 participants, and a 30% increase in those under 30 and under 15). With a significant international presence (35% of attendees from abroad), the Festival has found the key to embracing a more global vision.
All of this has been made possible thanks to the valuable work of Maestro Sebastian Schwarz, who served as Artistic Director of the Festival since 2022, and whom the Paolo Grassi Foundation thanks for guiding the Festival along a path of growth and renewal.
As also stated by the President of the Paolo Grassi Foundation, Michele Punzi:
“For the future, the Foundation’s Board of Directors, unanimously and after careful and thoughtful consideration, has identified Maestro Silvia Colasanti as the best person to allow the Festival to continue its path of cultural development, while respecting the roots that characterize our event, and paying particular attention to new audiences and to the ever-evolving needs and expectations of spectators […]”
Thus, this leadership change will mark the beginning of a new chapter in our history.
