For the third consecutive year, the international star returns to Cremona with Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco, conducted by Gianluca Capuano

Thursday, May 28, at 9:00 PM, Teatro Ponchielli

“I have always had a special connection with Italy’s historic regional theatres, places that preserve the memory and identity of their communities. That is why being part of the Monteverdi Festival has a particular meaning for me: beyond the pleasure of taking part in such a prestigious festival, I am especially keen to be in Cremona to pay tribute to this city’s extraordinary musical heritage. I firmly believe that traditional theatres are not merely performance venues, but vital cultural institutions for their territories. And I cannot wait to return to Cremona to enjoy its irresistible mostarda: some guilty pleasures are simply impossible to resist!”

With these words, Cecilia Bartoli — fresh from the great success of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, which has just concluded, and only days before the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Italian Republic, in which she will be among the leading figures on June 2 — announces her return to Cremona for the preview event of the 2026 Monteverdi Festival. On Thursday, May 28, at 9:00 PM, Teatro Ponchielli will host a gala concert featuring the celebrated mezzo-soprano together with Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco under the baton of Gianluca Capuano.

Beloved and acclaimed at the world’s leading opera houses, winner of five Grammy Awards, and Artistic Director of both the Salzburg Whitsun Festival and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Cecilia Bartoli returns to the Monteverdi Festival for the third consecutive year, strengthening an ever-closer artistic bond with Cremona and with the festival dedicated to the composer who “invented” opera.

The gala programme will span three centuries of musical theatre, opening symbolically with the Toccata and “Dal mio permesso amato” from Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, before moving through works by Handel, Vivaldi, Steffani, Mozart and Rossini. Alternating orchestral pieces with operatic arias—including “V’adoro pupille” from Handel’s Giulio Cesareand “Una voce poco fa” from Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia—the programme will showcase the full expressive range of Cecilia Bartoli’s artistry.

This preview event introduces the theme of the 43rd edition of the Monteverdi Festival, “Sing to Me, O Muse!”, to be held in Cremona from June 7 to 21, 2026. The Festival will present more than thirty events, including operas, concerts, talks and special projects, centred around four emblematic female figures—Poppea, Thetis, Dido and Theodora. The programme will feature Claudio Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Francesco Cavalli’s Le nozze di Teti e Peleo in its first modern performance, Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and the newly commissioned contemporary work Teodora Imperatrice by Mauro Montalbetti, alongside internationally renowned artists such as Ian Bostridge, Carmela Remigio and Carlo Vistoli.

Photo credits: Cecilia Bartoli © OMC – Fabrice Demessence