Presentation Spoleto 64
 Press release

The sixty-fourth edition of the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, the first programmed by artistic director Monique Veaute, opens on Friday 25 June 2021. Founded by Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958, Italy’s oldest performing arts festival once again transforms the city of Spoleto into a stage: from 25 June to 11 July, 60 performances, all Italian premieres, feature more than 500 artists from 13 countries in 15 venues, with some of the world’s best artists and companies offering an uninterrupted flow of music, opera, dance, theatre, allowing audiences to discover the unexpected.

Performances, discussions with artists, collateral events and debates shine a light on contemporary society, illuminating its diversity and complexity. This year at Spoleto, the first edition of Rai’s Festival per il sociale places themes including environmental and economic sustainability, social cohesion and inclusion, the role of women, the new generations and the value of memory at the heart of the discussion.

Dante, Stravinskij, Strehler, Pina Bausch and some of the great classics of the theatre repertoire form a bridge between the past and the future, projected forwards in time thanks to the interpretations of great artists and companies from Iván Fisher to Antonio Pappano, from the Budapest Festival Orchestra to the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, from Mourad Merzouki to Angelin Preljocaj, from Francesco Tristano to Brad Mehldau, from Flora Détraz to Jonas&Lander, from Liv Ferracchiati to Lucien Øyen, from Romeo Castellucci to Robert Lepage to Lucia Ronchetti, and by participants in residencies run by La MaMa Spoleto Open and the Accademia Silvio d’Amico.

There are exhibitions at Palazzo Collicola, while discussions organized by Fondazione Carla Fendi, concerts at the Casa Menotti and numerous collateral events introduce visitors to some of the most beautiful hidden corners of this city.

The 64th edition of the Festival dei Due Mondi welcomes live audiences in absolute security. While the health situation means there are restrictions on the number of available tickets, a calendar of online appointments will be streamed via the Digital Stage so that those who cannot attend physically can still take part. A festival which brings people together, creating new opportunities for dialogue and reflection.