Spoleto's Festival dei Due Mondi opens friday June 28 with Ariadne auf Naxos directed from Iván Fischer

It begins friday June 28 at at 20 at the Teatro Nuovo Gian Carlo Menotti the sixty-seventh edition of Festival dei Due Mondi, running until July 14 with more than 60 Italian and world premiere performances by more than 30 companies, involving more than 600 artists from 20 countries, over 17 days and 20 venues. For the opening night Iván Fischer offers a new artistic project with his Budapest Festival Orchestra, in residence at Spoleto, dedicated this time to Richard Strauss' masterpiece Ariadne auf Naxos. Fischer delves into the origins ofopera to return us to a staging that combines the suite from the Bourgeois gentilhomme, presented with a choreographic action, toopera on a libretto by von Hofmannsthal, which he also directs with Commedia dell'Arte expert Chiara D'Anna. On Saturday, June 29, at 12 noon at the Stella Auditorium begins the Midday Concerts series, which for three weeks guides the audience to discover the relationship between myth and music: for the first two concerts, musicians from the Budapest Festival Orchestra perform music by Händel, Cimarosa and Stravinsky. French director Jeanne Candel takes us back to her dreamlike world with a new Musical Theater creation inspired by the myth of Baùbo (June 29-30 at 5 p.m. and at 6:30 p.m., San Simone): the old priestess of Greek myth and "goddess of obscenity" who returned the smile to Demeter, generating the cycle of seasons. Candel creates a musical performance of unbridled imagination, following that magical combination of music and theater that she and Samuel Achache introduced us to in 2022 with the shows Demi-Véronique and Le Crocodile trompeur / Didon et Énée. At at 9 p.m. in Pegasus Hall the German musicians ofEnsemble Garage - joined by from colleagues from from Taiwan, Vietnam, the Netherlands and Italy - will perform the new work by composer Baldwin Giang in a concert presented in collaboration with Mahler & LeWitt Studios, American Academy in Rome and Fondazione Carla Fendi. For the Theatre category is special guest Festival dei Due Mondi Isabelle Adjani (June 29-30, at 7:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Teatro Caio Melisso Spazio Carla Fendi), sacred monster of French cinema and international icon. Adjani gives voice to texts by such giants of French literature as Cynthia Fleury, Camille Laurens, Françoise Sagan, Fred Vargas. Expected is the return of Davide Enia, from June 29 to July 7 on stage at the Auditorium della Stella with Autoritratto: a project that starts from "his" Palermo and the story of little Giuseppe di Matteo - the son of a kidnapped and murdered collaborator of justice from Cosa Nostra -, a story in which the Mafia mirrors family reality. Italian director Antonio Latella returns to working with the students of the Silvio d'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art for four shows: the first weekend at the Teatrino delle 6 Luca Ronconi's show Risveglio di primavera, directed by Giovanni Ortoleva, is on stage. Dance opens with Mehdi Kerkouche 's new show (June 29-30 at 21, Teatro Romano), who brings to Spoleto his company of dancers, nourished by the most diverse experiences - hip hop, street jazz, cabaret and contemporary circus. In PORTRAIT a tribe of bodies questions family relationships, how to coexist without touching each other, how to evolve bonds, in an alternation of possibilities ranging from solo to duet and ensemble, to the hypnotic electro-pop soundtrack by from Lucie Antunes.

After Blanca Li's Paris Grand Ball that has thrilled audiences for two consecutive editions, it also inaugurates the powerful new immersive experience signed by the duo Adrien M & Claire B (June 28-July 14, San Nicolo Monumental Complex). Last Minute is a combination of music, light and interactive projections, created from an intimate lived experience from Claire Bardainne that led her to research, together with co-creator Adrien Mondot, the concept of reincarnation: thelast-minute journey. Also expected is the return of Stefano Mancuso with a second lectio magistralis on the plant universe (June 29, at 10 a.m., Teatro Nuovo Gian Carlo Menotti), continuing the journey begun in 2023. A world-renowned scientist and popularizer, Mancuso is among the top international authorities engaged to studying and popularizing a new truth about plants, intelligent and sensitive creatures capable of choosing, learning and remembering.

On Saturday, June 29 at at 11 a.m. it is Iván Fischer to inaugurate Meetings with Artists, the popular free events at the Campello Garden that on performance days invite the Festival's stars to tell their stories to the public. With him are musician and composer Baldwin Giang and photographer Luis Alberto Rodriguez. The next day it is the turn of Davide Enia, Jeanne Candel and Mehdi Kerkouche.

Also kicking off are the Festival's exhibitions and numerous special projects. friday June 28 at at 17 inaugurates the exhibition that the Festival dedicates to Giorgio Ferrara and the years of his artistic direction (Via Aurelio Saffi, 12); to Giorgio Ferrara is also dedicated to the Love Letters to Giorgio meeting (Teatro Nuovo Saturday, June 29 at 16). From at 6 p.m. friday June 28, it is possible to visit the solo exhibition of the artist author of the Festival poster Chiara Camoni (Palazzo Collicola), among the many exhibitions at the Civic Museums of Spoleto. Expected for June 29 at at 11 instead is the opening of the exhibition presented from Mahler & LeWitt Studios and the Fondazione Carla Fendi Legàmi. Studies in the Costume Archive of Festival dei Due Mondi (Ex Battistero della Manna d'Oro until Sept. 15), which brings together a series of images made by photographer Luis Alberto Rodriguez: together with set designer Afra Zamara, he transformed into works of art some precious costumes from the historical archive of Festival dei Due Mondi, giving them new life. Mahler & Lewitt Studios also presents the works of artist Jonathan Monk, including some ceramic sculptures made during his artistic residency to Deruta (Torre Bonomo from June 29 to July 14). to starting from Saturday, June 29, and until Oct. 7, the Church of St. Agatha hosts the installation by artist Stefano di Stasio, which becomes a backdrop for initiatives and concerts.

Special projects continue with the creative upcycling workshop The Dream Workshop (Campello Garden Saturday, June 29 at 11am, Complesso Monumentale di San Nicolò Sunday, June 30 at 10am-1pm); the theatrical reduction Books Are Lonely from Luigi Contu's text of the same name (Teatro Caio Melisso Spazio Carla Fendi Sunday, June 30, at 11 a.m.); the 15th edition of the Monini Prize A Window on the Two Worlds, which this year will be presented to Stefano Mancuso (Casa Menotti, Sunday, June 30).

The proposals of theSilvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art are back: from June 26 to 30 the 15th edition of the Academy Project takes place, with the theater show Uffa che barba! and the 11th edition of European Young Theatre, where students from European and international schools will compete in a Group competition. Along with the exhibitions, the special projects of La Mama Spoleto Open also begin, with the inaugural show dedicated to an audience of adults and children The Sea Keeps (Cantiere Oberdan June 29 and 30), and the FuoriFestival: Elements is the theme of the 2024 edition, focusing on multidisciplinary artistic activities receptive to the territory. The landscape becomes one of the protagonists of the scheduled performances, which range from musical projects (DJ Al Wooton is the first to perform on Saturday, June 28 at at 23 at Meeting Point), to dance performances, visual art exhibitions and workshops. friday June 28, the marching band Gruppo Sbandieratori e Musici Città di Foligno performs amid period costumes and traditional sounds (Piazza della Libertà, Piazza Pianciani, Piazza Garibarldi, at 18). Also on Saturday, June 29, the public can watch to a traveling concert: the Military Air Force Band, at at 6 p.m., leads spectators through Spoleto's main squares, from the Town Hall Square to Piazza Pianciani to Piazza della Libertà.

Vivi il Festival returns again this year: the side events organized in collaboration with some realities of the Spoleto area begin on Saturday, June 29 with the project Behind the scenes, continuing on Sunday, June 30 with Spoleto secret and underground.

The 67th edition of Festival dei Due Mondi is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Comune di Spoleto. It is realized with the support of Fondazione Carla Fendi (Main Partner), Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Spoleto and Banco Desio. We would like to thank Intesa Sanpaolo (Premium Supporter), Monini (Official Sponsor), Italmatch Chemicals, Meccanotecnica Umbra and Susa Trasporti (Partners), Fabiana Filippi, Tomasini Francia - Rolex and Emu (Sponsors), Lexsus (Official Car) and other supporters, partners and technical sponsors. Media Partners of the event are: RAI (Main Media Partner), La Repubblica, Il Messaggero and Urban Vision. APA Roma is Advertising partner.