Macerata Opera

After a disastrous second year due to the performance of La Gioconda being rained out, (and except for a popular concert by Beniamino Gigli in 1929), the Festival did not begin again until 1967.

By the late 1960s, the Festival was re-established, presenting mainly popular 19th and early 20th Century Italian opera, most of which were Macerata premieres.

Within ten years, the repertory was gradually broadened to include more modern and foreign works but, for financial reasons, the emphasis was on the bigger crowd-pleasers with as many big name international opera singers as possible.

With the decline in international singer participation as the 1990s progressed, the last decade has seen a return to popular Italian operas given spectacular productions.

A common theme evolved in the selection of operas to be performed and, at the same time, the reconstruction of the stage was undertaken.