26 June to 12 July 2026, the 69th Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto: the first edition led by the new Artistic Director Daniele Cipriani relaunches the Menottian spirit with a programme of world and European premieres.
The Spoleto Festival is ‘under new management’ as Daniele Cipriani guides the programming for the next five years.
Every summer, the medieval hilltop town of Spoleto, Italy, undergoes a metamorphosis – ancient Roman ruins, Renaissance piazzas, and 19th-century theatres shed their quiet historic charm to become living, breathing stages. From 26 June to 12 July 2026, the town will host the 69th edition of the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds). Under the new artistic direction of Cipriani, the 2026 iteration centres on the theme of “Radici” (Roots), honouring the festival’s elite past while propelling forward contemporary artistic innovation.
The festival began in 1958, sparked by the visionary ambition of Italian-American maestro and composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Amid the lingering divisions of the post-war era, Menotti sought to build a permanent cultural bridge between the artistic sensibilities of Europe and America. He chose Spoleto for its unique topography – a compact, visually stunning Umbrian town packed with historic venues, some featuring impeccable natural acoustics.
The concept of the “Two Worlds” reached full fruition in 1977, when Menotti founded the sister event, Spoleto Festival USA, in Charleston, South Carolina, solidifying a transatlantic exchange of raw talent and creative ideas. Spoleto served as the ultimate playground for the global avant-garde, with work by director Luchino Visconti, dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, sculptor Henry Moore, and opera singer Luciano Pavarotti.
The 2026 lineup “balances classical mastery with boundary-pushing contemporary art” across roughly 100 performances.
Vanessa by Samuel Barber, with a libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, kicks off the Festival. The opera is returning to Spoleto, where it had its Italian premiere in 1961. It originally had an English libretto by Menotti, and received its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1958. At Spoleto this year, the performance will be in Italian and will be presented for the first time in its three-act version.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads the London Symphony Orchestra on 3 July with pianist Yuja Wang in an evening dedicated to Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev. Pop icon Mika will bring his MIKA Symphonique project to the open-air Piazza Duomo on 30 June, backed by the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna. In dance, the ancient Teatro Romano hosts the Rambert company in This is Rambert, alongside the return of the International Dance Marathon featuring international ballet stars.
The closing concert on 12 July is a special programme honouring the 250th anniversary of US Independence. Gianandrea Noseda conducts the Filarmonica Teatro Regio Torino with works by Leonard Bernstein, Antonín Dvořák, and the festival’s founding father, Gian Carlo Menotti.
As the Spoleto Festival marches toward its landmark 70th year, it remains a testament to Menotti’s original belief that art is a universal language capable of uniting disparate cultures. For visitors, critics, and artists who descend on the town each summer, the festival is more than a series of shows – it is an immersive, living ritual where the ancient and the modern converge.
According to Artistic Director Daniele Cipriani, this year’s Festival marks a fresh start, emphasising a high-quality and international programme. It highlights world premieres, debuts, and previews, showcasing new talent alongside established talent. “By honouring Menotti’s valuable cultural and entrepreneurial legacy, we aim for the Festival to unite art and audiences, blending artistic excellence with a strong sense of community.”
Individual tickets and multi-performance multi-passes are available internationally through the official
Festival dei Due Mondi Ticket Portal.
