A bold, visceral and extraordinarily impactful dialogue between operatic dramaturgy and the visual aesthetics of the twentieth century. On Friday 18 September 2026, at 9pm, the solemn and eternal setting of the Ancient Theater of Catania will welcome an unprecedented production of Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni. Conceived as a tribute to Luchino Visconti on the fiftieth anniversary of his death, the event is part of the prestigious program of the Opera Festival of the Teatri di Pietra, promoted by the Sicilian Opera Choir, and is part of the project of the Municipality of Catania “Palcoscenico Catania. Beauty without borders 2026”, aimed at bringing the excellence of live entertainment and art into the heart of the community.
The directorial-visual reading of Mascagna’s one-act play – presented in the form of a concert – will go beyond the boundaries of traditional representation: the Sicilian realist drama par excellence will intertwine in real time with sequences taken from two milestones of Visconti’s filmography, La terra trema and Il Gattopardo, curated by the auteur projections of Claudio Mantegna. The primordial black and white of the tuna traps and the faces of the fishermen of Aci Trezza will merge with the decadent charm of the Sicilian baroque, creating a constant visual resonance between the singing, the literature of Verga and the vision of Visconti.
Paolo Spadaro Munitto, a leading figure on the conducting scene and master of the hall at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, will lead the resident Orchestra of the Teatri di Pietra Lyric Festival and the Sicilian Lyric Choir, a team acclaimed in the main international opera seasons. The choir master is Francesco Costa.
The vocal cast is of absolute importance: in the role of the painful Santuzza the soprano Yeon-Joo Park, flanked by the tenor Giuseppe Distefano in the role of the ardent Turiddu, while Gangsoon Kim will be the bloodthirsty Alfio. The mezzo-soprano Antonella Arena will take on the role of mother Lucia, while the winking presence of Lola will be entrusted to the mezzo-soprano Leonora Ilieva.
An unmissable event to rediscover the drama of love, betrayal and revenge that has marked the history of world music, returned in a poetic key that merges the memory of the millenary stone with the immortality of the visual language.