Messina is preparing to welcome Notre Dame de Paris, the most famous popular opera in the world which will be at Palarescifina from 22 to 25 October 2026. The tour, produced by Clemente Zard and entirely curated and distributed by Vivo Concerti. The Messina events are promoted by Giuseppe Rapisarda Management with the collaboration of the Municipality of Messina. Notre Dame de Paris was presented this morning to the Municipality of Messina by the mayor Federico Basile. The meeting with the press was attended by the Councilor for Major Events Massimo Finocchiaro, the promoter Giuseppe Rapisarda and the artist Giò Di Tonno.
«A show like Notre Dame de Paris is not only a great musical event – declared Mayor Basile – but also a cultural event which, with its almost twenty-five years of history, brings a piece of magic to our city. Riccardo Cocciante’s music accompanies a show which, through its cast, continues to travel far and wide across Italy and the world, meeting different generations. Today the PalaRescifina welcomes a great work, with the hope that it will give emotions to adults and children. I thank the cast and production for choosing Messina once again: it is further confirmation of our city’s vocation as a City of Music and Events. We hope that this proposal will increasingly involve the public and help strengthen a cultural and entertainment offering that lives up to the city’s expectations.”
«Notre Dame de Paris is a show that we had already identified – underlined councilor Finocchiaro – and for which, since last year, we had planned and blocked the dates. It is an important, engaging production that has toured the world, and for Messina hosting it is a source of great pride. It is also the result of the potential of the PalaRescifina, a structure that today allows us to welcome shows of this level and host more performances, as happens for this production. Messina deserves great events and great goals, and I am proud and happy that Notre Dame de Paris has chosen our city. I invite all the people of Messina and those arriving from outside the city to get involved in the magic of the show and I wish everyone a good viewing.”
For promoter Giuseppe Rapisarda «the return of Notre Dame de Paris to Messina confirms the profound bond between the city and one of the most beloved shows in the history of Italian musical theatre. After 10 performances in 2002 and 3 in 2017, Riccardo Cocciante’s opera returns once again to the Strait, testifying to a relationship built over the years thanks to the affection and extraordinary participation of the public. An event that renews a shared history and brings back to Messina a production capable, for over twenty years, of involving and exciting spectators of all generations.”
A few days after arriving in Messina, Giò Di Tonno talks about the emotions of a work that continues to involve generations of spectators. «Notre Dame is a magical sight. We define it as a real miracle, because after 25 years we still have the opportunity to tell it and bring to the stage something that goes far beyond just the beauty of music. The story contains a message that is still very current: inclusion, the importance of not being afraid of diversity and the ability to go beyond preconceptions. It is a show that still manages to involve the public today, thanks to its universal and always current themes.”
The popular opera has sold more than 550,000 tickets with a tour of over 200 performances. The audience’s connection with this work never ceases to amaze. In 2027 Notre Dame de Paris celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary, after having debuted for the first time in Italy in 2002, an achievement that marks a quarter of a century of emotions, music and poetry. Riccardo Cocciante, author of the show’s music, is at the center of this incredible project which sees Pasquale Panella’s masterful adaptation into Italian of Luc Plamondon’s texts, from Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name which tells the dramatic love story between Esmeralda and Quasimodo, against the backdrop of the majestic Parisian Cathedral of Notre-Dame.
Since its first staging, NOTRE DAME DE PARIS has conquered the Italian public, becoming a popular phenomenon and one of the longest-running works of Italian culture, reaching 4.5 million spectators. Its strength lies in the universal themes: the story focuses on marginalization, the fear of what is different and the weight of prejudices to remind us how diversity represents a resource and not a threat. What makes the show so current is the ability to portray the fragility and contradictions of the human being: the search for a place in the world, the need for justice, the desire for love. Elements which, after decades, continue to confirm this modern popular work as a classic capable of crossing generations and borders.
The Italian version debuted in 2002, produced by David Zard, a key figure in live entertainment in Italy who, recognizing the absence of theaters suitable for such an innovative staging, had the GranTeatro in Rome built specifically, a courageous choice that marked a historical turning point. Considered a true cult of musical theatre, NOTRE DAME DE PARIS has surpassed many great rock and pop concerts in terms of attendance, has been translated into 9 languages, staged in 24 countries, with over 5,650 shows and 18 million spectators worldwide. In over twenty years in Italy it has visited 49 cities, with 181 stops and 1,548 performances, to which must be added the over 200 shows of the tour currently underway.