Between millennial rocks wrapped in a broken silence only by the sounds of the armants and by the Uso del Vento, along a plateau where the earth joins with the sky becoming a sacred path, there in the Argimusco plateau there is an unprecedented natural theater suspended between the Peloritani and Nebrodi mountains, in the territory of Montalbano Elicona: this will be the headquarters of the Choral Lyric Gala that will mark the start of the Seventh edition of the Lyric Festival of the Teatri di Pietra, next July 4th at 7 pm.
Argimusco, “mirror of the stars” and mystical crossroads of science, astrology and religion, will turn into a mystical gulf from which an authentic and suggestive “ode al creation” will resonate; A celebration – through music – of the 19th anniversary of the Canticle of the creatures of San Francesco d’Assisi, with an unpublished suite signed by Corrado Neri, inspired by the amazing soundtrack consisting of Ritz Ortolani for the famous film “Brother Sole, sister Luna” directed in 1972 by Franco Zeffirelli.
The concert, which will see in the foreground the Sicilian lyrical choir and the orchestral ensemble in residences directed by Francesco Costait will be a dialogue between myth and history, between Eternal and Sacred thanks also to the heartfelt homage to Franco Battiato and Ennio Morricone, whose elegiac melodies will caress the megalite millennials creating a portal towards an enormous dimension.
The 2025 festival will be divided into over forty stages which from July to September will host the unprecedented offer of an international prestigious summer event, now affirmed between the reference seasons of the island and the Mediterranean.
As the artistic director points out Francesco Costa: “The festival celebrates a collective rite, a return to the origins. A bridge between past and present, where music is memory and the myth – finally – breathes with us.”
Monumental operistic title will be the Verdiana “Aida”, staged on 24 July at the Greek theater in Syracuse and, in rapid sequence, on July 26 at the Greek theater in Tindari and on 29 July at the Antico Theater in Taormina, with an important philological choice: in fact, the critical edition of Anselm Gerhard, with the unpublished “Palestrinian” chorus of the Act III, will be performed, in the first worldwide edition of Anselm Gerhard. The representation will be translated simultaneously into the language of signs, continuing the cultural and social revolution for years promoted by the Sicilian opera choir together with the association “Sicily, tourism for all” led by Bernadette Lo Bianco.
Another exceptional opera event is the combination of two famous titles, an intuition that will make the date of August 20 unique at the Antico Theater in Taormina. The evening will be opened by a tribute to Maurice Ravel, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth, with an exclusive and choral “Bolero”, animated by the emotional force of the Corps de Balmenco Madrileno. The overwhelming dance will act as a “prologue” to the opera in an act of Pietro Mascagni, “Cavalleria Rusticana”, staged with the direction and ideation of Marco Savatteri and the direction of Alfredo Stillo. The green melodrama will also be given on August 17 at the Castle of Lombardy of Enna, restoring the classical and opera vocation, interrupted for over twenty years, which has made the Fortezza Ennese. Faro and city music living room.
The tribute to Ennio Morricone will be inevitable on the bill, which has become a real must of the summers conceived by the lyrical festival of the stone theaters; An appointment that innovates and enriches with an extraordinary double celebration of the fifth anniversary of the composer’s death: on 12 July at the Greek theater in Syracuse and on August 2 at the Antico Theater in Taormina with the special participation of Lorenzo Licitra. The poster will be embellished with authentic musical innovations, entirely inspired by Ennio Morricone’s “pop” coté for an unprecedented choral embrace. The tribute to the Prince of the Italian twentieth century, with the format “Love Morricone – Archi & Voci”, will also continue on August 3 in Morgantina, on 9 August at the Greek Theater in Tindari, on 11 August in the heart of the Madonie, on Monte Mufara, on August 21 at the Teatro dell’Aphebo in Agrigento, on 22 August in Marina di Modica, on 29 August at the Temple of Hera in Selinunte and 5 September in Trapani.
Many further news of this edition dedicated to “myth”. For the first time in Sicily the cantata “Carmina Burana” It will be made in its original scenic version thanks to the suggestive and timeless direction of Salvo Dolce, which will take shape in two unique locations such as the Temple of Hera in Selinunte (10 August) and the ancient theater of Taormina (August 18).
The rich billboard complete: the tribute to Lucio Dalla with the unmistakable voice of Pierdavide Carone on August 5 in Agrigento at the Teatro dell’Apabo and on 7 August at the Greek Theater of Palazzolo Acreide; The tribute to the poetic universe of Franco Battiato on August 8 at the Granfonte di Leonforte, on August 19th in Gibellina and on August 31st at the Saline Genna of Marsala who will become the “care” of the Eternal; On July 31, the only Sicilian stop of the homage to the genius of Hollywood, Hans Zimmer, at the Antico Theater of Taormina with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the “Vincenzo Bellini” Conservatory of Catania, directed by Giuseppe Romeo, for an authentic musical marathon and an exaltation between magic and feeling. And still concerts and symphonic, for a constant and significant work of cultural decentralization, at the Andromeda Theater of Santo Stefano Quisquina, at the Roman villa of Terme Vigliatore, the Roman mausoleum of Centuripe, the Greek theater of Monte Jato, the archaeological area of Halaesa Arconidea in Tusa, etc.
The closure of the 2025 edition at the Antico Theater of Catania with a double tribute to Georges Bizet on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death and composition of the absolute work as more passionate, “Carmen”. On September 20, the lava cavea of the “Nero” theater will welcome a concert focused on the iconic melodies of the Opéra-Comique of Bizet, protagonist the half-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili, an authentic lyric star.
A high level programming is therefore confirmed for an event that continues to collect significant and growing success of the public and criticism. And he promises, once again, to give unique emotions in suggestive places where, through the wise work of the artists, legend runs towards eternity.
A festival lasting more than three months, which arrives in the main archaeological parks, in the most famous ancient and Greek theaters but also in the lesser known areas, characterized by the presence of invaluable treasures that await to be known and valued.