(SF, 20 April 2026) Cecilia Bartoli in the thick of things and on all stages: she is rehearsing for the gala evening “Ciao, bella ciao”, a journey through time and her musical cosmos. The first rehearsal week for Gioachino Rossini’s opera buffa Il viaggio a Reims, a new production of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, has also just begun.
Cecilia Bartoli, Artistic Director of the Whitsun Festival since 2012, is enthusiastic: “Il viaggio a Reims is really the perfect piece for this festival: it requires ten fantastic singers with a great talent for comedy in the main roles.
I love not only Rossini’s music, but also his personality, his humour and his joie de vivre. Rossini always fills me with enthusiasm and amazement. I am taking on the role of the Roman poetess and improviser Corinna in Il viaggio a Reims for the first time. The bizarre plot of this opera includes some unusual twists; the occasion for which it was created is among the oddities of opera history; and the history of its performances resembles a complicated, but ultimately successful journey which now culminates in a rollicking production at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival. Given the celebrated cooperation between Barrie Kosky and Gianluca Capuano in 2025, we can expect another unforgettable production from them, and Les Musiciens du Prince will once again provide breathtaking accompaniment on historical instruments.”
After the multiple award-winning opera pasticcio Hotel Metamorphosis last year, Barrie Kosky returns to direct another production at the Whitsun Festival:
During difficult times in world politics, director Barrie Kosky is even more keenly aware of the great responsibility of the arts and their effects: „This wonderful opera buffa is the perfect antidote for turbulent times. Rossini wants to make us smile and laugh, and for a few hours, he offers us a musical banquet that nourishes our souls.”
Once again, Gianluca Capuano, Cecilia Bartoli’s musical partner since 2019, conducts the orchestra Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco.
The premiere takes place at the Haus für Mozart on Friday, 22 May, at 6:30 pm; the second performance follows on Monday, 25 May, at 5 pm.
In the summer, Il viaggio a Reims will be revived on 5 August. After the gala performance on 8 August, a gala dinner celebrating Cecilia Bartoli’s birthday will take place at the Residenz in Salzburg.
Photographs for downloading are available here: https://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/en/photos/il-viaggo-a-reims-2026
The 2026 Salzburg Whitsun Festival takes place from 22 to 25 May under the motto “Bon Voyage”. All performances on the Whitsun weekend and ticket sales can be found at https://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/en/
Gioachino Rossini (1792 – 1868)
Il viaggio a Reims
Dramma giocoso in one act (1825)
Libretto by Luigi Balochi, partially based on the novel Corinne, ou L’Italie by Madame de Staël
New Production
Premiere: Friday, 22 May, 6:30 pm
Monday, 25 May, 5 pm
Haus für Mozart
https://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/en/p/il-viaggio-a-reims-2026
