From 11 to 25 July, from opera to the great jazz of Paolo Fresu, passing through the cinema of Ennio Morricone and the art of storytelling with Stefano Massini.

The open-air theatre on the rooftop of the Maggio is one of the highlights of Florence's cultural summer.

Florence, 10 July 2026 – With the arrival of summer, the great music of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino moves outdoors and takes to the rooftop of the Theatre. The Cavea summer programme begins on Saturday 11 July at 9 p.m. in the splendid and evocative open-air venue that offers audiences not only outstanding productions, but also the certainty—and this is no small advantage during these weeks of scorching temperatures—of cool, breezy evenings, together with a unique panoramic view over the city.

For the occasion, the Maggio bar moves from the foyer of the Main Hall to the entrance terrace of the Cavea and will be open from 7 p.m., providing the perfect opportunity to enjoy an aperitif while the sun sets and the evening at the Cavea comes to life with the music of the Maggio and its artists. It is also worth noting that, thanks to Sammontana (with the exception of the two evenings featuring Stefano Massini), complimentary ice cream will be offered to the audience.

This year's programme reflects the great versatility of the Maggio's ensembles—the Orchestra and the Chorus—whose musicians and singers move with ease from the traditional operatic repertoire to jazz influences and the great masterpieces of film music. This openness and plurality of artistic languages is enthusiastically underlined by Superintendent Carlo Fuortes: “Our summer programme at the Cavea was created with the desire to open the doors of the Theatre to the city, addressing a broad, curious and diverse audience of local residents and, why not, tourists as well. Bringing opera and major concerts to our beautiful rooftop theatre, or to Pratolino for the Musart Festival, means offering a cultural experience that is informal, inclusive, wide-ranging and of the highest quality. From the tradition of Rossini to Stefano Massini's masterful lectures, which testify to the quality of the dialogue between the Maggio and Teatro della Pergola, through jazz, Oscar-winning film scores and Carmina Burana at Pratolino, this programme truly looks to everyone, bringing audiences together through the power of great music.”

The first event of the Cavea season, dedicated to light-heartedness, takes place on Saturday 11 July at 9 p.m., with further performances on 14 and 18 July, and features one of Gioachino Rossini's most beloved masterpieces: Il barbiere di Siviglia. The opera is presented in the "historic" and ever-popular production by Damiano Michieletto, revived here by director Stefania Grazioli. A sparkling, colourful and entertaining production, it returns with an entirely new cast compared to its successful open-air performances in 2024. On the podium, leading the Orchestra of the Maggio as he did in 2024, is Riccardo Bisatti. The Chorus Master is Lorenzo Fratini. Audiences will be swept away by Rossini's irresistible rhythms thanks to an outstanding cast featuring Marco Ciaponi as Count Almaviva, Roberto De Candia as Don Bartolo, Alexandra Meteleva as Rosina, Min Kim as Figaro, the Barber of Seville, Giorgio Caoduro as Don Basilio, Gonzalo Godoy Sepúlveda in the double role of Fiorello, the servant, and an Officer, and Aloisia de Nardis as Berta.

Following last year's extraordinary success, on 13 and 25 July the Cavea once again becomes a stage for the spoken word with "LIBERAMENTE" – Scuola Popolare di Scrittura SOTTO LE STELLE, the initiative conceived and led by Stefano Massini together with the artists of the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. The project, created by Teatro della Toscana in collaboration with the Fondazione Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Accademia, is supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture and Unicoop Firenze. While the central theme of the 2025 edition was "anger", this year's programme will focus on "happiness". Through the questions and reflections proposed in Massini's ironic, accessible and deeply engaging style, the Cavea will be transformed into an open-air workshop where the audience becomes an active participant, writing and sharing thoughts that will come together to form a collective script. It is a valuable opportunity to experience culture in a participatory and barrier-free way, further strengthening the synergy between the city's leading cultural institutions.

Further demonstrating the versatility of the Orchestra of the Maggio, the summer programme features a highly anticipated evening dedicated to great jazz on 16 July. Joining the Orchestra on the Cavea stage will be Paolo Fresu with his celebrated Devil Quartet - Bebo Ferra on guitar, Paolino Dalla Porta on double bass and Stefano Bagnoli on drums—under the direction of and with musical arrangements by Paolo Silvestri. Paolo Fresu describes the project in these words: "We will reconstruct and breathe new life into La bohème. We will do so at the Cavea, with the Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the magnificent and magnificent writing of Paolo Silvestri, and my Devil Quartet. My instrument will become a voice, replacing many of the voices that inhabit La bohème: a wonderful opera which, to me, is very close to jazz. It will be a contemporary voice retelling a timeless story, offering a magnificent and thrilling experience for everyone. I also believe this is a precious addition to the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, opening the way to new and contemporary musical languages. As Duke Ellington said, 'There are simply two kinds of music: good music and the other kind,' and I believe there are many forms of music capable of engaging in dialogue with one another and, above all, with the classical and operatic tradition that has its home in the city of Florence."

The Cavea's summer season continues on 23 July with the return of the Chorus and Orchestra of the Maggio, joining forces to celebrate the legacy of Italian and international cinema. The two ensembles will perform live the legendary score composed by Ennio Morricone for Sergio Leone's masterpiece A Fistful of Dollars. An opportunity to relive the epic power and emotion of musical themes that have become an enduring part of the history of cinema and global culture.

The summer programme continues on 25 July at 9.15 p.m. at the Parco Mediceo di Pratolino, where, as part of Musart Festival 2026, the Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio will perform Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. The conductor and Chorus Master is Lorenzo Fratini. The soloists are soprano Aloisia de Nardis, tenor Francesco Lucii and baritone Roberto De Candia.