ROF 2021, here is the final outcome

The Gala Rossini, the closing event held in Piazza del Popolo in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella, was the crowning touch to the 42nd edition of the Rossini Opera Festival, which offfered four new staged productions (Moïse et Pharaon, Il signor Bruschino, Elisabetta regina d’Inghilterra and the Stabat Mater) and a record number of events, 25 in all, confirming the resources and productive vitality of the Festival.

The ROF 2021, in fact, has from within its own resources furnished the constructions, stage scenery and painting of all four productions, as well as part of the costumes for Moïse et Pharaon and the Stabat Mater. All this has also been made possible thanks to the acquisition of young technicians from the area, who were trained in the Artisans of the Stage – Stage Technicians course, organized in collaboration with the Pesaro Town Council, which took place in 2020 in the Festival Laboratories. This renewal of the work force is aiming at the Festival’s returning to autonomy in production: this year the Costume Department has also been brought back into activity.

The box office has registered 8.544 spectators (52% of whom from abroad) and takings of 650.716,50 euros. France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the USA, Spain, Belgium, Holland, England, Japan, Russia and Israel are the countries most represented, followed by people from Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Poland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Bulgaria, South Korea, the Principality of Monaco, Greece, Slovenia, Portugal and Latvia. The improvement in the international public health situation immediately has led to an immediate return of visitors from abroad, who have always filled our town’s theatres. The most thickly attended concert was the final Gala Rossini, followed by the last performance of Moïse et Pharaon, the Stabat Mater and the fourth performance of Elisabetta regina d’Inghilterra.

The live transmissions in streaming of the two performances of Il viaggio a Reims (15th and 18th of August) and the Gala Rossini were widely followed. The streamings from this edition of the Festival amounted to 17.831 qualified visualizations (at least one minute). The live transmission of the Gala Rossini reached a peak of 1809 single spectators watching at the same time while the three video channels reached more than 30.000 people.

The Facebook page has seen a strong audience increase even with respect to the digital edition of 2020, reaching 630.017 people in the month of August and 120.224 interactions, accumulating a growth, from the beginning of the year, of 2.672 new comments of approval reaching 35.400 “like” and 39.190 followers. On Instagram the increase has been 5,4% amounting to 16.936 followers. The number of subscribers to the YouTube channel, which has proved to be the most constantly used platform for transmissions in streaming, has risen by 265 units (total 2.465), mostly corresponding to the three live broadcasts. Twitter continues growing and has reached 6.500 followers while this year the ROF has also made its first venture into LinkedIn.

The 43rd edition of the Rossini Opera Festival will be held from the 9th to the 21st August 2022, including two new opera productions: Le Comte Ory, conducted by Diego Matheuz and staged by Hugo De Ana, and Otello, conducted by Yves Abel and staged by Rosetta Cucchi. There will also be a revival of La gazzetta, produced at the ROF in 2015, devised by Marco Carniti and conducted by Carlo Rizzi. The programme also includes Il viaggio a Reims given by students from the Accademia Rossiniana “Alberto Zedda” and the usual series of concerts, one of which will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the collaboration between Pier Luigi Pizzi and the Rossini Opera Festival.

During the summer, thanks to the work of the ROF Laboratories, 24 setting models of some of the principal operas staged during the Festival’s 42 years have been restored. These models will be a feature of the exhibition ROF 15K, which will be held at the Museo Nazionale Rossini from Wednesday 22nd September. The date marks the 15.000 days of life of the Rossini Opera Festival, which began on the 28th August 1980, when the curtain of the Teatro Rossini rose on the first performance of La gazza ladra, the inaugural production of the first edition of the Festival.

Pesaro, 30th August 2021.