Strong growth for ROF 2022

The Gala Tra Rondò e Tournedos celebrating the 40th anniversary of our collaboration with the director Pier Luigi Pizzi brought the 43rd edition of the Rossini Opera Festival to a successful end at the Vitrifrigo Arena. 

Despite the lingering restrictions on travel still imposed on certain sections of our audience from abroad, the 2022 edition has marked a noteworthy growth of the Festival, both in numbers of spectators and in media coverage. The Festival programme offered no fewer than 31 theatrical events, including an absolute novelty in the form of the Salons Rossini, held in three historic old towns in the neighbourhood of Pesaro, and the return of the Concerti dal balcone  at Rossini’s birthplace, the Casa Rossini.

The box office has registered 13.156 ticket purchasers (+53% compared to 2021) and a cash intake of 958.825 euros (+47%).  The percentage of foreign visitors has reached 55% (+3%), with France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the USA, Spain, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, Ireland, Slovakia and Poland among the most represented nations. Spectators also came from Brazil, China, Estonia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico and others for a total of 34 foreign nations.

Media coverage is also increasing: 134 journalists were accredited representing news outlets from 25 countries (not including Italy): Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Vatican City, South Korea, Croatia, France, Germany, Japan, Greece, Luxembourg, Mexico, Holland, Poland, the United Kingdom, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Spain, the USA, Sweden, Switzerland, the Ukraine. 

Our relationship has been strengthened with the Rai, represented at Pesaro by its Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale, which has taken part in our programmes for many years.  Rai Cultura has recorded Le Comte Ory, which will be televised by Rai5 on Thursday 13th October at 9.15 p.m. Rai Radio3 has broadcast live the first nights of Le Comte Ory, La gazzetta and Otello, the first also on Euroradio.

The first performance of Il viaggio a Reims by pupils of the Accademia Rossiniana “Alberto Zedda” was broadcast in live streaming by OperaVision, the free platform directed by Opera Europa and co-financed by the Opera Creativa programme as part of the Next Generation project. Both performances of the Viaggio will be available for six months on OperaVision, together with a special podcast and a backstage video. Furthermore, both performances of Il viaggio were broadcast in free live streaming on the website and social channels of the Festival. Since this summer, the ROF has opened an account on TikTok.

Mentioning the ROF 2023, which will be held from the 11th to the 23rd August, the highlight of the programme will be the first modern performance of the critical edition of Eduardo e Cristina, conducted by Jader Bignamini and staged by Stefano Poda. This will be accompanied by another new production, Adelaide di Borgogna, conducted by Francesco Lanzillotta and staged by Arnaud Bernard, as well as a revival of Aureliano in Palmira, conducted by George Petrou and staged by Mario Martone, a production from the ROF 2014 that was awarded the prize for Best Rediscovered Work by the International Opera Awards. Among the concerts, the Petite messe solennelle conducted by Michele Mariotti.