Events 2023 Taormina&Sicily
Dear friends and guests of the Hotel Villa Schuler,
We believe it is not an exaggeration when we say : We have the most beautiful, exciting, romantic, and breathtaking venue on the whole island here in Taormina, the Ancient Theater! And it is a true sensation to experience a concert, an evening of ballet or opera, or a film-screening here. But the Ancient Theater is not the only fascinating performance venue in Taormina. There is the small and refined Nazarena Theater, which hosts the much-loved performances of the Italian Opera, or the ancient roman Odeon, which is the setting for selected chamber concerts during the summer period, or the lovely baroque Chiesa Santa Caterina, which hosts the «Taormina Classics» concerts in autumn, and many other beautiful venues for performances, so that you can enhance your stay in Taormina experiencing unforgettable cultural events.
We found some wonderful events for you and we will stay tuned, continuously updating this calendar with new events for you in Taormina and surrounding.
JANUARY to MARCH 2023
Exhibitions
prolonged exhibition
Former Church Del Carmine – Piazza IX Aprile, Taormina
Taormina in miniatura. Extraordinary minature reconstruction of Taormina. Unique in size and details, reproduced in 1/22 scale. The work of the Taormina born artist Gino Castorina took eleven years and ten thousand hours to complete, eighthundredandfifty meters of electrical cable, twohundred boards of plans and drawings, and reveals to the visitor’s eyes buildings, alleys and public establishments and 200 characters. Best time to visit: shortly before dawn, when the daylight staging in changed to night lighting. Free Entrance. Opening hours: 10.00-13.00 and 16.00-23.00
See also: facebook.com/gino.castorina.taormina.in.miniatura/
until March 19 (daily from 9.00 to 16.00h)
Palazzo Ciampoli – Taormina
Teatròs Exhibition with watercolours by the Spanish artist Pedtro Cano, a tribute to the «Grand Tour» culture that characterized the travel experience in the 18th century. Sixteen large watercolors are dedicated to the archaeological sites of eight countries through which artist Pedro Cano offers us his idea of the millennial history of the Mediterranean: from the theater of Petra, in Jordan, to that of Cartagena, in Spain. And then Alexandria’s Odeon in Egypt and theaters in Syria, Turkey, Greece, Libya. And finally Italy with Ostia Antica, Villa Adriana and Taormina. Opening hours: daily from 9.00 to 16.00 h, admission free
More Info: parconaxostaormina.com
Castello Ursino – Catania (until May 21, 2023)
Catania Mia! Exhibition of the photographer Ettore Sottsass. 111 photographs, in black and white and color, almost all previously unpublished, taken in Catania in the 1990s, tell the story of photographer Ettore Sottsass, one of the still lesser known and investigated aspects of the great Italian architect and designer. Opening hours: daily from 9.30 to 19.00 h
More Info: fondazioneoelle.com/catania-mia
APRIL 2023
April 5, 7, 12, 14, 19, 21, 16 and 28 (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – Via Fontana Vecchia n°3 – Taormina
Italian Opera. In April: every Wednesday and Friday. The most beautiful arias and duetts from famous operas like Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini, Norma by Vincenzo Bellini and more. The entrance fee includes a drink during the break.
Info and reservations: italianoperataormina.com reservations: info@italianoperataormina.com or mobile 00393406426230
April 19 (17.30 h)
Palazzo dei Congressi – Taormina
The Heritage of Falcone and Borsellino. Opening of the exibition dedicated to the two most famous prosecutors in the fight against the Sicilian Mafia, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, both murdered about two months apart in two terrible Mafia attacks on May 23 and July 19, 1992. The exibition curated by the journalists Franco Nicastro and Franco Nuccio, is part of the events in the context of the congress on the occasion of 60 Years National Italian Journalism Association.
More info: odgsicilia.it
April 20 and 21
Palazzo dei Congressi – Taormina
60 Years National Italian Journalism Association. Word, Information and Publishing Summit, dedicated to the development of the journalistic profession, critical issues, new challenges in the world of information and future prospects. Two days of comparisons, debates, proposals on the journalism to come, in the light of a 60-year history. In the afternoon of April 19 the exhibition «The Heritage of Falcone and Borsellino», curated by journalists Franco Nicastro and Franco Nuccio, will be inaugurated at 17:30 at the Palazzo dei Congressi. During the days of the event, the exhibition «Il giornalismo che non muore» (Journalism that does not die), usually hosted in the headquarters of the Ordine dei giornalisti Sicilia (Association of Journalists of Sicily) in Palermo, will also be open in Taormina. There will also be musical spaces, moments dedicated to art and theatre, including a moment, particularly emblematic given the historical political context we are currently experiencing, with violinists Ksenia Milas (Russia) and Oleksandr Semchuk (Ukraine).
More info: odgsicilia.it
April 30 (19.00 h)
Hotel Excelsior Palace – Taormina
International Jazz Day 2023 – Mimmo Cafiero Open Band in concert. Stefano D’Anna (tenor sax), Giuseppe Mirabella (guitar), Sam Mortellaro (piano), Gabrio Beviacqua (double bass and Mimmo Cafiere (drums). Aperitif and concert 20 Euro. An event organized by the association Taormina Jazz.
More Info and reservations: info@excelsiorpalacetaormina.it
MAY 2023
From May to October: every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – Via Fontana Vecchia n°3 – Taormina
Italian Opera. The most beautiful arias and duetts from famous operas like Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini, Norma by Vincenzo Bellini and more. The entrance fee includes a drink during the break.
Info and reservations: italianoperataormina.com reservations: info@italianoperataormina.com or mobile 00393406426230
May 5 (21.00 h)
Teatro Vittorio Emanuele – Via Pozzo Leone 5, Messina
Giorgia. After the announcement of her recording comeback with «Blu,» an album balancing between emotions and reason, Giorgia returns to stages all over Italy with her new tour, «BLU LIVE», a part of the events, linke the one in Messina, will take place in the intimate atmosphere of Italian Opera houses.
More info: giorgia.net tickets: ctbox.it
May 6 (17.00 – 20.00 h)
Corso Umberto I – Taormina
Caretti Siciliani. A parade with the beautiful richly and colorfully painted and decorated typical Sicilian horse carts. In the past these carts were the means for weddings and other festive events, today these beautiful carts have become rare. Even rarer are the parades with beautifully decorated horses and passengers dressed in traditional costumes. An event not to be missed.
JUNE 2023
Exhibitions
until December 3, 2023
Radicepura Park – 9 Fogazzaro Street (SP17) – Giarre
Radicepura Garden Festival – international biennial dedicated to the Mediterranean Landscape that since 2017 involves major players in landscape design, art and architecture, young designers, scholars, institutions, and businesses. The theme of the fourth edition is The Garden of Plants. Inside the park it is possible to admire numerous green installations created by the most important exponents of international art and landscape such as Francois Abelanet’s Anamorphose, Michel Pena’s Tour d’Y Voir, Antonio Perazzi’s Home Ground, and above all the new garden created by master Paolo Pejrone that will be inaugurated on June 24 at 6:30 p.m. It will also be possible to discover the 8 new gardens created by young landscape designers, architects and artists. In order to promote the link between contemporary art and nature the Garden Festival is hosting Artist Residencies. These include residencies by Maestro Emilio Isgrò, Alfio Bonanno, Renato Leotta and Adrian Paci. The Readicepura park is open to the public until Dec. 03, with admission: in June Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m; from July to September with entrance from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m; from October to December with entrance from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Events
Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – Via Fontana Vecchia n°3 – Taormina
Italian Opera. The most beautiful arias and duetts from famous operas like Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini, Norma by Vincenzo Bellini and more. The entrance fee includes a drink during the break.
Info and reservations: italianoperataormina.com reservations: info@italianoperataormina.com or mobile 00393406426230
June 2 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Modà & Orchestra the Pop band from Milan with leadsinger Kekko Silvestre in concert.
More info: rockmoda.com tickets ticketone.it
June 3 (10.00 h) and June 4 (16.00 h)
Gardini Victoria – Trappitello, Taormina
Appuntamento in Giardino – Appointment in the Gardens a weekend with guided tours to the Giardini Victoria (Victoria’s Gardens), the large Mediterranean landscape garden, located in the in the Trappitello district of Taormina. The garden is the creation of Princess Victoria Alliata di Villafranca and her husband William, and it is set in an extensive orange orchard with a beautiful manor house. The guided tours are led by the owner and her husband themselves, both experts in agriculture, garden design and in the mythology of trees and plants. Entrance fee 15 Euro a light refreshment included, solid footwear and sunprotection advidsable. «Appuntamento in Giardino» is an initiative of the association «Parchi e giardini d’Italia» in which many beautiful and inportant private and public gardens all over Italy participate. During the weekend of June 3 and 4, 9 gardens alone in the provinces of Messina and Catania open their doors and offer guided tours. All ask for reservations, some take admission others do not. All participating gardens, their entrance fees and opening hours for this special weekend can be viewed on an interactive map on the association’s website.
More info: giardinivictoria.it and apgi.it
June 3 (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – via Fontana Vecchia 3, Taormina
Taormina International Music Festival classical music festival with internationally performing artists. This evening’s motto is «Regional to Global» with the pianist Rüya Taner, acknowledged as one of the Turkey´s new generation leading concert pianists originally from Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, and the saxophonist Kürşat Başar, graduate of Istanbul University’s Department of Philosophy, author, journalist, writer and musician who is highly regarded at home and abroad, a brilliant artist not only as a musician but also a promoter of other colleagues and author of widely watched TV cultural programs. The duo will perform musics by Ceyan, Debussy and Kodaly.
More info, reservations and tickets: italianoperataormina.com and Tel +39 340 6426230
June 4 to 7, 11, 12 and 13
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Evening tours of the Antique Theater, excluding concerts or other performances. The occasion to visit the Teatro Antico in the evening, with romantic lighting and a view out to the glittering bay of Naxos and the slopes of Mount Etna is wonderful. If there is also a full moon and Mount Etna has an eruption, it is incomparable.
June 10 (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – via Fontana Vecchia 3, Taormina
Taormina International Music Festival classical music festival with internationally performing artists. This evening’s motto is «The Fascination of Opera and Operetta» with the piano duo Roberto Metro – Elvira Foti, he was born in Messina, she in Milazzo, both have performed worldwide and with important ochestras, both have done a respectable number of recordings and are active teaching and offering masterclasses. The duo will perform musics by Puccini, Rossini, Strauss and Bizet.
More info, reservations and tickets: italianoperataormina.com and Tel +39 340 6426230
June 14 (21.30 h) tbc
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Giorgia the Italian singer in concert. Known for her soulful voice, high belting register and great vocal abilities. Her vocal range spans 4 octaves. Giorgia has become fairly well known throughout Europe as an ambassador for Italian pop music, and has also achieved success in Canada and Latin America. This concert will still have to be confirmed.
More info: ticketone.it
June 15 to 19
Various locations and Teatro Antico – Taormina
Taobuk Festival, 13th edition of the international Book Festival with the motto «Le Libertà» (literally translated «the freedoms») «Freedom in the singular exists only in freedoms in the plural.» as the Italian idealist philosopher Benedetto Croce pointed out, indicating the multiplying effect of an ideal that gradually shapes and evolves in symbiosis with changes in society and customs. Taobuk 2023 will explore the immense creative power, aggregating force and opportunities that freedom and freedoms confer on the free human being, in a strictly plural sense. See the full programm day per day here (available only in Italian language): Programm taobuk_2023
more info: taobuk.it
June 16 (19.00 h)
Piazza IX Aprile – Taormina
Taobuk Festival – «Autoritratto di una Passione (self-portrait of a passion) violin and pop music, crossover«. With the violinist David Garrett, famous for his virtuosity and his crossings between classical and pop music. David Garrett will perform at the Teatro Antico on June 18. See also the informations on June 18. See the full programm of the taobuk festival, day per day here (available only in Italian language): Programm taobuk_2023
more info: david-garrett.com and taobuk.it
June 17 (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – via Fontana Vecchia 3, Taormina
Taormina International Music Festival classical music festival with internationally performing artists. This evening’s motto is «Memories of Italian and Spanish themes for 88 keys and 6 strings» with the pianist Luca Torrigiani and the guitarist Vannucci Lapo, Since 2010 Lapo Vannucci and Luca Torrigiani have formed a duo born from a deep friendship, with the intention of exploring new areas of music for guitar and piano. Both graduated with honors from the «Luigi Cherubini» Conservatory in Florence, they deepened their studies at prestigious musical institutions such as the «Incontri col Maestro» Academy in Imola, the Fiesole Music School, the École Normale de Musique de Paris «Alfred Cortot «. The duo will perform musics by Carcassi, Terrega and Procacci.
More info, reservations and tickets: italianoperataormina.com and Tel +39 340 6426230
June 17 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Taobuk Festival – Taobuk Award. Gala with among others the 2022 nobel prize winner Annie Ernaux, the american writer Joyce Carol Oates, the iranian-american writer Azar Nafisi, the american non-fiction author David Quammen, the violinist David Garrett, the actress Valeria Golino, the italian singer songwriter Levante, the contemporary artist and sculptor Giuseppe Pennone, the italian actors, directors and screenwriters Edoardo Leo and Michele Placido, the Kataklò Athletic Dance Theatre from Milan, the conductor Gianna Fratta with the Orchestra Sinfonica del Teatro Bellini. See the full programm day per day here (available only in Italian language): Programm taobuk_2023
more info: taobuk.it
June 18 (19.45 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
David Garrett the classical and crossover violonist, born in Aachen (Germany) to an american prima ballerina and a german jurist, begun his career as a young boy, and enjoyed his musical education among others on the Royal School of Music in London, on the renomed Julliard School in New York under Itzhak Perlman. In the course of his career the 43 year old artist excelled as a classical violinist as well as in pop music concerts and projects. In 2013 he played the lead role in the film The Devil’s Violinist, as the noted 19th-century violinist Niccolò Paganini.
More info: david-garrett.com, tickets: ticketone.it
June 21 (all day long) – various locations, Taormina
Festa della Musica – Make Music Day This is the 29th edition of this wonderful music festival, originated in France in 1982, with the initiative conceived by the French Ministry of Culture, throughout France, where amateur and professional musicians invaded streets, courtyards, squares, gardens, stations and museums. Meanwhile the «Fête de la Musique» has become an authentic social phenomenon. Since 1985, the festival has been held in Europe and around the world. Since 2016, in Italy more than 700 cities have joined, creating a network distributed throughout the country. Lots of live music concerts take place every year on 21 June in all cities, mainly in the open air, with the participation of musicians of all levels and genres. Free concerts, value of the musical gesture, spontaneity, willingness, curiosity, all music belongs to the festival. Amateur or professional, everyone can express themselves freely, the Music Festival belongs, first and foremost, to those who make it. This is the programm for Taormina:
11.00 Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Taormina – Ensemble of the Conservatory of Music “A.Corelli of Messina – “I Quattro e quaranta” guitar sextet: Mariano Scarpaci, Bianca Leo, Roberto Ceraolo, Sabrina Antonuccio, Antonio Donzì, Fabio Giacoppo, performoing works by M. Amoroso, J. Rodrigo, G. P. Telemann, G. Mafali, F. Kleynjans, A. Soraci, C. Machado Xote, C. Machado and J. Lennon, P. Mc Cartney.
18.00 Hotel Villa Schuler, Taormina – Riccardo Buzzurro – classic and latin guitar music. Graduated in classical guitar, he has performed on various international stages, directed the Taormina mandolin orchestra, creates his guitar arrangements of the great themes of music.
19.00 Villa comunale Parco Trevelyan, Taormina – Orchestra Mandolinistica Gioviale Taormina. The instrumental ensemble is consisting of mandolins, mandolas, mandoloncelli, guitars and double bass and will perform a wide range of music from classical mandolin musics to film music arrangements. The name is inspired by the greatest Sicilian mandolin player of all time, Giovanni Gioviale, an instrumentalist who lived until the mid-20th century.
20.00 Piazza Carmine, Taormina – Domenico Quaceci – Ascendant. An evocative journey through nostalgia. The new album by pianist and composer Domenico Quaceci, was released on 5 May, on digital. It is a journey along the legacy, suggestions and emotions of this young artist in the waves of music from classical to minimalism, with hints of jazz and ambient. In this new work, Domenico Quaceci has combined neoclassical and minimalist music, a fascinating sound that will transport listeners to a world of serenity and relaxation.
21.00 Largo Santa Caterina, Taormina – BandaCircular & PML Paternò Music Lab. BandaCircular recalls the village bands that entertain large audiences, involving them in dance to rhythms of various cultures. The band is directed as if it were a Drum Circle. BandaCircular is directed by Romina Adorno Pincha, Percussionist and Drum Circle facilitator. Banda plays rhythms from African, Brazilian and Latin American culture. BandaCircular will play together with the PML, Paternò Music Lab, a brass band directed by master Angelo Di Stefano.
June 21 (18.00 h)
Castello de Mola – Castelmola
Festa della Musica – Make Music Day. The village of Castelmola near Taormina also takes part of the European Music Day. Within the walls of the ruins of the castle of Mola takes place a special event, in keeping with the evocative location. The evening starts at 18.00 h with a lecture in italian language on Feng Shui – l’energia che risuona (the energy that creates resonance), at 19.15 h the Quartetto Klostès performs Anthropop Music. Often meeting to spin and learn the art of weaving the four women of the qaurtetto Klostès (Luisa Biondo harp and voice – Eleonora Bonincontro oud – Anna Maria Castrogiovanni guitar – Novella Novelli voice) started playing in September 2021. The name of the group, refers to a term of the ancient Greek language, which indicates the thread that is produced by the action of spinning. Their music style is linked to Eastern, Greek, Sephardic, Grecanic, digging into the anthropological roots of the Mediterranean, preferring Sicilian dialect. The evening will be finished with the performance of Padma – with her programm «arte mistica del fuoco in danza e musica» (the mystical art of fire in dance and music). Thanks in part to her background as a dance-movement-therapist, Padma is able to symbolically convey all the power of the fire element, which is the real protagonist of the scene, going beyond the technical aspect of the dance and the instrument.
June 23 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Pavarotti Forever. Gala in memory of Luciano Pavarotti, in collaboration with the Foundation Pavarotti, with the participation of Placido Domingo, the Italian tenor Vittorio Grigòlo and the singer songwriter Mario Biondi. More info and tickets: ticketone.it
June 24 (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – via Fontana Vecchia 3, Taormina
Taormina International Music Festival classical music festival with internationally performing artists. This evening with the «Trio Felix»from Puglia with the soprano Marilena Gaudio, the clarinettist Giacomo Piepoli and the pianist Flavio Peconio. Marilena Gaudio graduated at the age of 21 at the Niccolò Piccinni Conservatory of Bari. Since then she has been involved in several tours in Albania, Poland, and Italy performing both chamber and opera repertoire, collaborating with numerous orchestras such as the Pugliese Philharmonic, adding numerous roles in opera performances, such as Lucia by Lammermoor, Aida, Rosina in Barber of Seville. Giacomo Piepoli, graduate from the Bari Conservatory of Music, has been playing with major Italian orchestras, since 2013 he has been first clarinet of the «Filarmonica Pugliese» Orchestra, of which he is also artistic director. Flavio Peconio is a winner of important national and international piano competitions, both as a soloist and in chamber ensembles, and performs in various Italian and European cities and in the USA. He combines his concert activity with an intense teaching activity: he teaches Principal Piano at the «Rota» Conservatory in Monopoli. The trio will perform musics by Piazzolla, Puccini and Di Capua.
More info, reservations and tickets: italianoperataormina.com and Tel +39 340 6426230
June 24 to July 1
Pallazzo dei Congressi and Teatro Antico – Taormina
Taormina Film Fest, 69th edition
more info: taorminafilmfest.it
JULY 2023
Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – Via Fontana Vecchia n°3 – Taormina
Italian Opera. The most beautiful arias and duetts from famous operas like Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini, Norma by Vincenzo Bellini and more. The entrance fee includes a drink during the break.
Info and reservations: italianoperataormina.com reservations: info@italianoperataormina.com or mobile 00393406426230
July 1 (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – via Fontana Vecchia 3, Taormina
Taormina International Music Festival classical music festival with internationally performing artists. This evening’s motto is «Great Composers of Opera» with the soprano Carmen Salamone and the two pianists Sara Cianciullo and Antonio Gennaro. Carmen Salamone, born in Catania, obtained her singing diploma at the Catania Conservatory. 2016 she made her debut at the Teatro Massimo V. Bellini in Catania with the opera «Fedra» by Giovanni Paisiello in which she played the princess Aricia. For the past years she has also been engaged in the concert season of Taormina Arte with the company «Italian Opera Live.» Sara Cianciullo, born in Campania, degree in philosophy and diploma from the conservatory, is active as a soloist and in stable formation of piano duo, she collaborates with the composition class of M. Gianvincenzo Cresta as a pianist, realizing in concert «world premieres» for chamber ensemble (flute and piano, viola flute and piano) and for solo piano. Antonio Gennaro, born in Messina and graduated with highest honours at the conservatory «A.Corelli» at Messina, is currently a collaborating maestro, pianist and substitute conductor at the F. Zappalà Theater in Palermo and a collaborating pianist with the Italian Opera live Cultural Association. The three artists will perform musics by Bach, Mozart, Puccini, Chopin and Brahms.
More info, reservations and tickets: italianoperataormina.com and Tel +39 340 6426230
July 2 tbc
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Tribute to Maria Callas, an evening dedicated to the great diva of opera history Maria Callas. An evening organized by the Taormina Arte Foundation, supposedly with the famous Russian soprano Anna Netrebko and the Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov, he too a great of the international opera houses. If it is true, a choice certainly not without controversy, after Anna Netrebko’s recent disinvitation from many major opera houses due to her closeness to Vladimir Putin. Event to be confirmed.
July 3 to 5
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Evening tours of the Antique Theater, excluding concerts or other performances. The occasion to visit the Teatro Antico in the evening, with romantic lighting and a view out to the glittering bay of Naxos and the slopes of Mount Etna is wonderful. If there is also a full moon and Mount Etna has an eruption, it is incomparable.
July 4 (21.15 h)
Stadio S. Filippo – Messina
Tiziano Ferro the Italian singer, songwriter, producer and author is known as the modern face of Italian pop music and is one of the best-selling artists in Italy. Both his third album «Nessuno è solo» and fourth album «Alla mia età» were certified diamond.
More info: tizianoferro.com tickets: Ctbox.it
July 8 and 13 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Il Trittico by Giacomo Puccini, Il trittico (The Triptych) is the title of a collection of three one-act operas, Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi, by Giacomo Puccini. The work received its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera on 14 December 1918. The Taormina production is a cooperation of Taormina Arte with the Opéra-Théâtre de Metz (France).
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
July 8 (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – via Fontana Vecchia 3, Taormina
Taormina International Music Festival classical music festival with internationally performing artists. This evening’s motto is «Musical Journey» with the soprano Ilaria Iaquinta and the pianist Giacomo Serra. Ilaria Iaquinta studied opera singing at the Conservatory of Naples «San Pietro a Majella.» After graduation, she perfected for Italian opera, French and Baroque music, and German Lied. She is a winner of international competitions including the «Francesco Albanese» Opera Competition and the Conegliano Veneto «Pier Adolfo Tirindelli» Festival of Parlour Romance. In 2014 she recorded together with pianist Giacomo Serra the CD «Les Bouffes-Napolitains» ancient Neapolitan songs and operetta by J. Offenbach, published by Polosud Records. Giacomo Serra graduated in piano from the Conservatorio «Giuseppe Verdi» in Milan and holds a degree in musicology from Cà Foscari University of Venice. Since 1995 he has been Maestro di Sala and Orchestra Pianist at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and is a tenured professor at the Avellino Conservatory of Music. The two artists will perform musics by Puccini, Verdi and Donizetti.
More info, reservations and tickets: italianoperataormina.com and Tel +39 340 6426230
July 10 and 11 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Checco Zalone the Italian actor, musician, singer-songwriter, imitator, comedian, and screenwriter with his program Amore+IVA
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
July 12 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Pinchas Zukerman the famous israeli-american conductor, violinist and violist on the stage of the Teatro Antico, a great musical event that lovers of classical music should not miss.
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
July 15 (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – via Fontana Vecchia 3, Taormina
Taormina International Music Festival classical music festival with internationally performing artists. This evening’s motto is «Tribute to Maria Callas» with the two sopranos Marianna Cappellani and Ester Ventura. Born in Catania, Marianna Cappellani, began studying piano at the age of six; later she devoted herself to singing, beginning her studies with the famous mezzo-soprano Fedora Barbieri. In 2000, she made her debut at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania in Verdi’s Macbeth. She performed among others at the Rome Opera and the Theatro San Carlo in Naples, alongside famous collueges like Placido Domingo and Marcelo Alvarez. The young soprano Ester Ventura was born in Catania, where she approached Classical music by beginning to study as a lyric Soprano with Tenor Matteo Condorelli. She won the first place in the ranking as a student at the three-year course of opera singing at the Bellini Institute of Catania, and graduated in opera singing with a grade of 110 cum laude. Since then she performed a lot in Sicilian theatres and aristocratic salons. She is one of the main artists performing at Italian Opera Taormina. The two will perform musics by Verdi, Puccini, Rossini and Bellini.
More info, reservations and tickets: italianoperataormina.com and Tel +39 340 6426230
July 21 and 23 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Turandot, Opera by Giacomo Puccini, directed by Giancarlo del Monaco. A production by the foundation Taormina Arte. The opera is set in China and tells the story of Prince Calaf, who falls in love with the cold Princess Turandot. In order to win her hand in marriage, a suitor must solve three riddles, with a wrong answer resulting in execution. Calaf passes the test, but Turandot still refuses to marry him. He offers her a way out: if she is able to guess his name before dawn the next day, he will accept death. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924, it was then completed it in 1926 by Franco Alfano.
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
July 22 (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – via Fontana Vecchia 3, Taormina
Taormina International Music Festival classical music festival with internationally performing artists. This evening’s motto is «Rome – Paris – Express» with the pianist Gaia Caporiccio. Born in Florence in 1988, Gaia Caporiccio immediately showed a clear interest and an undeniable musical gift and at the age of 18 she got her first Diploma at “Cherubini” Conservatory, as well as the classical secondary school Diploma. Two years later she obtained the Master in Musical Performance with the highest score. Presently she is piano teacher at the Conservatoire de l’Ouest Vaudois, a professional concert pianist, president and artistic director of the Association “Les Concerts Vaudois”. She recorded several Cds for the prestigious label Brilliant Classics. The artist will perform musics by Beethoven, Debussy and Schubert.
More info, reservations and tickets: italianoperataormina.com and Tel +39 340 6426230
July 26 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Eleonora Abbagnato in Giulietta a portrait dedicated to Juliet, the most famous Veronese woman, immortalized by William Shakespeare. A performance curated by Daniele Cipriani, in which the arts of music, dance and poetry come together. Embodying Juliet will be Eleonora Abbagnato, director of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma Ballet Company and former étoile at the Paris Opera. With her: Rebecca Bianchi (étoile of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma), Michele Satriano (prima ballerina of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma), Simone Repele and Sasha Riva (formerly at the Grand Theater of Geneva), Simone Agrò, Gabriele Consoli, Bryan Ramirez and Mattia Tortora (Teatro dell’Opera di Roma) and Julia Balzaretti (daughter of Eleonora Abbagnato).
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
July 27 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Stewart Copeland, best known for his work as drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008, on stage with the program “Stewart Copeland’s Police Deranged for Orchestra”. The drummer will be accompanied by a local orchestra.
More info: stewartcopeland.net, tickets: ticketone.it
July 29 (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – via Fontana Vecchia 3, Taormina
Taormina International Music Festival classical music festival with internationally performing artists. This evening’s motto is «Tribute to Frank Sinatra» with the with the Trio Lleida, composed of Enrique Lleida (piano and double bass), Pablo Lleida (double bass and piano) and Santiago Lleida (percussion). Enrique Lleida, is a piano teacher, superior solfeggio teacher, graduated in History of Art at the University of Zaragoza and Master in Lifelong Learning in Multicultural Contexts at the same university. Since 1997 he has been a professor of improvisation and accompaniment at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón. He has taught improvisation courses at the Villa de Graus Summer Academy as part of the organ initiation courses. In 2005 he and his brothers formed Gradus Jazz, a group with which they are giving concerts all over Spain. The three brothers will perform songs of Frank Sinatra.
More info, reservations and tickets: italianoperataormina.com and Tel +39 340 6426230
July 29 (21.15 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Roberto Bolle and Friends, currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and a principal dancer étoile at La Scala Theatre Ballet. Bolle also dances regularly as a guest artist with the world’s leading companies, including The Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet.
More info: robertobolle.com, tickets: ticketone.it
AUGUST 2023
Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – Via Fontana Vecchia n°3 – Taormina
Italian Opera. The most beautiful arias and duetts from famous operas like Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini, Norma by Vincenzo Bellini and more. The entrance fee includes a drink during the break.
Info and reservations: italianoperataormina.com reservations: info@italianoperataormina.com or mobile 00393406426230
August 1 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Gigi D’Alessio on his «Dove c’è il Sole» Tour.
info and tickets: ticketone.it
August 3, 5, and 6 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Eros Ramazzotti on his Battito Infinito World Tour. An immense live adventure that will take Eros to some of the most important cities in the world, to celebrate with his large audiences his new record for the first time live.
info and tickets: ticketone.it
August 4 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Jimmy Sax and The Symphonic Dance Orchestra. The French-borne saxophonist combines emotional, eclectic orchestral Pop music with his solo Sax sound.
Tickets and info: ticketone.it
August 7 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Angelo Duro the comedian, theater and film actor, among the most famous faces of the TV show «Le iene» and web influencer with 1.5 million followers, is known for his cynical and controversial character. His new programm is called «Sono cambiato» (I have changed)…well, who believes it.
info and tickets: ticketone.it
August 10 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Gianni Morandi the Italian actor, singer and entertainer with his program: «Go Gianni Go»
info: morandimania.it, tickets: ticketone.it
August 11 to 19
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Evening tours of the Antique Theater, excluding concerts or other performances. 10 days of downtime and the occasion to visit the Teatro Antico in the evening, with romantic lighting and a view out to the glittering bay of Naxos and the slopes of Mount Etna. If there is also a full moon and Mount Etna has an eruption, it is incomparable.
August 16 and 18 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Cavalleria Rusticana opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to a libretto by adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play by Giovanni Verga. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on 17 May 1890. Cavalleria Rusticana is the most famous «Sicilian» opera, set in the social milieu of poor people in a Sicilian village, and is a great drama of love and jealousy. It has often been performed in a double with Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo, as it will be also in Taormina. Another drama of jealousy, telling the story of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell’arte theatrical company, who murders his wife Nedda and her lover Silvio on stage during a performance. A Tarmina Arte production in cooperation with the Hungarian State Opera House of Budapest.
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
August 19 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Past-Forward a ballet evening with Jacopo Tissi. After stints at Vienna State Ballet and La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan during his early career, Jacopo Tissi moved to Moscow to join the Bolshoi Ballet in 2016. He was named a principal dancer in December 2021, becoming one of the few foreigners to reach this position in the company’s history, but left in March 2022 over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He returned to La Scala in the 2022–23 season as a guest principal dancer.
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
August 19 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Tosca opera by Giacomo Puccini. A Tarmina Arte production in cooperation with the Hungarian State Opera House of Budapest.
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
August 22 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Pink Floyd Tribute – Festival Lirico dei Teatri di Pietra. The «Lyrical Festival of Stone Theaters» returns with its fifth edition. After networking the antique theaters of Sicily, the festival aims to enhance other main archaeological sites of the Mediterranean, as of neighboring Calabria, and branching out to Europe and Africa. The program touches the arts from opera to ballet, from symphonic to contaminations with pop d’auteur and rock. The homage to Pink Floyd, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the release of the historic album Dark Side of the Moon will be a musical journey between rock and classical that traces the milestones and greatest hits of the English band conceived by Giuseppe Andaloro, Raffaele Cacciola and Armando Gatto.
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
August 23 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Ennio Morricone Tribute – Festival Lirico dei Teatri di Pietra. The Ennio Morricone evening is a tribute to the most popular composer of the 20th century, featuring the film music that made the Roman master famous around the world.
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
August 24 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
La Traviata – Festival Lirico dei Teatri di Pietra. La Traviata, the opera by Giuseppe Verdi, which will be performed in an innovative concert form, featuring Spanish flamenco ballet and striking lighting direction.
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
August 25 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Madame in concert. The style of the Italian rapper and singer-songwriter from the Veneto Region was described by the daily newspaper la Repubblica as «urban, a very wide container in which trap and rap can merge, together with several other contemporary sounds»
More Info: sonolamadame.com, tickets: ticketone.it
August 26 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Renga and Nek 2023 Francesco Renga and Nek, the Tour with which the two singers celebrate Francesco Renga’s 40 years of artistic career and Nek’s 30 years. It will be an evening where they will retrace the careers of two artists who, with their songs, from «Laura non c’è» to «Angelo,» from «Fatti avanti amore» to «Il mio giorno più bello nel mondo,» have accompanied entire generations. To sing along!
More info and tickets: ticketone.it
August 28 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Venditti e De Gregori – The Tour. Two old friends, who in 2022 toured for the first time together. A unique show in which the two “grands seigneurs” of the Italian singer-songwriters, Francesco De Gregori and Antonello Venditti, will give new life to their greatest hits: songs that have entered people’s hearts.
More Info: facebook.com/AntonelloVendittiUfficiale/ tickets: ticketone.it
August 30 (21.00 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Robert Plant and Saving Grace, feat. Suzi Dian. Robert Plant best known as the lead singer and lyricist of Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980. Regarded by many as one of the greatest singers in rock music, he is known for his flamboyant persona and raw stage performances. In 1995, Plant was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The project, Robert Plant is taking on tour, features Suzi Dian (vocals), Oli Jefferson (percussion), Tony Kelsey (mandolin, baritone and acoustic guitars), Robert Plant (vocals) and Matt Worley (banjo, acoustic and baritone guitars, cuatro) on stage. Saving Grace made its debut in early 2019 with a series of surprise concerts at small venues in England, Wales, and Ireland, followed by a trio of UK dates in support of the Fairport Convention.
More Info and tickets: robertplant.com and ticketone.it
SEPTEMBER 2023
Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – Via Fontana Vecchia n°3 – Taormina
Italian Opera. The most beautiful arias and duetts from famous operas like Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini, Norma by Vincenzo Bellini and more. The entrance fee includes a drink during the break.
Info and reservations: italianoperataormina.com reservations: info@italianoperataormina.com or mobile 00393406426230
September 1 and 2 (21.30 )
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Andrea Bocelli one of the most celebrated and beloved tenors worldwide in concert. As the first date (September 1) seems to be nearly sold out, there is another concert on September 2 now. The Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist was born visually impaired, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind. After performing evenings in piano bars and competing in local singing contests, Bocelli rose to fame in 1994, winning the newcomer’s section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival. Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo studio albums of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums, and nine complete operas, selling over 75 million records worldwide. He has had success as a crossover performer, bringing classical music to the top of international pop charts.
More Info: andreabocelli.com, tickets: ticketone.it
September 3 (20.30 h)
Parco Trevelyan – Taormina
Un palco per tutti (a stage for everybody) Taormina International Fashion event. An evening dedicated to fashion.
September 7 (21.00 h)
Parco Trevelyan – Taormina
Un palco per tutti (a stage for everybody) Topless. Concert with pop music.
September 9 (20.30 h)
Parco Trevelyan – Taormina
Un palco per tutti (a stage for everybody) Live Dance Party. Dance performance. Artistic director Maria Proscia, prensenter Valeria Lisi.
September 10 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Una Ragazza per il Cinema The 35th edition of the National Beauty and Talent Award » A Girl for Cinema «, the National Final, will take place, Sunday, September 10, 2023, in the beautiful setting of the Teatro Antico in Taormina.
Info: unaragazzaperilcinema.eu
September 16 and 17 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Pooh in concert. The legendary Italian pop band formed in 1966 in Bologna, they split in 2016, had a first reunion in 2017 and after the death of their drummer in 2020, now they started again. Over the course of their career, Pooh has sold over 100 million records. Some of the band’s most popular songs include «Parsifal», «Dove comincia il sole» and «Pensiero». On April 2023, the members reunited for a second time, to celebrate their 50th anniversary, and they also released a new song «Amici per sempre».
More Info and tickets: ticketone.it
September 16 (20.30 h)
Parco Trevelyan – Taormina
Un palco per tutti (a stage for everybody) The theatre group «Res Nova 20Siculi» presents a comedy in sicilian language «U Vuliri da Za’razzia», written by Loredana Cavallaro.
September 19 (20.30 h)
Parco Trevelyan – Taormina
Un palco per tutti (a stage for everybody) Eco dei Canti – Echo of songs. Maria Russello and Rosario Todaro present sicilian songs and their history
September 21 (20.30 h)
Parco Trevelyan – Taormina
Un palco per tutti (a stage for everybody) Dance performance «Il linguaggio del corpo» (body language) by the Association UNITRE Taormina.
September 22 (20.30 h)
Parco Trevelyan – Taormina
Un palco per tutti (a stage for everybody) Concert of the Association «Amici della Musica» (friends of music) a concert with the students of maestro Diego Barberio
September 23 (21.30 h)
Teatro Antico – Taormina
Umberto Tozzi the pop and rock singer and composer, born in Turin, still on stage at the age of 70
Info and tickets: ticketone.it
September 27 (20.30 h)
Parco Trevelyan – Taormina
Un palco per tutti (a stage for everybody) Softly Quartet – tribute to John Coltrane. The four musicians are Giuseppe and Enzo Messina (sax and contrabass), Salvo Pappalardo (drums) and Angelo Fichera (piano), they dedicate the evening to John Coltrane, one of the greatest representatives and innovator of Jazz.
September 30 (20.30 h)
Chiesa di Santa Caterina – Taormina
Un palco per tutti (a stage for everybody) Piano concert with Marco Vadala. A journey across the piano keys from baroque to impressionism. Plese note, that this concert will not take place in the Parco Trevelyan, but in the church of Santa Caterina, Taormina.
OKTOBER 2023
Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – Via Fontana Vecchia n°3 – Taormina
Italian Opera. The most beautiful arias and duetts from famous operas like Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini, Norma by Vincenzo Bellini and more. The entrance fee includes a drink during the break.
Info and reservations: italianoperataormina.com reservations: info@italianoperataormina.com or mobile 00393406426230
October 01 (20.30 h)
Parco Trevelyan – Taormina
Un palco per tutti (a stage for everybody) Orchestra Mandolinistica Gioviale di Taormina. The Taormina Mandoline Youth Orchestra performs a varied and interesting programm with Sicilian melodies and works by Ennio Morricone, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Astor Piazzolla and Giacomo Puccini. Admission is free.
NOVEMBER 2023
Every Wednesday (21.15 h)
Teatro Nazarena – Via Fontana Vecchia n°3 – Taormina
Italian Opera. The most beautiful arias and duetts from famous operas like Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini, Norma by Vincenzo Bellini and more. The entrance fee includes a drink during the break.
Info and reservations: italianoperataormina.com reservations: info@italianoperataormina.com or mobile 00393406426230
November 05 (18.30 h)
Chiesa di Santa Caterina – Taormina
Taormina Classica 2023 – Debussy and his time. Concert of four hands piano with the pianists Helga Pisapia and Sara Cianciullo, performing works by Debussy, Grieg, Ravel and Moszowsky. Admission is free.
November 10 (18.30 h)
Chiesa di Santa Caterina – Taormina
Taormina Classica 2023 – The three B’s: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms. Concert with the duo Luca Provenzani (cello) and Fabiana Barbini (piano), performing works by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. Admission is free.
November 19 (18.30 h)
Chiesa di Santa Caterina – Taormina
Taormina Classica 2023 – Romantic violin. Concert with the duo Sofia Muffoletto (violin) and Antonino Nastasi (piano), performing works by Tartini, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Chopin. Admission is free.
November 25 (18.30 h)
Chiesa di Santa Caterina – Taormina
Taormina Classica 2023 – The colors of romance between romances and nocturnes. Concert with the duo Cristina Monti (oboe) and Gian Marco Solarolo (piano), performing works by Mendellssohn, Schubert and Tosti. Admission is free.
November 30 (18.30 h)
Chiesa di Santa Caterina – Taormina
Taormina Classica 2023 – Maurizio Di Fulvio Quartet. Maurizio Di Fulvio (Guitar), Alessia Martegiani (voice), Ivano Sabatini (double bass) and Walter Caratelli (percussions), performing Latin-Jazz and Pop Songs. Admission is free.
last update: October 17, 2023