The Bellini International Context (Bic) 2026 festival will feature over 30 events, including opere liriche and concerti classici, from September 15 to October 4, in various locations across Catania, Palermo, Messina, and Agrigento.
According to the president of the Regione Siciliana, Renato Schifani, the festival is an important event that promotes the culture of Sicily and honors the legacy of Vincenzo Bellini, a renowned composer from Catania.
Festival Overview
The festival will include a range of events, such as opere liriche, concerti classici, and jazz performances, as well as contaminazioni between prosa and music, and prime esecuzioni assolute.
The sixth edition of the Bic is directly promoted by the Regione Siciliana through the assessorato del Turismo, dello sport e dello spettacolo, and is realized through a network of nine prestigious institutions.
The festival’s diverse programming is a result of the collaboration between these institutions, which include the Teatro Massimo Bellini, Teatro di Messina, Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, and the Conservatori di Musica di Catania, Palermo, and Messina, among others.
Key Performances
The festival’s calendar will feature a new production of I Puritani, directed by Fabrizio Maria Carminati, with a cast including the soprano Jessica Pratt and the tenore Dmitry Korchak.
Other notable performers include the direttori d’orchestra Sergio Alapont, Giuseppe Aprea, and Epifanio Comis, as well as the cantanti lirici Valerio Borgioni, Christian Federici, and Gilda Fiume.
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The new production of I Puritani is a significant event in the festival’s calendar, with the Teatro Massimo Bellini’s own maestranze orchestrali and corali, tecniche e amministrative, contributing to the production.
Organizational Structure
The coordination of the Bic is entrusted to the Teatro Massimo Bellini, presided over by the sindaco Enrico Trantino and guided by the sovrintendente Giovanni Cultrera di Montesano.
Fabrizio Maria Carminati serves as the direttore artistico of the Bic, a role he already holds at the Teatro Massimo Bellini.
The festival’s website, www.belliniinternationalcontext.it, provides more information on the events and performances.
According to the assessore Elvira Amata, the progetto was costruito sin dalla prima edizione grazie ad una rete di prestigiose istituzioni, which has consolidated over time and developed new sinergie, contributing to the festival’s autorità and its ability to testify to the stratificazione culturale and vocazione internazionale of the region.
The president of the Regione Siciliana, Renato Schifani, said that the Bellini International Context is an event that, anno dopo anno, rinnova il proprio valore for Catania and si afferma sempre più as one of the events of reference of the vita culturale of the Sicilia orientale and dell’intera Isola, and that the Regione Siciliana is proud to support a manifestazione that valorizes the genio and l’eredità of Vincenzo Bellini, promoting the cultura siciliana and rafforzando the attrattività of the territory.