Imagining the programme of a festival means daydreaming about the scenery of an entire summer, as if it were a picture to paint that will hang in the gallery of an event that aims, every year, to renew and regenerate itself in the name of Mascagni. For me, it means planning a festival that can spread throughout the world, with a strong international projection and that at the same time can tell the story of Livorno and its province thanks to its strong roots in the territory.

It is therefore important to start again together with the institutions, sponsors and patrons, who have been with us since the beginning of this project, despite the difficult years we have had to face. Our aim is to create an increasingly important network that can help the Mascagni Festival grow and, over the years, make it the fulcrum of the tourist and cultural offer of a territory that has much to tell. This will be the year of two firsts: the festival will perform for the first time the opera Pinotta, premiered in Livorno on the 90th anniversary of its first performance. Cavalleria Rusticana, the most performed opera in the world by the composer from Livorno, will be performed for the first time in history on the Terrazza Mascagni. In addition to the two Mascagni titles, there will be opera, symphony and sacred concerts, theatre readings, a pop concert and events involving musical contamination, which will involve the festival's workers, technicians and collaborators to the utmost. All of this will be done with a special focus on the figure of Pietro Mascagni, his story as a man, as well as a famous composer. For eight weeks, Livorno will be transformed into a Mascagni cultural epicentre that will try in every way to contaminate the most evocative areas of the city with music, acting and stories.