THE 44TH EDITION OF THE PICCINNI AWARDS IN VERONA WITH PIER LUIGI PIZZI AND ELENA MOSUC

Guests at the event include baritone Yu Ruoyang and pianist Fabio Maggio.

The Piccinni Award for excellence in the performing arts returns to the spotlight at the Garda Festival 2026 – Lake Garda International Festival , confirming its position as the most eagerly awaited moment of the event.

The 4th This edition of the Festival takes place under the high patronage of the European Parliament with the theme “Beyond the Surface,” which interprets in a contemporary key the Garda Festival's vocation to observe culture “in depth” with the aim of uniting great performers, young talents and places of extraordinary UNESCO value.

Founded in 2023 by the Niccolò Piccinni Fund and artistically directed by Maximilien Seren-Piccinni, the Festival once again renews its mission: to preserve the memory of the great musical and theatrical tradition and transform it into living energy for the future.

" The Piccinni Prize celebrates its forty-fourth anniversary this year: a thrill that continues, bringing with it the weight and pride of a great responsibility. For me, presenting the award to Pier Luigi Pizzi holds profound meaning. While on the one hand it celebrates one of the greatest masters of international theater, on the other it touches me personally for the privilege of having worked alongside him as assistant director. I had the honor of working alongside him on two of his historic productions at the Festival della Valle d'Itria, "Ecuba" and "Il matrimonio segreto": an experience from which I learned so much, and I cherish its teachings as the most precious gift of my career, " says Maximilien Seren-Piccinni, artistic director of the Garda Festival and president of the Niccolò Piccinni Fund .

The 2026 Piccinni Award: Pier Luigi Pizzi and Elena Mosuc are the protagonists.

The evening of the 2026 Piccinni Award will focus on two highly regarded international figures: Pier Luigi Pizzi, who will receive the 2026 Piccinni Award, and Elena Mosuc , who will be awarded the 2026 Cigno del Garda Award powered by Cantine Vitevis .

Pier Luigi Pizzi, born in Milan in 1930, is one of the leading figures in Italian and international theater and opera. Trained in architecture, he began his career in 1951 as a set and costume designer, later establishing himself as a director with a long and distinguished career, working at the world's major theaters and festivals.

He has created productions that have marked the history of contemporary theatre, inaugurated the Opéra Bastille in Paris in 1990 with Les Troyens , and is considered one of the great interpreters of Baroque theatre and the Rossini repertoire, as well as an absolute benchmark for visual elegance, formal rigor, and the ability to interpret the repertoire with a modern sensibility.

“Receiving this award is a gesture that I feel deeply connected to my history and my way of understanding the theater: as a place of beauty and continuous research,” says Pier Luigi Pizzi.

Joining Pizzi on stage will be Elena Mosuc , a Romanian-Swiss soprano internationally recognized as "one of the greatest singers of the last forty years." Elena Mosuc has performed at the world's leading opera houses, including La Scala, the Arena di Verona, the Opéra National de Paris, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Her repertoire includes the most prestigious roles of great Romantic singing and Italian opera, from Lucia to Violetta, Norma to Gilda, and Abigaille, which she will perform in 2026 at the Festival dei Teatri di Pietra in Syracuse, Tindari, and Taormina. A multi-award-winning singer, Mosuc is now one of the most beloved voices by audiences and critics alike.

“This award excites me greatly because it recognizes my artistic journey, but at the same time also the deep and passionate bond I have always had with the Italian public and with the tradition of bel canto,” says Elena Mosuc.

The evening will also feature performances by the young Chinese baritone Yu Ruoyang , who trained in Harbin and the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan and has already won awards in several international competitions, and pianist Fabio Maggio , répétiteur of the Arena di Verona Foundation, with international experience at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and Seoul National University. The 2026 Piccinni Prize is sponsored by Cantine Vitevis.

A new symbol for the 2026 Piccinni Award

For the 2026 edition, the Piccinni Award changes face and is enriched with a new artistic symbol to represent it: the traditional medal is transformed into a Carrara marble statue depicting Niccolò Piccinni, created by the Verona Stone District in collaboration with the marble school of the Salesian Institute San Zeno in Verona.

"We are proud to have contributed to an award that has always recognized craftsmanship, closely tied to the cultural identity of the region and Made in Italy. This new format gives the Piccinni Prize an even deeper meaning: a true work of art capable of lasting over time," says Filiberto Semenzin , President of the Verona Stone District.

The Piccinni Award and the Cigno del Garda Award: history and values

The Piccinni Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts is a prestigious recognition established by the Niccolò Piccinni Fund in 1967 by Vittorio Piccinni, a descendant of the famous composer. Now in its 44th year, the Award is presented annually to individuals who inspire, with creativity and professionalism, the entertainment world and future generations. Dedicated to the figure of Niccolò Piccinni, it recalls not only

not only the stature of a great composer, but also the vocation to support young talents in the musical, literary and theatrical fields.

Honorees over the decades include, among others, Carlo Bergonzi, Sylvano Bussotti, Franco Corelli, Leyla Gencer, Nicolaj Ghiaurov, Christa Ludwig, Giovanni Martinelli, Mady Mesplé, Leo Nucci, Ivo Pogorelich, Georges Prêtre, Renzo Rossellini, Joan Sutherland, Uto Ughi and Franco Zeffirelli.

Since 2022, with the reinstatement initiated by Maximilien Seren-Piccinni, the award has returned to the Garda Festival, alongside the Cigno del Garda Award , awarded since 2024 to individuals whose work expresses passion and support for art and culture. Awarded artists include: Sandra Milo, Katia Ricciarelli, Fabio Testi, Fabio Armiliato, Ornella Muti, Murat Karahan, and Ekaterina Bakanova.

The Piccinni Ambassadors , appointed by the Niccolò Piccinni Fund, complete this virtuous international network of cultural diplomacy for the protection of the performing arts around the world.

Niccolò Piccinni: The Art of Excellence

Niccolò Piccinni, born in Bari in 1728, is considered one of the great protagonists of eighteenth-century Italian and European opera, among the major composers of Classicism and among the last great representatives of the Neapolitan musical school.

Author of La Cecchina, or The Good Daughter , a masterpiece that earned him immediate success throughout Europe, Piccinni was singing teacher to Louis XVI at the request of Queen Marie Antoinette and among the first to recognize and champion the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His career intertwined with the great centers of European musical life, from Naples under Ferdinand IV to Paris under Napoleon Bonaparte , where he was at the center of a cultural season of extraordinary vivacity and artistic exchange.

His legacy encompasses composition, but also his ability to foster talent and interpret music as a space for ongoing research. Niccolò Piccinni's memory lives on today in the bust on the façade of the Opéra Garnier in Paris and is celebrated annually by the Prize that bears his name.

The 44th Piccinni Prize confirms its mission in this edition: to protect a great artistic tradition and, at the same time, make it accessible to the present through performers who embody authority and talent.

PARTNERS AND SPONSORS

Event under the high patronage of the European Parliament.

Banca Ifis , the main sponsor of the 2026 edition of the Garda Festival , renews its support for the project for the second consecutive year, demonstrating its commitment to promoting culture and the local area as levers of social cohesion and quality of life, in line with the activities of its Social Impact Lab Kaleidos and the Ifis Art brand.

Cantine Vitevis , main partner 2026 , celebrates the second consecutive year of collaboration with a limited edition label created starting from the graphic visual of the Garda Festival 2026, applied on the bottles of Garda DOC Brut .

Sponsors: Belgian Embassy, Romanian Embassy to the Italian Republic, Municipality of Peschiera del Garda, Municipality of Verona, Destination Verona, and Garda Foundation. With the support of: Otto per mille Lutheran Church, Verona Interporto Quadrante Europa, Credito Bergamasco Foundation, BCC Valpolicella Benaco. Sponsors: Itas Assicurazioni Group, Marniga Assicurazioni, Parc Hotels Italia. Technical partners: Verona Conservatory "EF Dall'Abaco", Verona Stone District, Salesian Institute San Zeno of Verona.

Official Media Partner : Radio Pico.